Loreto A Correa, Antonia Aspillaga-Cid, Cecilia León, Carolyn M Bauer, Juan Ramírez-Estrada, Loren D Hayes, Mauricio Soto-Gamboa, Luis A Ebensperger
Testosterone is known as a "male" hormone; however, females also synthetize testosterone, which influences female sexual and aggressive behavior. In female vertebrates, as in males, testosterone levels can vary seasonally. However, female testosterone levels may also be related with female anogenital distance (AGD) length phenotype (a proxy of prenatal androgen exposure), and the social group environment. We used data from a long-term rodent study (2009-2019) in a natural population of degus (Octodon degus) to examine the potential associations between female serum testosterone levels, season, female AGD phenotype, and social group composition...
January 30, 2024: Hormones and Behavior