Hormones and behaviour: A joint examination of studies on seasonal variation in song production and plasma levels of testosterone in the Great TitParus major

Rost, Roland

doi:10.1007/bf01639816

Cited by 37 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Therefore there would 445 be no need for T elevation as this would have detrimental effects on parental care and no clear benefits. 446 Indeed, endogenous T levels are low after the start of egg laying in this species (Rost, 1990). Therefore, 447 the fact that females remain sensitive to elevated T levels later in the breeding season, are in line with 448 our hypothesis that there has been no need for strong selection in the past in favour of becoming 449 insensitive to T in great tits.…”

Section: Discussion 426mentioning

confidence: 63%

“…This suggests that T levels during the parental care period are not 142 beneficial. During this period natural T levels are indeed low (Rost, 1990). Therefore, we hypothesised 143 that selection against remaining sensitive to T has never been needed and that females will still respond 144 behaviourally to artificially increased levels of this hormone.…”

Section: Introduction 56mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of experimentally sustained elevated testosterone on incubation behaviour and reproductive success in female great tits (Parus major)

Jong¹,

Lens

Amininasab³

et al. 2016

General and Comparative Endocrinology

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Section: Discussion 426mentioning

confidence: 63%

Section: Introduction 56mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of experimentally sustained elevated testosterone on incubation behaviour and reproductive success in female great tits (Parus major)

Jong¹,

Lens

Amininasab³

et al. 2016

General and Comparative Endocrinology

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“…Song rate changes seasonally in many seasonally breeding songbird species, including song sparrows (Nice, 1943;Davis, 1958;Hiett and C atchpole, 1982;La Pointe and Bédard, 1984;Nowicki and Ball, 1989;Rost, 1992;Wingfield and Hahn, 1994). It is possible that seasonal changes in the song nuclei may be associated with changes in the amount of song produced.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal Changes in Testosterone, Neural Attributes of Song Control Nuclei, and Song Structure in Wild Songbirds

Smith¹,

et al. 1997

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Seasonal changes in the neural attributes of brain nuclei that control song in songbirds are among the most pronounced examples of naturally occurring plasticity in the adult brain of any vertebrate. The behavioral correlates of this seasonal neural plasticity have not been well characterized, particularly in songbird species that lack adult song learning. To address this question, we investigated the relationship between seasonal changes in gonadal steroids, song nuclei, and song behavior in adult male song sparrows (Melospiza melodia). At four times of the year, we measured plasma concentrations of testosterone, neural attributes of song nuclei, and several aspects of song structure in wild song sparrows of a nonmigratory population. We found seasonal changes in the song nuclei that were temporally correlated with changes in testosterone concentrations and with changes in song stereotypy. Male song sparrows sang songs that were more variable in structure in the fall, when testosterone concentrations were low and song nuclei were small, than in the spring, when testosterone concentrations were higher and song nuclei were larger. Despite seasonal changes in the song nuclei, the song sparrows continued to sing the same number of different song types, indicating that changes in the song nuclei were not correlated with changes in song repertoire size. These results suggest that song stereotypy, but not repertoire size, is a potential behavioral correlate of seasonal plasticity in the avian song control system. Key words: androgen; seasonal plasticity; bird song; motor stereotypy; song sparrow; song repertoireMost temperate zone vertebrates breed seasonally. Seasonal changes in brain structures that control reproductive behavior have been reported in numerous vertebrate species (Nottebohm, 1981;Buijs et al., 1986;Boyd and Moore, 1991;Wade and Crews, 1991;Hofman and Swaab, 1992;Skene et al., 1992;Senthilkumaran and Joy, 1993;Lee et al., 1995). Seasonal changes in neural attributes of brain nuclei that control song in songbirds are perhaps the most striking example of naturally occurring plasticity in the adult vertebrate brain (Nottebohm, 1981).Several attributes of song nuclei change seasonally: (1) overall size (Nottebohm, 1981;Arai et al., 1989; Kirn et al., 1989;Brenowitz et al., 1991; Rucker and Cassone, 1991;Smith et al., 1995); (2) size, density, and number of neurons (Brenowitz et al., 1991;Johnson and Bottjer, 1995;Smith et al., 1995); (3) dendritic and synaptic morphology (DeVoogd et al., 1985;Clower et al., 1989;Hill and DeVoogd, 1991); and (4) incorporation and survival of new neurons (Alvarez-Buylla et al., 1990;Nottebohm et al., 1994). Similar changes in the size of song nuclei have been reported both in captive songbirds in which photoperiod and/or testosterone (T) were manipulated to mimic seasonally changing environmental and hormonal conditions (Nottebohm, 1981;Brenowitz and Arnold, 1985;Arai et al., 1989) and in free-ranging, wild songbirds experiencing natural seasonal changes in environmental cue...

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“…Seasonal differences have been described for singing activity (Davis, 1958;Rost, 1990), song stereotypy (Nottebohm et al, 1986;Smith et al, 1997), and the capacity of song discrimination (Cynx and Nottebohm, 1992). Moreover, seasonal changes in the morphology of the nuclei of the vocal control system have been observed in a number of species (Nottebohm, 1981; reviewed by Brenowitz, 1997).…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

Seasonal expression of androgen receptors, estrogen receptors, and aromatase in the canary brain in relation to circulating androgens and estrogens

et al. 2000

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Hormones and behaviour: A joint examination of studies on seasonal variation in song production and plasma levels of testosterone in the Great TitParus major

Cited by 37 publications

References 23 publications

Effects of experimentally sustained elevated testosterone on incubation behaviour and reproductive success in female great tits (Parus major)

Effects of experimentally sustained elevated testosterone on incubation behaviour and reproductive success in female great tits (Parus major)

Seasonal Changes in Testosterone, Neural Attributes of Song Control Nuclei, and Song Structure in Wild Songbirds

Seasonal expression of androgen receptors, estrogen receptors, and aromatase in the canary brain in relation to circulating androgens and estrogens

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