Variation in testosterone levels and male reproductive effort: Insight from a polygynous human population

被引:103
作者
Alvergne, Alexandra [1 ,2 ]
Faurie, Charlotte [2 ,3 ]
Raymond, Michel [2 ]
机构
[1] Univ Montpellier 2, Inst Sci Evoult, UMR 5554, F-34095 Montpellier 05, France
[2] CNRS, Inst Sci Evolut, F-34095 Montpellier 5, France
[3] Univ Sheffield, Dept Anim & Plant Sci, Sheffield S10 2TN, S Yorkshire, England
关键词
Humans; Parenting effort; Mating effort; Testosterone; Polygyny; SALIVARY TESTOSTERONE; BODY-COMPOSITION; PATERNAL INVESTMENT; STEROID-HORMONES; MEN; CARE; MARRIAGE; RESPONSES; AGE;
D O I
10.1016/j.yhbeh.2009.07.013
中图分类号
B84 [心理学]; C [社会科学总论]; Q98 [人类学];
学科分类号
03 ; 0303 ; 030303 ; 04 ; 0402 ;
摘要
Recent evidence suggests that, in humans, variations in testosterone (T) levels between men reflect their differential allocation in mating versus parenting efforts. However, most studies have been conducted in urbanized, monogamous populations, making generalizations from them questionable. This study addresses the question of whether indicators of male reproductive effort are associated with variations in salivary T levels in a polygynous population of agriculturists in rural Senegal. We first show that pair-bonding and/or transition to fatherhood is associated with T profiles: married fathers (N = 53) have lower morning and afternoon T levels than unmarried non-fathers (N = 28). Second, among fathers, individual differences in parenting effort, as well as variations in mating effort, predict morning T levels. Indeed, men highly investing in parental care show lower morning T levels. Moreover, among men under 50, polygynous men show higher morning T levels than monogamous men. Taken together with previous results in monogamous settings, these findings suggest that the endocrine regulation of reproductive effort is probably a general feature of human populations. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
引用
收藏
页码:491 / 497
页数:7
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