Socioendocrinology of Cooperative Breeding

9723842 French在哺乳动物中，婴儿护理通常仅限于母亲护理。 然而，在一小部分物种中，父亲和其他群体成员有助于照顾和提供依赖婴儿（分别为父亲和异父母照顾）。 虽然我们对这种照顾的模式了解很多，但很少有人注意到调节母亲以外的个人提供父母照顾的潜在机制。 这项研究将探讨在黑色的簇耳绒猴（Callithrix kuhli）的父母照顾的生理和经验的决定因素。在绒猴中，母亲的努力基本上仅限于哺乳，成年雄性和年长的后代为依赖的婴儿提供大部分护理。 初步观察表明，生活在家庭群体中的年长儿子和父亲在婴儿在场的情况下进行乳房加工，这表明男性在照顾婴儿时参与了内分泌。 通过使用非侵入性行为观察和非侵入性尿液样本收集，French将测试对婴儿的反应性和父母行为水平受性腺类固醇（雌激素，孕酮和睾酮）和垂体肽（催乳素）影响的程度。通过比较绒猴和松鼠猴（非父系种属）对婴儿相关刺激的内分泌反应，检测对婴儿生理反应的一般性或特异性。 此外，男性和女性伴侣之间的社会依恋的强度，被认为是男性父母照顾进化的关键，将通过向配对提供对配对完整性的各种威胁（例如，暂时分离，与陌生人相遇）。 总之，这些项目将提供深入了解的机制，控制响应婴儿和成年人的社会合作伙伴在一个物种的特点是高水平的男性父母照顾和强大的异性恋关系。

9723842 French Among mammals, infant care is commonly limited to maternal care. However, in a small proportion of species, fathers and other group members contribute to the care and provisioning of dependent infants (paternal and alloparental care, respectively). Although we know much about the patterning of this care, little attention has been directed toward the underlying mechanisms that regulate the delivery of parental care by individuals other than the mother. The studies proposed will examine the physiological and experiential determinants of parental care in the black tufted-ear marmoset (Callithrix kuhli). In the marmoset, maternal effort is limited essentially to nursing, and adult males and older offspring provide the majority of care to dependent infants. Initial observations indicate that older sons and fathers living in family groups undergo breast elaboration in the presence of infants, suggesting an endocrine involvement in infant care by males. Through the use of unobtrusive behavioral observations and noninvasive urine sample collection, French will test the degree to which responsiveness to infants and levels of parental behavior are affected by gonadal steroids (estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone) and pituitary peptides (prolactin). The generality or specificity of the physiological responses to infants will be tested by comparing the endocrine responses of both marmosets and squirrel monkeys (a non-paternal species) to infant-associated stimuli. Further, the strength of the social attachment between male and female partners, assumed to be critical for the evolution of male parental care, will be tested by providing pairs with a variety of threats to the integrity of the pair (e.g., temporary separations, encounters with strangers). Together, these projects will provide insights into the mechanisms that control responsiveness to infants and adult social partners in a species characterized by high levels of male parenta l care and strong heterosexual relationships.