Biology of Reproduction, Vol 33, 112-116, Copyright © 1985 by Society for the Study of Reproduction

ARTICLES

Evidence for the activation of female reproduction by males in a marsupial, the gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica)

BH Fadem

Although social factors are known to influence reproduction in a number of eutherian mammals, the effect of these factors on marsupial reproduction has not heretofore been studied. In this study, the temporal pattern of births and of the appearance of vaginal estrus following pairing with a male were examined in the gray short-tailed opossum, a small Brazilian didelphid. Although the estrous cycle is approximately 32 days long in this species, 75% of conceptions occurred within 9 days and 91.6% within 13 days following pairing. When sensory contact was permitted although mating was prevented, females tended to show vaginal estrus 3 to 7 days following pairing with a male. These findings are discussed with respect to possible mechanism, adaptive significance, and evolutionary perspective.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. L. Keyte and K. K. Smith Basic Maintenance and Breeding of the Opossum Monodelphis domestica CSH Protocols, October 1, 2008; 2008(11): pdb.prot5073 - pdb.prot5073. [Abstract] [Full Text]