title: A testosterone-mediated trade-off between parental and sexual effort in male mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus).
abstract: Effects of testosterone (T) on parental behavior of male Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) were examined. After undergoing gonadectomy, castrated males were implanted with empty capsules or capsules containing T; sham-operated males were implanted with empty Silastic capsules. Subsequently, each male was paired with a pregnant female, and after delivery, families were observed 15 min/day for 20 days. Gonadectomized males without T spent more time in contact with, huddling over, and licking pups than did either sham-operated males or gonadectomized males with T. When given a choice between nest sites and displaced pups, females and males with low T preferred pups, whereas intact males and castrated males with T preferred nest sites. The findings are consistent with E. D. Ketterson and V. Nolan's (1994) hypothesis implicating T in mediating trade-offs between parental and sexual effort.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. mclark@mcmaster.ca
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: B G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Galef
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D002369:Castration; D005260:Female; D005849:Gerbillinae; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D009425:Nesting Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011897:Random Allocation; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D013739:Testosterone