ArticlePloS one2010
The adaptive function of masturbation in a promiscuous African ground squirrel.
Article in PloS one, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Evolution of Masturbation in Birds.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Lovers, not fighters: docility influences reproductive fitness, but not survival, in male Cape ground squirrels,Behavioral ecology and sociobiology · 2024Article
- Non-Reproductive Sexual Behavior in Wild White-Thighed Colobus Monkeys (Colobus vellerosus).Archives of sexual behavior · 2023Article
- The evolution of masturbation is associated with postcopulatory selection and pathogen avoidance in primates.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2023Article
- Learning is negatively associated with strength of left/right paw preference in wild grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis).Learning & behavior · 2020Article
- Article
- Effect of mating activity and dominance rank on male masturbation among free-ranging male rhesus macaques.Ethology : formerly Zeitschrift fur Tierpsychologie · 2013Article
- Mesenchymal stromal cells: a key player in 'innate tolerance'?Immunology · 2012Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundStudies of animal mating systems increasingly emphasize female multiple mating and cryptic sexual selection, particularly sperm competition. Males under intense sperm competition may manipulate sperm quantity and quality through masturbation, which could waste sperm and decrease fertility. I examined the factors influencing masturbation by male Cape ground squirrels (Xerus inauris) in light of a number of functional hypotheses. METHODOLOGY: Observational data on a marked population of squirrels were collected in east-central Namibia using scan and all-occurrences sampling.
findingsMasturbation was far more frequent on days of female oestrus and mostly occurred after copulation. Masturbation rates were higher in dominant males, which copulate more, than in subordinates and increased with number of mates a female accepts.
conclusionsThese results suggest that masturbation in this species was not a response to sperm competition nor a sexual outlet by subordinates that did not copulate. Instead masturbation could function as a form of genital grooming. Female Cape ground squirrels mate with up to 10 males in a 3-hr oestrus, and by masturbating after copulation males could reduce the chance of infection. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can profoundly affect fertility, and their consequences for mating strategies need to be examined more fully.
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