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dc.contributor.authorBates, Lucy
dc.contributor.authorHandford, R
dc.contributor.authorLee, P C
dc.contributor.authorNjiraini, N
dc.contributor.authorPoole, J H
dc.contributor.authorSayialel, K
dc.contributor.authorSayialel, S
dc.contributor.authorMoss, C J
dc.contributor.authorByrne, Richard William
dc.date.accessioned2010-11-22T10:39:26Z
dc.date.available2010-11-22T10:39:26Z
dc.date.issued2010-04
dc.identifier481098
dc.identifiercf48ff0b-9cca-4998-8739-2a7d7209a06d
dc.identifier77956321763
dc.identifier000276454000012
dc.identifier.citationBates , L , Handford , R , Lee , P C , Njiraini , N , Poole , J H , Sayialel , K , Sayialel , S , Moss , C J & Byrne , R W 2010 , ' Why do African elephants ( Loxodonta africana ) simulate oestrus? An analysis of longitudinal data ' , PLoS One , vol. 5 , no. 4 , pp. e10052 . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0010052en
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.otherstandrews_research_output: 32663
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0001-9862-9373/work/60630568
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10023/1396
dc.description.abstractFemale African elephants signal oestrus via chemicals in their urine, but they also exhibit characteristic changes to their posture, gait and behaviour when sexually receptive. Free-ranging females visually signal receptivity by holding their heads and tails high, walking with an exaggerated gait, and displaying increased tactile behaviour towards males. Parous females occasionally exhibit these visual signals at times when they are thought not to be cycling and without attracting interest from musth males. Using demographic and behavioural records spanning a continuous 28-year period, we investigated the occurrence of this “simulated” oestrus behaviour. We show that parous females in the Amboseli elephant population do simulate receptive oestrus behaviours, and this false oestrus occurs disproportionately in the presence of naïve female kin who are observed coming into oestrus for the first time. We compare several alternative hypotheses for the occurrence of this simulation: 1) false oestrus has no functional purpose (e.g., it merely results from abnormal hormonal changes); 2) false oestrus increases the reproductive success of the simulating female, by inducing sexual receptivity; and 3) false oestrus increases the inclusive fitness of the simulating female, either by increasing the access of related females to suitable males, or by encouraging appropriate oestrus behaviours from female relatives who are not responding correctly to males. Although the observed data do not fully conform to the predictions of any of these hypotheses, we rule out the first two, and tentatively suggest that parous females most likely exhibit false oestrus behaviours in order to demonstrate to naïve relatives at whom to direct their behaviour.
dc.format.extent6
dc.format.extent174101
dc.language.isoeng
dc.relation.ispartofPLoS Oneen
dc.subjectQL Zoologyen
dc.subject.lccQLen
dc.titleWhy do African elephants (Loxodonta africana) simulate oestrus? : An analysis of longitudinal dataen
dc.typeJournal articleen
dc.contributor.sponsorThe Leverhulme Trusten
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. School of Psychology and Neuroscienceen
dc.identifier.doi10.1371/journal.pone.0010052
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.identifier.urlhttp://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77956321763&partnerID=8YFLogxKen
dc.identifier.grantnumberF/00 268/Wen


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