Changing social environments such as the birth of young or aggressive encounters present a need to adjust behavior. Previous research examined how long-term changes in steroid hormones mediate these adjustments. We tested the novel concept that the rewarding effects of transient testosterone pulses (T-pulses) in males after social encounters alter their spatial distribution on a territory. In free-living monogamous California mice ( Peromyscus californicus ), males administered three T-injections at the nest spent more time at the nest than males treated with placebo injections. This mimics T-induced place preferences in the laboratory. Female mates of T-treated males spent less time at the nest but the pair produced more vocalizations and call types than controls. Traditionally, transient T-changes were thought to have transient behavioral effects. Our work demonstrates that in the wild, when T-pulses occur in a salient context such as a territory, the behavioral effects last days after T-levels return to baseline.
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Testosterone pulses at the nest site modify ultrasonic vocalization types in a monogamous and territorial mouse
Modulation of baseline testosterone (T) via long‐lasting T implants alters territorial, sexual, and social behavior of animals in the field. Transient T increases occur in numerous species after social interactions, but these transient increases in T have not been manipulated in the field. In the laboratory, these T increases can influence future behavior for days, causing changes in social behavior and inducing preferences for specific locations. We manipulated transient increases in T in the field at the nests of the monogamous and territorial California mouse (
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10244011
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Ethology
- Volume:
- 124
- Issue:
- 11
- ISSN:
- 0179-1613
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 804-815
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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