Androgen responsiveness to simulated territorial intrusions in Allobates femoralis males: evidence supporting the challenge hypothesis in a territorial frog.

Rodríguez, Camilo; Fusani, Leonida; Raboisson, Gaëlle; Hödl, Walter; Ringler, Eva; Canoine, Virginie (2022). Androgen responsiveness to simulated territorial intrusions in Allobates femoralis males: evidence supporting the challenge hypothesis in a territorial frog. General and comparative endocrinology, 326, p. 114046. Elsevier 10.1016/j.ygcen.2022.114046

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Territoriality has been widely described across many animal taxa, where the acquisition and defence of a territory are critical for the fitness of an individual. Extensive evidence suggests that androgens are involved in the modulation of territorial behaviours in male vertebrates. Short-term increase of androgen following a territorial encounter appears to favour the outcome of a challenge. The "Challenge Hypothesis" proposed by Wingfield and colleagues outlines the existence of a positive feedback relationship between androgen and social challenges (e.g., territorial intrusions) in male vertebrates. Here we tested the challenge hypothesis in the highly territorial poison frog, Allobates femoralis, in its natural habitat by exposing males to simulated territorial intrusions in the form of acoustic playbacks. We quantified repeatedly androgen concentrations of individual males via a non-invasive water-borne sampling approach. Our results show that A. femoralis males exhibited a positive behavioural and androgenic response after being confronted to simulated territorial intrusions, providing support for the Challenge Hypothesis in a territorial frog.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Ecology and Evolution (IEE) > Behavioural Ecology
08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Ecology and Evolution (IEE)

UniBE Contributor:

Ringler, Eva

Subjects:

500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology
500 Science > 590 Animals (Zoology)

ISSN:

0016-6480

Publisher:

Elsevier

Language:

English

Submitter:

Pubmed Import

Date Deposited:

27 Apr 2022 10:17

Last Modified:

02 May 2023 15:08

Publisher DOI:

10.1016/j.ygcen.2022.114046

PubMed ID:

35472315

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Challenge Hypothesis Neotropical poison frog Water-borne androgen androgens territorial response

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/169545

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/169545

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