Androgen-mediated maternal effects and trade-offs: postnatal hormone development, growth, and survivorship in wild meerkats
Maternal effects thus impact offspring development in meerkats, with associated trade-offs: Whereas prenatal androgens modify postnatal reproductive and somatic physiology, benefits associated with enhanced competitiveness in DC lineages may have initial costs of reduced IGF-1, delay in weight gain, and decreased survivorship. These novel data further confirm the different evolutionary and mechanistic pathways to cooperative breeding and call for greater consideration of natural endocrine variation in both sexes.
Authors
- Christine M. Drea (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3750-3344)
- Jessica Mitchell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2892-4630)
- Charli S. Davies (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9030-7820)
- Caroline L. Shearer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7886-9302)
- Tim Clutton‐Brock (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8110-8969)
- Debbie A. Walsh
- Vivian C. Goerlich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8586-4435)
- Lydia K. Greene (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7693-8826)
Institutions
- Duke University (US)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Kalahari Meerkat Project (ZA)
- University of Pretoria (ZA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Endocrinology
- Published
- 2024-09-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2024.1418056
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Reproductive Physiology in Livestock
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.27