Reproduction in the yellow-bellied sea snake (Pelamis platurus) from Panama: Field and laboratory observations
Abstract 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1996)15:33.3.CO;2-R Little is known of the reproductive biology of the yellow-bellied sea snake (Pelamis platurus), a species widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific and eastern Pacific Oceans. We observed mating, birth, and free-ranging neonates of P. platurus while collecting this snake once a month over 19 months in the Gulf of Chiriquí, Panama. A pair […]
Assessing reproductive potential and gestation in nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum) using ultrasonography and endoscopy: An example of bridging the gap between field research and captive studies
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.10088.abs Over a period of 3 years, five reproductively active female nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum) from a wild, actively mating population of nurse sharks were captured, confined, and periodically examined through the course of gestation to determine the gestation period and characterize paternity. In the final year of the study, candidate animals were first […]
Use of behavior to evaluate reproductive problems in captive mammals
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.1430130506.abs Behavioral analyses constitute a logical starting point for discerning the causes of reproductive failure in captive mammals and should be completed before moving on to more invasive diagnostic procedures. Behavioral inadequacies affecting reproductive performance may be attributable to deficient early rearing environments, to the social milieux in which breeding-age animals are held on […]
Environmental enrichment improves mating success in fruit flies
Environmental enrichment, defined as housing conditions that include a combination of complex inanimate and social stimulation, has strong positive effects on brain and behaviour in various species. We extended previous studies to evaluate how enrichment affects mating success. In a series of experiments, we found that male fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, reared in an enriched […]
Experience improves courtship in male fruit flies
Much of the research on learning in fruit flies has focused on the genetic and cellular basis of learning. The evolutionary relevance of learning in these tiny, short-lived insects is not well understood. Relying on the knowledge that male fruit flies learn in the context of courtship, I tested whether such learning improves male courtship. […]
Temperature influences the coercive mating and swimming performance of male eastern mosquitofish
Although the functional consequences of temperature variation have been examined for a wide range of whole-animal performance traits, the implications of thermal variation for reproductive behaviour or performance are poorly known. I examined the acute effects of temperature on the mating behaviour and swimming performance of male eastern mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki, which rely on a […]
Is corticosterone involved in the reproductive processes of the male lizard, Podarcis sicula sicula?
Corticosterone (B) and testosterone (T) plasma levels and the effects of short (1-48 min) and long (6-192 hr) confinement stress during the various phases of the reproductive period of the male lizard, Podarcis sicula sicula, were studied; in addition, the in vitro effects of B on the T secretion by testis and adrenals were evaluated. […]
Integrative studies of amphibians- from molecules to mating
Studies of reproductive behavior in amphibians have been especially successful in synthesizing data produced from molecular and physiological research with evolutionary parameters, such as measures of reproductive success. In particular, two relatively new areas of amphibian research are highly amenable to synthetic studies. One area is the nature of chemical communication by pheromone delivery in […]
Estrogenic plant consumption predicts red colobus monkey (Procolobus rufomitratus) hormonal state and behavior
Numerous studies have examined the effects of anthropogenic endocrine disrupting compounds; however, very little is known about the effects of naturally occurring plant-produced estrogenic compounds (i.e., phytoestrogens) on vertebrates. To examine the seasonal pattern of phytoestrogen consumption and its relationship to hormone levels (407 fecal samples analyzed for estradiol and cortisol) and social behavior (aggression, […]
Larval host plant experience modulates both mate finding and oviposition choice in a moth
Host plant choice in polyphagous insects can be connected with costs of being naïve when confronted with several potential host plants, for example through slower decision making. Utilization of earlier experience could be one way to overcome some of these limitations. We studied whether larval feeding experience influences mate finding by males and female choice […]