Intrauterine positions and testosterone levels of adult male gerbils are correlated

Abstract

Those male Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) that developed in intrauterine positions between two male fetuses had significantly higher levels of serum testosterone, as adults, than did those adult male gerbils that developed in intrauterine positions between two female fetuses. The endogenous testosterone levels of adult male gerbils were significantly positively correlated with both the sizes of their ventral scent glands and their frequencies of scent marking. We found no evidence of pulsatile release of testosterone in adult male gerbils.