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Seasonality, sociality, and reproduction: Long-term stressors of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta).

Publication ,  Journal Article
Starling, AP; Charpentier, MJE; Fitzpatrick, C; Scordato, ES; Drea, CM
Published in: Hormones and behavior
January 2010

Fecal glucocorticoid (fGC) concentrations are reliable, non-invasive indices of physiological stress that provide insight into an animal's energetic and social demands. To better characterize the long-term stressors in adult members of a female-dominant, seasonally breeding species - the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) - we first validated fecal samples against serum samples and then examined the relationship between fGC concentrations and seasonal, social, demographic, genetic, and reproductive variables. Between 1999 and 2006, we collected 1386 fecal samples from 32 adult, semi-free-ranging animals of both sexes. In males and non-pregnant, non-lactating females, fGC concentrations were significantly elevated during the breeding season, specifically during periods surrounding known conceptions. Moreover, group composition (e.g., multi-male versus one-male) significantly predicted the fGC concentrations of males and females in all reproductive states. In particular, the social instability introduced by intra-male competition likely created a stressor for all animals. We found no relationship, however, between fGC and the sex, age, or heterozygosity of animals. In reproducing females, fGC concentrations were significantly greater during lactation than during the pre-breeding period. During pregnancy, fGC concentrations were elevated in mid-ranking dams, relative to dominant or subordinate dams, and significantly greater during the third trimester than during the first or second trimesters. Thus, in the absence of nutritional stressors, social dominance was a relatively poor predictor of fGC in this female-dominant species. Instead, the animals were maximally challenged by their social circumstances and reproductive events-males by competition for mating opportunities and females by late-term gestation and lactation.

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Published In

Hormones and behavior

DOI

EISSN

1095-6867

ISSN

0018-506X

Publication Date

January 2010

Volume

57

Issue

1

Start / End Page

76 / 85

Related Subject Headings

  • Stress, Physiological
  • Social Environment
  • Social Dominance
  • Sex Factors
  • Sex Characteristics
  • Seasons
  • Reproduction
  • Pregnancy
  • Models, Biological
  • Maternal-Fetal Exchange
 

Citation

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Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Starling, A. P., Charpentier, M. J. E., Fitzpatrick, C., Scordato, E. S., & Drea, C. M. (2010). Seasonality, sociality, and reproduction: Long-term stressors of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta). Hormones and Behavior, 57(1), 76–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2009.09.016
Starling, Anne P., Marie J. E. Charpentier, Courtney Fitzpatrick, Elizabeth S. Scordato, and Christine M. Drea. “Seasonality, sociality, and reproduction: Long-term stressors of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta).Hormones and Behavior 57, no. 1 (January 2010): 76–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2009.09.016.
Starling AP, Charpentier MJE, Fitzpatrick C, Scordato ES, Drea CM. Seasonality, sociality, and reproduction: Long-term stressors of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta). Hormones and behavior. 2010 Jan;57(1):76–85.
Starling, Anne P., et al. “Seasonality, sociality, and reproduction: Long-term stressors of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta).Hormones and Behavior, vol. 57, no. 1, Jan. 2010, pp. 76–85. Epmc, doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2009.09.016.
Starling AP, Charpentier MJE, Fitzpatrick C, Scordato ES, Drea CM. Seasonality, sociality, and reproduction: Long-term stressors of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta). Hormones and behavior. 2010 Jan;57(1):76–85.
Journal cover image

Published In

Hormones and behavior

DOI

EISSN

1095-6867

ISSN

0018-506X

Publication Date

January 2010

Volume

57

Issue

1

Start / End Page

76 / 85

Related Subject Headings

  • Stress, Physiological
  • Social Environment
  • Social Dominance
  • Sex Factors
  • Sex Characteristics
  • Seasons
  • Reproduction
  • Pregnancy
  • Models, Biological
  • Maternal-Fetal Exchange