Socioendocrinology of Cooperative Breeding

9723842法国人在哺乳动物中，婴儿护理通常仅限于产妇护理。然而，在一小部分物种中，父亲和其他群体成员负责照料和提供被依赖的婴儿(分别是父性照料和异地照料)。虽然我们对这种照顾的模式了解很多，但很少有人注意到由母亲以外的个人提供父母照顾的潜在机制。建议的研究将检验黑色簇耳绒猴(Callithrix Kuhli)父母照顾的生理和经验决定因素。在绒猴中，母亲的努力基本上限于哺育，成年雄性和年长的后代为依赖的婴儿提供大部分照顾。初步观察表明，家庭中的大儿子和父亲在婴儿在场的情况下进行乳房精加工，这表明男性参与了婴儿的内分泌护理。通过使用非侵入性的行为观察和非侵入性尿样采集，法国人将测试性腺类固醇(雌激素、孕激素和睾酮)和脑垂体肽(催乳素)对婴儿的反应和父母行为水平的影响程度。对婴儿的生理反应的一般性或特异性将通过比较绒猴和松鼠猴子(一种非父系物种)对婴儿相关刺激的内分泌反应来测试。此外，男性和女性伴侣之间的社会依恋的强度被认为对男性父母照顾的演变至关重要，将通过向伴侣提供对其完整性的各种威胁(例如，临时分居、与陌生人相遇)来测试。总之，这些项目将为控制对婴儿和成年社交伙伴的反应的机制提供见解，在这个物种中，男性父母L的关爱水平很高，异性关系也很强。

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.