Age and socially related changes in fecal androgen metabolite concentrations in free-ranging male giraffes.
Gen Comp Endocrinol
; 255: 19-25, 2018 01 01.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-28978410
ABSTRACT
In many mammal species, androgen levels in males are elevated during periods of mating activity, often to facilitate aggressive behavior between males over access to fertile females. However, this pattern might be less obvious in species with a rather low male-male aggression rate, or in those that are not strictly seasonal breeders. A complex social structure, as well as additional social and environmental factors, might add more to the complexity. Here, we applied a non-invasive method to monitor fecal androgen metabolite (fAM) levels in free-ranging giraffe bulls over a period of months to examine longitudinal patterns of androgen metabolite concentrations in relation to observed male sexual behavior in different age classes. Giraffes are non-seasonal breeders, living in a fission-fusion social system and males show a roaming strategy to search for fertile females. Our results show that season has an impact on fAM levels in free-ranging giraffes, with respective steroid concentrations being higher in summer. In the presence of females, fAM levels of bulls are significantly higher compared to when found in all-male groups, with old adult bulls showing the highest fAM levels. In contrast, young adult bulls have overall slightly higher fAM levels compared to old adult bulls when residing in all male groups. Sexual behavior increases fAM levels only in old adult bulls.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Bases de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Conducta Social
/
Envejecimiento
/
Metaboloma
/
Heces
/
Jirafas
/
Andrógenos
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Gen Comp Endocrinol
Año:
2018
Tipo del documento:
Article