Individual marking activities not reflected by respective testosterone levels in male gerbils.
The hormonal regulation of scent marking behavior in the male Mongolian gerbil was studied. Experiment 1 investigated the developmental patterns of testosterone concentration and scent marking. Concurrent serum samples were repeatedly obtained, by venipuncture, from the same individuals that were used for behavior testing. Experiment 2 studied the relationship between testosterone and marking behavior in individual males before and during castration and after testosterone replacement. Repeated blood sampling did not influence body weight and marking activity as compared to the controls. Despite a high correlation between weekly mean measures of testosterone and marking activity during development no such correlation was observed on the individual level. That means that individual testosterone concentrations did not reflect individual differences in marking activity. After castration scent marking activities decreased. Testosterone treatment restored marking activities to the individual maximum levels observed during puberty; however, even high doses of testosterone did not equalize individually different marking activities. It is suggested that the individual levels of behavioral activity are fixed during perinatal development, possibly through the action of testosterone or its metabolites.
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D002369:Castration; D004609:Eliminative Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005849:Gerbillinae / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D012741:Sexual Maturation; D013731:Territoriality; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood* / Q000502:physiology
D013739:Testosterone