The hormonal response of female European Stonechats to a territorial intrusion: the role of the male partner

Abstract

In many bird species, the female participates in defending a pair's breeding territory, however, the endocrine control mechanism of female aggressive behavior is largely unknown. The general statement that androgens are involved in the regulation of aggressive behavior is based on studies conducted only in males. Here, we tested whether paired female stonechats show a hormonal response to a simulated male territorial intruder. Since in males of territorial bird species androgen levels usually increase following a male–male encounter, we measured androgen-levels before and after a simulated male intrusion. In addition, we measured estradiol, the main gonadal hormone in females, and corticosterone, a stress hormone. The results show that a male intruder does not affect any of the measured hormones in females. In a second experiment, we also tested whether the endocrine state of the male partner affects the hormonal response of females to a male intruder by comparing the hormonal response of females paired with pharmacologically castrated males and females paired with control males. Females paired with pharmacologically castrated males had lower corticosterone levels both before and after the intrusion than females paired with control males. Additionally, in both groups, female corticosterone levels were increased following a male intrusion. We suggest that the differences found between females paired with pharmacologically castrated males and females paired with control males are due to differences in intra-pair interactions.