RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Male-mediated maturation in a wild primate JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 2020.05.25.114934 DO 10.1101/2020.05.25.114934 A1 Lu, Amy A1 Feder, Jacob A. A1 Snyder-Mackler, Noah A1 Bergman, Thore J. A1 Beehner, Jacinta C. YR 2020 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/05/28/2020.05.25.114934.abstract AB In humans, a controversial hypothesis suggests that father absence promotes early puberty in daughters. Data from rodents confirm females accelerate maturation with exposure to novel males (“Vandenbergh effect”) and delay it with exposure to male relatives. Here, we report the first case of male-mediated maturation in a wild primate, geladas (Theropithecus gelada). Females were more likely to mature after a change in the reproductive male: some matured earlier than expected (Vandenbergh effect) and some later (due to father presence). Novel males stimulated a surge in estrogens for all immature females - even females too young to mature. Although male-mediated puberty accelerated first births, the effect was modest, suggesting that alternative scenarios, such as co-evolution with the Bruce effect (male-mediated fetal loss) may explain this phenomenon.One Sentence Summary Novel males induce an estrogen surge, male-mediated puberty, and a head-start on reproduction for immature female geladas.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.