Brockman D K, Whitten P L, Richard A F, Schneider A
Department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 1998 Feb;105(2):137-51. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199802)105:2<137::AID-AJPA3>3.0.CO;2-S.
Endocrine studies of captive strepsirrhine primates suggest that physical environment and social factors mediate inter-individual variations in testicular function and serum testosterone (sT) in males. While these studies have made major contributions to our understanding of the individual proximate mechanisms influencing androgen activity in male strepsirrhines, none have investigated how these mechanisms work coincidentally in free-ranging populations. In this study we used fecal steroid analysis to examine androgen-behavior interactions associated with reproduction in free-ranging male Propithecus verreauxi. Behavioral and hormone data were collected from two social groups during the 1990-91 and 1991-92 breeding seasons at Beza Mahafaly, Madagascar. Solid phase and radioimmunoassay techniques were used to quantify testosterone (T) in 105 desiccated fecal samples collected weekly from seven males. Results suggest that 1) solid phase extraction and radioimmunoassay techniques were reliable and accurate methods for quantifying T in sifaka feces; 2) fecal T (fT) elevations spanned a minimum of 4 months, peak levels occurring 1 month prior to the January onset of the breeding season; 3) fecal T concentrations were influenced by developmental factors and, among mature males, social factors associated with rank, intergroup aggression, and group instability.
对圈养的狐猴型灵长类动物进行的内分泌研究表明，物理环境和社会因素可调节雄性个体睾丸功能和血清睾酮（sT）的个体间差异。虽然这些研究为我们理解影响雄性狐猴型灵长类动物雄激素活性的个体近因机制做出了重大贡献，但尚无研究调查这些机制在野生种群中是如何协同发挥作用的。在本研究中，我们使用粪便类固醇分析来研究与野生维氏冕狐猴繁殖相关的雄激素 - 行为相互作用。行为和激素数据是在1990 - 91年和1991 - 92年繁殖季节期间，从马达加斯加贝扎马哈法利的两个社会群体中收集的。采用固相萃取和放射免疫分析技术，对每周从7只雄性个体收集的105份干燥粪便样本中的睾酮（T）进行定量分析。结果表明：1）固相萃取和放射免疫分析技术是定量测定狐猴粪便中T的可靠且准确的方法；2）粪便T（fT）升高至少持续4个月，峰值出现在1月份繁殖季节开始前1个月；3）粪便T浓度受发育因素影响，在成年雄性中，还受与等级、群体间攻击行为和群体稳定性相关的社会因素影响。
