Female-induced pregnancy block in the golden hamster.
Recently mated female golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) were paired with 12-day pregnant animals for three 10-min periods on 3 consecutive days. Pregnancy success was significantly reduced among subordinate recently mated females whereas litter size was significantly reduced among subordinate 12-day pregnant females. Additional results indicated that physical contact--specifically, defeat by another female--was necessary for blocking to occur. The use of relatively short exposure periods suggests that this effect could occur in the wild.
D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D000818:Animals; D006224:Cricetinae; D004291:Dominance-Subordination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008098:Litter Size; D008647:Mesocricetus; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal; D012930:Social Dominance; D012931:Social Environment