Mother is not like mother: concurrent pregnancy reduces lactating guinea pigs' responsiveness to pup calls

TY - JOUR

T1 - Mother is not like mother: concurrent pregnancy reduces lactating guinea pigs' responsiveness to pup calls

AU - Naguib, M.

AU - Kober, M.

AU - Trillmich, F.

N1 - Reporting year: 2010 Metis note: 4661;CTE; AnE ; AnE; file:///L:/Endnotedatabases/NIOOPUB/pdfs/PDFS2010\Naguib_ea_4661.pdf

PY - 2010

Y1 - 2010

N2 - Offspring signalling can serve to communicate need to the parents and thus influence parental readiness to provide care. Offspring stimuli that affect parental care have been investigated extensively. Yet much less is known about the mechanisms leading to a decline in maternal motivation when conflicts of provisioning current and future offspring may arise. Here we tested responses by pregnant and non-pregnant female guinea pigs (Cavia aperea f. porcellus) to playback of pup calls during their period of lactation for dependent offspring. Most concurrently pregnant and lactating females did not respond to pup calls, whereas non-pregnant lactating females responded strongly. Our findings expand on previous studies by showing that female behavioural responsiveness to pup stimuli is strongly reduced by concurrent pregnancy and lactation. These instantaneous measurements of female responsiveness to young show more directly than standard measures like nursing performance or time to weaning how female motivation to care for current offspring is diminished by simultaneous gestation.

AB - Offspring signalling can serve to communicate need to the parents and thus influence parental readiness to provide care. Offspring stimuli that affect parental care have been investigated extensively. Yet much less is known about the mechanisms leading to a decline in maternal motivation when conflicts of provisioning current and future offspring may arise. Here we tested responses by pregnant and non-pregnant female guinea pigs (Cavia aperea f. porcellus) to playback of pup calls during their period of lactation for dependent offspring. Most concurrently pregnant and lactating females did not respond to pup calls, whereas non-pregnant lactating females responded strongly. Our findings expand on previous studies by showing that female behavioural responsiveness to pup stimuli is strongly reduced by concurrent pregnancy and lactation. These instantaneous measurements of female responsiveness to young show more directly than standard measures like nursing performance or time to weaning how female motivation to care for current offspring is diminished by simultaneous gestation.

U2 - 10.1016/j.beproc.2009.10.005

DO - 10.1016/j.beproc.2009.10.005

M3 - Article

SN - 0376-6357

VL - 83

SP - 79

EP - 81

JO - Behavioural Processes

JF - Behavioural Processes

IS - 1

ER -