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Unlike Some Men, Marmoset Fathers Stay Cool |
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| USA: March 17, 2005 | ||
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CHICAGO - Marmosets who are fathers have a muted reaction to sexually available females - an unusual response among primates, scientists said on Wednesday.
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"It is a common notion that males are always interested in sex, regardless of their social status. But this study counters what has been seen in all other primates," said Charles Snowdon, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who oversaw the research on the squirrel-like monkey. Study author Toni Ziegler exposed 30 male marmosets to the scent of ovulating females and found the 15 animals that were fathers had diminished hormonal responses and erections compared to the monkeys who were not fathers. "Marmosets like sex, so we expected all males to be responsive to the scent of a sexually receptive female. Instead, we were surprised to find a muted physiological response in fathers," Ziegler said of the research published in the journal Hormones and Behavior. Marmosets live in groups of between three and a dozen individuals that share parenting responsibilities. Couples are monogamous, producing two sets of twins each year. "I'm tired of all men getting a bad rap for being supposedly promiscuous and irresponsible," Snowdon said. "I'm happy that we've finally found a species where, as parents, both females and males do the heavy lifting."
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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