Deficit in reproduction in polygynously mated females of the monogamous mound-building mouse Mus spicilegus
Patrick Gouat A B and Christophe Féron A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Laboratoire d’Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée, Université Paris Nord, UMR CNRS 7153, 99, avenue Jean Baptiste Clément, 93430 Villetaneuse, France.
B Corresponding author. Email: patrick.gouat@leec.univ-paris13.fr
Reproduction, Fertility and Development 17(6) 617-623 https://doi.org/10.1071/RD05042
Submitted: 4 April 2005 Accepted: 10 May 2005 Published: 1 July 2005
Abstract
In monogamous mound-building mice Mus spicilegus, facultative polygyny was observed in April, at the beginning of the reproductive season. In order to evaluate the cost of polygyny, we compared, under laboratory conditions, the reproductive success of trios and pairs composed of sister females mated with unrelated brother males. Females in trios were able to tolerate each other during the reproductive period and to reproduce with the same male under spatial constraints. Nevertheless, polygyny had a strong negative effect on the reproductive success of the females. The average number of young per litter was smaller in trio females than in paired females, whereas the interval between two successive litters was higher. As a result, the number of litters and the number of young per time unit were smaller in each of the trio females compared with paired females. Agonistic behaviour being absent in trios, our results strongly suggest that living in trios led to pheromonal production that affected the female physiological state and reproduction. Males of trios did not obtain a better reproductive success than males in pairs.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Claude Baudoin and Nicolas Busquet for their critical reading of the manuscript, Lavinia Bruneau for revision of the English version of the manuscript, and Simone Demouron for excellent care of animals.
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