Hormonal and Social Determinants of Sexual Behavior in the Pigtail Monkey (Macaca Nemestrina)

Abstract

Ovarian hormones have been recognized as controlling agents for the expression of female sexual behavior in an extremely wide range of animals for many years (1, 2, 3). With few exceptions, sub-primate female mammals demonstrate behavioral patterns during the pre-ovulatory phase of the ovarian cycle which are never shown at any other time. These responses, collectively defined as behavioral estrus, include the display of opisthotonus and/or lordosis in response to the stimulation of a mount, the acceptance of the mount without escape or threat responses, an increase in running behavior and general locomotor activities, and, for several species, the display of mounting behavior by the female. Behavioral estrus begins abruptly in the hours or days immediately preceding ovulation, and normally ends shortly after ovulation (2). At any other time in the ovarian cycle, none of these responses is displayed, and any attempt by the male to mount is met with escape or aggression by the female.