Nature Communications (Dec 2021)

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

  • Christine M. Drea,
  • Charli S. Davies,
  • Lydia K. Greene,
  • Jessica Mitchell,
  • Dimitri V. Blondel,
  • Caroline L. Shearer,
  • Joseph T. Feldblum,
  • Kristin A. Dimac-Stohl,
  • Kendra N. Smyth-Kabay,
  • Tim H. Clutton-Brock

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27496-x
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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‘In some mammals, matriarchal status can be conferred with androgens. Here, the authors identify effects of androgens that implicate androgen-mediated aggression in female sexual selection in meerkats and intergenerational transmission of masculinised phenotypes in the evolution of meerkat cooperative breeding.’