TY - JOUR
T1 - Estrous female goats use testosterone-dependent cues to assess mates
AU - Longpre, Kristy M.
AU - Katz, Larry S.
N1 - Funding Information: We would like to acknowledge Susan E. Becker for her excellent technical assistance. We would also like to thank our Animal Science undergraduate students who helped conduct this research. This work was supported by the NJ Agricultural Experiment Station , project 06144 .
PY - 2011/1
Y1 - 2011/1
N2 - In a promiscuous species like the domestic goat (Capra hircus), in which maternal investment is greater than paternal investment, a female may mate selectively with a more-fit male to improve her reproductive fitness. Testosterone (T) controls a large suite of male-typical behaviors and morphological characteristics. High T concentrations may be energetically costly or even detrimental to survival; thus, preventing lower quality males from falsely advertising their fitness. Three preference studies were conducted to examine if females use T-dependent cues to assess potential mates. For Experiment 1, females were given a choice between a pair of morphologically similar males, bucks (intact males) and stags (post-pubertally castrated males), during the breeding and non-breeding seasons. In both seasons, females preferred the bucks compared to stags. In Experiment 2, females were given a choice between bucks, stags and wethers (pre-pubertally castrated males) during the non-breeding season. For some comparisons, castrated males received 25. mg testosterone propionate (TP) or were untreated. Females preferred TP-treated males compared to untreated males and showed no preference when given a choice between either two TP-treated or two untreated males. In Experiment 3, females were given a choice between a pair of bucks and a pair of stags treated with 25. mg TP during monthly tests in the breeding season. At each monthly test, females preferred the males with higher T concentrations near the time of the behavior test. These studies suggest that females use T-dependent cues to assess potential mates, and T concentrations may indicate a male's overall fitness.
AB - In a promiscuous species like the domestic goat (Capra hircus), in which maternal investment is greater than paternal investment, a female may mate selectively with a more-fit male to improve her reproductive fitness. Testosterone (T) controls a large suite of male-typical behaviors and morphological characteristics. High T concentrations may be energetically costly or even detrimental to survival; thus, preventing lower quality males from falsely advertising their fitness. Three preference studies were conducted to examine if females use T-dependent cues to assess potential mates. For Experiment 1, females were given a choice between a pair of morphologically similar males, bucks (intact males) and stags (post-pubertally castrated males), during the breeding and non-breeding seasons. In both seasons, females preferred the bucks compared to stags. In Experiment 2, females were given a choice between bucks, stags and wethers (pre-pubertally castrated males) during the non-breeding season. For some comparisons, castrated males received 25. mg testosterone propionate (TP) or were untreated. Females preferred TP-treated males compared to untreated males and showed no preference when given a choice between either two TP-treated or two untreated males. In Experiment 3, females were given a choice between a pair of bucks and a pair of stags treated with 25. mg TP during monthly tests in the breeding season. At each monthly test, females preferred the males with higher T concentrations near the time of the behavior test. These studies suggest that females use T-dependent cues to assess potential mates, and T concentrations may indicate a male's overall fitness.
KW - Female mate choice
KW - Fitness
KW - Goat
KW - Reproductive behavior
KW - Testosterone
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U2 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2010.10.014
DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2010.10.014
M3 - Article
C2 - 21056568
VL - 59
SP - 98
EP - 104
JO - Hormones and Behavior
JF - Hormones and Behavior
SN - 0018-506X
IS - 1
ER -