An Intergenerational Androgenic Mechanism of Female Intrasexual Competition in the Cooperatively Breeding Meerkat

December 2021 in “ Nature Communications ”

Christine M. Drea, Charli S. Davies, Lydia K. Greene, Jessica Mitchell, Dimitri V. Blondel, Caroline L. Shearer, Joseph T. Feldblum, Kristin Dimac-Stohl, Kendra Smyth, Tim Clutton‐Brock

androgen antiandrogen androgen-mediated behavior dominance aggression sexual selection

TLDR Androgens in female meerkats influence aggression and dominance, affecting social dynamics and offspring behavior.

The study investigated androgen-mediated behavior in female meerkats, focusing on 22 clans. It found that matriarchs exhibited peak androgen levels during late gestation, coinciding with increased feeding competition, dominance, and evictions. Compared to subordinates, matriarchs' offspring were more aggressive early in development. Antiandrogen treatment during late gestation reduced matriarchs' dominance behaviors, decreased evictions, and lowered their social centrality, while increasing aggression in subordinate dams and reducing offspring aggression. These findings suggested that androgen-mediated aggression played a role in female sexual selection and the intergenerational transmission of masculinized traits, influencing the evolution of cooperative breeding in meerkats.

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