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Healy, S.D.; Braham, S.R.; Braithwaite, V.A. |
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Title |
Spatial working memory in rats: no differences between the sexes |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
1999 |
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Proceedings. Biological Sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
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Volume |
266 |
Issue |
1435 |
Pages |
2303-2308 |
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Keywords |
Animals; Estrus/metabolism; Female; Male; Memory/*physiology; Rats; Sex Factors; Swimming |
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Abstract |
In a number of mammalian species, males appear to have superior spatial abilities to females. The favoured explanations for this cognitive difference are hormonal, with higher testosterone levels in males than females leading to better spatial performance, and evolutionary, where sexual selection has favoured males with increased spatial abilities for either better navigational skills in hunting or to enable an increased territory size. However, an alternative explanation for this sex difference focuses on the role of varying levels of oestrogen in females in spatial cognition (the 'fertility and parental care' hypothesis). One possibility is that varying oestrogen levels result in variation in spatial learning and memory so that, when tested across the oestrous cycle, females perform as well as males on days of low oestrogen but more poorly on days of high oestrogen. If day in the oestrous cycle is not taken into account then, across an experiment, any sex differences found would always produce male superiority. We used a spatial working memory task in a Morris water maze to test the spatial learning and memory abilities of male and female rats. The rats were tested across a number of consecutive days during which the females went through four oestrous cycles. We found no overall sex differences in latencies to reach a submerged platform in a Morris water maze but, on the day of oestrus (low oestrogen), females took an extra swim to learn the platform's location (a 100% increase over the other days in the cycle). Female swim speed also varied across the oestrous cycle but females were no less active on the day of oestrus. These results oppose the predictions of the fertility and parental care hypothesis. |
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Department of Psychology, University of Newcastle, UK. s.healey@ed.ac.uk |
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0962-8452 |
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PMID:10629980 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2818 |
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Author |
Peake, T.M.; Terry, A.M.; McGregor, P.K.; Dabelsteen, T. |
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Title |
Male great tits eavesdrop on simulated male-to-male vocal interactions |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2001 |
Publication |
Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
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Volume |
268 |
Issue |
1472 |
Pages |
1183-1187 |
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Keywords |
Animals; Male; Songbirds/*physiology; *Vocalization, Animal |
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Animal communication generally occurs in the environment of a network of several potential signallers and receivers. Within a network environment, it is possible to gain relative information about conspecifics by eavesdropping on signalling interactions. We presented male great tits with the opportunity to gain such information by simulating singing interactions using two loudspeakers. Interactions were presented so that relevant information was not available in the absolute singing behaviour of either individual, only in the relative timing of their songs in the interaction as a whole. We then assayed the information extracted by focal males by subsequently introducing one of the 'interactants' (i.e. loudspeakers) into the territory of the focal male. Focal males responded with a reduced song output to males that had just 'lost' an interaction. Focal males did not respond significantly differently to 'winners' as compared with intruders recently involved in an interaction that contained no consistent information. Focal males also responded by switching song types more often when encountering males that had recently been involved in a low-intensity interaction. These results provide the clearest evidence yet that male songbirds extract information from signal interactions between conspecifics in the field. |
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Department of Animal Behaviour, Zoological Institute, Tagensvej 16, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark. tmpeake@zi.ku.dk |
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0962-8452 |
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PMID:11375107 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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712 |
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Fischer, J.; Cheney, D.L.; Seyfarth, R.M. |
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Title |
Development of infant baboons' responses to graded bark variants |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2000 |
Publication |
Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
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Volume |
267 |
Issue |
1459 |
Pages |
2317-2321 |
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Keywords |
*Animal Communication; Animals; Behavior, Animal; Female; Male; Models, Psychological; Papio/growth & development/*physiology; *Vocalization, Animal |
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Abstract |
We studied the development of infant baboons' (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) responses to conspecific 'barks' in a free-ranging population in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. These barks grade from tonal, harmonically rich calls into calls with a more noisy, harsh structure. Typically, tonal variants are given when the signaller is at risk of losing contact with the group or a particular individual ('contact barks'), whereas harsh variants are given in response to predators ('alarm barks'). We conducted focal observations and playback experiments in which we presented variants of barks recorded from resident adult females. By six months of age, infants reliably discriminated between typical alarm and contact barks and they responded more strongly to intermediate alarm calls than to typical contact barks. Infants of six months and older also recognized their mothers by voice. The ability to discriminate between different call variants developed with increasing age. At two and a half months of age, infants failed to respond at all, whereas at four months they responded irrespective of the call type that was presented. At six months, infants showed adult-like responses by responding strongly to alarm barks but ignoring contact barks. We concluded that infants gradually learn to attach the appropriate meaning to alarm and contact barks. |
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Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 3815 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. fischerj@eva.mpg.de |
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0962-8452 |
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PMID:11413649 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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694 |
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Author |
Earley, R.L.; Dugatkin, L.A. |
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Title |
Eavesdropping on visual cues in green swordtail (Xiphophorus helleri) fights: a case for networking |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
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269 |
Issue |
1494 |
Pages |
943-952 |
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Keywords |
*Aggression; Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Cyprinodontiformes; Female; Male |
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Abstract |
Aggressive contests probably occur in networking environments where information about fighting ability is conveyed both to an opponent and to individuals peripheral to the fight itself, the bystanders. Our primary aim was to investigate the relative influences of eavesdropping and prior social experience on the dynamics of aggressive contests in Xiphophorus helleri. A bystander's ability to witness an encounter was manipulated using clear, one-way mirror, and opaque partitions. After watching (or not watching) the initial contest, the bystander encountered either the winner or loser of the bout. Treatment comparisons of bystander-winner or bystander-loser contest dynamics indicated the presence or absence of winner, loser, or eavesdropping effects. Winner and loser effects had negligible influences on bystander contest dynamics. Eavesdropping significantly reduced the bystander's propensity to initiate aggression, escalate, and win against seen winners regardless of whether the watched bout had escalated or not. Though eavesdropping had relatively little effect on bystander-loser contest dynamics, bystanders were less prone to initiate aggression and win against losers that had escalated in the witnessed bout. Thus, bystanders appear to preferentially retain and utilize information gained about potentially dangerous opponents (winners or persistent losers). Our data lend clear support for the importance of eavesdropping in visually based aggressive signalling systems. |
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Department of Biology, Life Science, Room 139, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA. rlearl01@athena.louisville.edu |
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0962-8452 |
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PMID:12028778 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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498 |
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Author |
Peake, T.M.; Terry, A.M.R.; McGregor, P.K.; Dabelsteen, T. |
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Title |
Do great tits assess rivals by combining direct experience with information gathered by eavesdropping? |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
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Volume |
269 |
Issue |
1503 |
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1925-1929 |
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Aggression; *Animal Communication; Animals; Male; Songbirds/*physiology; Territoriality; *Vocalization, Animal |
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Abstract |
Animals frequently use signals that travel further than the spacing between individuals. For every intended recipient of a given signal there are likely to be many other individuals that receive information. Eavesdropping on signalling interactions between other individuals provides a relatively cost-free method of assessing future opponents or mates. Male great tits (Parus major) extract relative information from such interactions between individuals unknown to them. Here, we show that male great tits can take information gathering a stage further and obtain more information about a previously unencountered intruder, by the hitherto unknown capability of combining information gathered by eavesdropping with that derived from their own direct interaction with an individual. Prior experience with an intruder (A) was achieved by subjecting a focal male to different levels of intrusion simulated using interactive playback. This intruder (A) then took part in a simulated interaction with an unknown male (B) outside the territorial boundary of the focal males. In response to subsequent intrusion by the second male (B), focal males showed low song output in response to males that had lost to a male that the subject was able to beat. Males of known high quality, or those about which information was ambiguous, elicited a high level of song output by focal males. We discuss the implications of this finding for the evolution of communication and social behaviour. |
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Department of Animal Behaviour, Zoological Institute, Copenhagen University, Tagensvej 16, DK 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark. tmpeake@zi.ku.uk |
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0962-8452 |
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PMID:12350255 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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501 |
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Author |
Drent, P.J.; van Oers, K.; van Noordwijk, A.J. |
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Title |
Realized heritability of personalities in the great tit (Parus major) |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
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Volume |
270 |
Issue |
1510 |
Pages |
45-51 |
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Keywords |
Aggression; Animals; Animals, Domestic; Animals, Wild; *Behavior, Animal; Breeding; Exploratory Behavior; Female; *Heredity; Male; Selection (Genetics); Songbirds/*genetics/*physiology; Variation (Genetics) |
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Abstract |
Behaviour under conditions of mild stress shows consistent patterns in all vertebrates: exploratory behaviour, boldness, aggressiveness covary in the same way. The existence of highly consistent individual variation in these behavioural strategies, also referred to as personalities or coping styles, allows us to measure the behaviour under standardized conditions on birds bred in captivity, link the standardized measurements to the behaviour under natural conditions and measure natural selection in the field. We have bred the great tit (Parus major), a classical model species for the study of behaviour under natural conditions, in captivity. Here, we report a realized heritability of 54 +/- 5% for early exploratory behaviour, based on four generations of bi-directional artificial selection. In addition to this, we measured hand-reared juveniles and their wild-caught parents in the laboratory. The heritability found in the mid-offspring-mid-parent regression was significantly different from zero. We have thus established the presence of considerable amounts of genetic variation for personality types in a wild bird. |
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Netherlands Institute of Ecology, PO Box 40, 6666 ZG Heteren, The Netherlands. drent@cto.nioo.knaw.nl |
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PMID:12590770 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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591 |
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Author |
Brilot, B.O.; Johnstone, R.A. |
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Title |
The limits to cost-free signalling of need between relatives |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
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Volume |
270 |
Issue |
1519 |
Pages |
1055-1060 |
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*Animal Communication; Animals; Birds/physiology; Models, Biological; *Social Behavior |
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Theoretical models have demonstrated the possibility of stable cost-free signalling of need between relatives. The stability of these cost-free equilibria depends on the indirect fitness cost of cheating and deceiving a donor into giving away resources. We show that this stability is highly sensitive to the distribution of need among signallers and receivers. In particular, cost-free signalling is likely to prove stable only if there is very large variation in need (such that the least-needy individuals stand to gain much less than the most-needy individuals from additional resources). We discuss whether these conditions are likely to be found in altricial avian breeding systems--the most intensively studied instance of signalling of need between relatives. We suggest that cost-free signalling is more likely to prove stable and will provide parents with more information during the earlier phases of chick growth, when parents can more easily meet the demands of a brood (and chicks are more likely to reach satiation). Later, informative yet cost-free signalling is unlikely to persist. |
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Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK. bob21@cam.ac.uk |
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0962-8452 |
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PMID:12803895 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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558 |
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Dugatkin, L.A.; Godin, J.G. |
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Title |
Reversal of female mate choice by copying in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata) |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
1992 |
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Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
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249 |
Issue |
1325 |
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179-184 |
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Acclimatization; Animals; *Choice Behavior; Female; Male; Poecilia; *Sexual Behavior, Animal |
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Ever since Fisher (1958) formalized models of sexual selection, female mate choice has been assumed to be a genetically determined trait. Females, however, may also use social cues to select mates. One such cue might be the mate choice of conspecifics. Here we report the first direct evidence that a female's preference for a particular male can in fact be reversed by social cues. In our experiments using the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata), this reversal was mediated by mate-copying opportunities, such that a female (the 'focal' female) is given the opportunity to choose between two males, followed by a period in which she observes a second female (the 'model' female) displaying a preference for the male she herself did not prefer initially. When allowed to choose between the same males a second time, compared with control tests, a significant proportion of focal females reversed their mate choice and copied the preference of the model female. These results provide strong evidence for the role of non-genetic factors in sexual selection and underlie the need for new models of sexual selection that explicitly incorporate both genetic and cultural aspects of mate choice. |
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Department of Biology, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada |
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0962-8452 |
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PMID:1360679 |
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1824 |
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Author |
Cameron, E.Z. |
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Facultative adjustment of mammalian sex ratios in support of the Trivers-Willard hypothesis: evidence for a mechanism |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2004 |
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Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
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Volume |
271 |
Issue |
1549 |
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1723-1728 |
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Age Factors; Animals; Body Constitution; *Evolution; Female; Glucose/metabolism/physiology; Litter Size; Male; Mammals/*physiology; *Models, Biological; Reproduction/physiology; Seasons; Sex Factors; *Sex Ratio; Time Factors |
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Evolutionary theory predicts that mothers of different condition should adjust the birth sex ratio of their offspring in relation to future reproductive benefits. Published studies addressing variation in mammalian sex ratios have produced surprisingly contradictory results. Explaining the source of such variation has been a challenge for sex-ratio theory, not least because no mechanism for sex-ratio adjustment is known. I conducted a meta-analysis of previous mammalian sex-ratio studies to determine if there are any overall patterns in sex-ratio variation. The contradictory nature of previous results was confirmed. However, studies that investigated indices of condition around conception show almost unanimous support for the prediction that mothers in good condition bias their litters towards sons. Recent research on the role of glucose in reproductive functioning have shown that excess glucose favours the development of male blastocysts, providing a potential mechanism for sex-ratio variation in relation to maternal condition around conception. Furthermore, many of the conflicting results from studies on sex-ratio adjustment would be explained if glucose levels in utero during early cell division contributed to the determination of offspring sex ratios. |
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Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa. ezcameron@zoology.up.ac.za |
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PMID:15306293 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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413 |
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Brosnan, S.F.; Schiff, H.C.; de Waal, F.B.M. |
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Tolerance for inequity may increase with social closeness in chimpanzees |
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Journal Article |
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2005 |
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Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
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272 |
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1560 |
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253-258 |
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Analysis of Variance; Animals; *Attitude; Group Processes; Pan troglodytes/*psychology; Reward; *Social Behavior; Socioeconomic Factors |
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Economic decision-making depends on our social environment. Humans tend to respond differently to inequity in close relationships, yet we know little about the potential for such variation in other species. We examine responses to inequity in several groups of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in a paradigm similar to that used previously in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). We demonstrate that, like capuchin monkeys, chimpanzees show a response to inequity of rewards that is based upon the partner receiving the reward rather than the presence of the reward alone. However, we also found a great amount of variation between groups tested, indicating that chimpanzees, like people, respond to inequity in a variable manner, which we speculate could be caused by such variables as group size, the social closeness of the group (as reflected in length of time that the group has been together) and group-specific traditions. |
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Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, 954 North Gatewood Drive, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA. sbrosna@emory.edu |
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PMID:15705549 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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169 |
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