Urinary C-peptide levels in male bonobos (Pan paniscus) are related to party size and rank but not to mate competition |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil;2. Department of Anatomy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-900, Brazil;3. Laboratory of Genetics and Physiology, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA;1. Institute of Biomedical and Environmental Health Research, School of Science and Sport, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, Scotland PA1 2BE, UK;2. School of Life Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland EH14 4AS, UK;3. Center for Environmental Biotechnology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA;4. Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA;5. WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition, Freeby Lane, Waltham-on-the-Wolds, LE14 4RT, Leicestershire, UK;1. Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, SA2 8PP Swansea, UK;2. Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa;3. College of Engineering, Swansea University, SA1 8EN Swansea, UK;4. Endocrinology Laboratory, German Primate Centre, 37077 Göttingen, Germany;1. Department of Biology, Research Group Ethology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, Wilrijk, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium;2. Department of Behavioural Biology, Centre for Behaviour and Neurosciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands;3. Institute for Education and Information Sciences, Research Unit Didactica, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium |
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| Abstract: | Within- and between-species variation in male mating strategies has been attributed to a multitude of factors including male competitive ability and the distribution of fertile females across space and time. Differences in energy balance across and within males allow for the identification of some of the trade-offs associated with certain social and mating strategies. Bonobos live in groups with a high degree of fission–fusion dynamics, there is co-dominance between the sexes and a linear dominance hierarchy among males. Males compete over access to females, breeding is aseasonal, and females exhibit sexual swellings over extended time periods. In this study we use urinary C-peptide (UCP) levels in male bonobos (Pan paniscus) obtained from 260 urine samples from a wild bonobo community, to quantify male energy balance during mate competition and levels of gregariousness in the species. Although high ranking males are more aggressive, spend more time in proximity to maximally tumescent females, and have higher mating frequencies, we found no indication that mate guarding or mate competition affected male energy balance. Our results showed a positive correlation between monthly mean UCP levels and mean party size. When traveling in large parties, high ranking males had higher UCP levels than those of the low ranking males. These results support the hypothesis that patterns of fission–fusion dynamics in bonobos are either linked to energy availability in the environment or to the energetic costs of foraging. The finding of a rank-bias in UCP levels in larger parties could also reflect an increase in contest competition among males over access to food. |
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