cam.issuedOnline	2021-12-17
dc.contributor.author	Drea, Christine M
dc.contributor.author	Davies, Charli S
dc.contributor.author	Greene, Lydia K
dc.contributor.author	Mitchell, Jessica
dc.contributor.author	Blondel, Dimitri V
dc.contributor.author	Shearer, Caroline L
dc.contributor.author	Feldblum, Joseph T
dc.contributor.author	Dimac-Stohl, Kristin A
dc.contributor.author	Smyth-Kabay, Kendra N
dc.contributor.author	Clutton-Brock, Timothy
dc.contributor.orcid	Drea, Christine M [0000-0002-3750-3344]
dc.contributor.orcid	Davies, Charli S [0000-0001-9030-7820]
dc.contributor.orcid	Greene, Lydia K [0000-0002-7693-8826]
dc.contributor.orcid	Shearer, Caroline L [0000-0001-7886-9302]
dc.contributor.orcid	Feldblum, Joseph T [0000-0002-7515-4632]
dc.contributor.orcid	Clutton-Brock, Timothy [0000-0001-8110-8969]
dc.date.accessioned	2022-01-05T16:28:30Z
dc.date.available	2022-01-05T16:28:30Z
dc.date.issued	2021-12-17
dc.date.submitted	2020-12-28
dc.date.updated	2022-01-05T16:28:28Z
dc.description.abstract	Female intrasexual competition can be intense in cooperatively breeding species, with some dominant breeders (matriarchs) limiting reproduction in subordinates via aggression, eviction or infanticide. In males, such tendencies bidirectionally link to testosterone, but in females, there has been little systematic investigation of androgen-mediated behaviour within and across generations. In 22 clans of wild meerkats (Suricata suricatta), we show that matriarchs 1) express peak androgen concentrations during late gestation, 2) when displaying peak feeding competition, dominance behaviour, and evictions, and 3) relative to subordinates, produce offspring that are more aggressive in early development. Late-gestation antiandrogen treatment of matriarchs 4) specifically reduces dominance behaviour, is associated with infrequent evictions, decreases social centrality within the clan, 5) increases aggression in cohabiting subordinate dams, and 6) reduces offspring aggression. These effects implicate androgen-mediated aggression in the operation of female sexual selection, and intergenerational transmission of masculinised phenotypes in the evolution of meerkat cooperative breeding.
dc.identifier.doi	10.17863/CAM.79482
dc.identifier.eissn	2041-1723
dc.identifier.issn	2041-1723
dc.identifier.other	s41467-021-27496-x
dc.identifier.other	27496
dc.identifier.uri	https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/332035
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Springer Science and Business Media LLC
dc.subject	Article
dc.subject	/631/158/856
dc.subject	/631/443/494
dc.subject	/13
dc.subject	article
dc.title	An intergenerational androgenic mechanism of female intrasexual competition in the cooperatively breeding meerkat.
dc.type	Article
dcterms.dateAccepted	2021-11-22
prism.issueIdentifier	1
prism.publicationName	Nat Commun
prism.volume	12
pubs.funder-project-id	European Research Council (294494)
rioxxterms.licenseref.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
rioxxterms.version	VoR
rioxxterms.versionofrecord	10.1038/s41467-021-27496-x

An intergenerational androgenic mechanism of female intrasexual competition in the cooperatively breeding meerkat.

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