Les Relations Sociales Chez Le Cobaye Domestique Male

Coulon, JM

doi:10.1163/156853975x00191

Cited by 11 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Dominance relations were calculated based on recorded frequencies of retreat (see Table 1 ), because this behavioral pattern is the most reliable indicator of subdominance in guinea pigs [ 47 ] . Following [ 48 ], the subject’s rank was determined by means of an index based on the ratio between the number of agonistic encounters that caused a retreat of the partner animal ( Ag + ) divided by all agonistic encounters that caused a retreat of the partner animal ( Ag + ) as well as of the subject ( Ag − ): …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the early social environment prepare individuals for the future? A match-mismatch experiment in female wild cavies

et al. 2018

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BackgroundThe social environment that mothers experience during pregnancy and lactation has a strong effect on the developing offspring. Whether offspring can be adaptively shaped to match an environment that is similar to the maternal one is still a major question in research. Our previous work in wild cavies showed that females whose mothers lived in a stable social environment with few social challenges during pregnancy and lactation (SE-daughters) developed different behavioral phenotypes than females whose mothers lived in an unstable social environment with frequent social challenges during pregnancy and lactation (UE-daughters). In the present study we investigated whether SE-daughters are better adapted to a stable social environment, similar to their maternal one, than are UE-daughters, for which the stable social environment represents a mismatch with their maternal one. For this purpose, we established pairs of one UE- and one SE-daughter and housed them together under stable social conditions for one week. Dominance ranks, behavioral profiles, glucocorticoid levels, cortisol responsiveness and body weight changes were compared between the groups. We hypothesized that SE-daughters fare better in a stable social setting compared to UE-daughters.ResultsAfter one week of cohabitation in the stable social condition, UE-daughters had higher glucocorticoid levels, tended to gain less body weight within the first three days and displayed higher frequencies of energy-demanding behaviors such as rearing and digging than SE-daughters. However, there was no difference in cortisol responsiveness as well as in dominance ranks between UE- and SE-daughters.ConclusionHigher glucocorticoid levels and less body weight gain imply that UE-daughters had higher energy demands than SE-daughters. This high energy demand of UE-daughters is further indicated by the increased display of rearing and digging behavior. Rearing implies increased vigilance, which is far too energy demanding in a stable social condition but may confer an advantage in an unstable social environment. Hence, SE-daughters seem to better match a stable social environment, similar to their maternal one, than do UE-daughters, who encountered a mismatch to their maternal environment. This data supports the environmental matching hypothesis, stating that individuals manage the best in environments that correspond to their maternal ones.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the early social environment prepare individuals for the future? A match-mismatch experiment in female wild cavies

et al. 2018

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Short-term effects of residence on the testosterone responses to fighting in alpha male guinea pigs

Sachser

Pröve

1984

Aggr. Behav.

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The short‐term effects on testosterone (T) levels of (a) taking blood samples, (h) fighting in one's own home cage, and (c) fighting in another male's home cage were examined in eight alpha male guinea pigs, each living together with two females and two subordinate males in their home cages for 4 months. Every male was given two 5‐minute agonistic encounters, one in his home cage and one in another male's home cage. After the encounter, intruder males were returned to their home cages. Three blood samples were taken 10 minutes before and 5 and 45 minutes after the agonistic encounters (sampling times were designated as 0, 20, and 60 minutes, respectively). One week before the agonistic encounters were conducted, blood samples were taken from each male on the same time schedule (0, 20, and 60 minutes). The main findings were as follows: (1) the animals showed an increase in T‐levels after an agonistic encounter in their home cages and a decline in T‐levels after an agonistic encounter in the home cages of other alpha males' irrespective of being the winner or the loser and the degree of escalation during the encounter; (2) the smaller the differences in T‐titers between both opponents 10 minutes before the encounter, the more escalated the agonistic encounter.

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Spacing patterns in a colony of guinea pigs: Predictability from environmental and social factors

Fuchs

1980

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Les Relations Sociales Chez Le Cobaye Domestique Male

Cited by 11 publications

References 0 publications

Does the early social environment prepare individuals for the future? A match-mismatch experiment in female wild cavies

Does the early social environment prepare individuals for the future? A match-mismatch experiment in female wild cavies

Short-term effects of residence on the testosterone responses to fighting in alpha male guinea pigs

Spacing patterns in a colony of guinea pigs: Predictability from environmental and social factors

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