Sociosexual behavior, male mating tactics, and the reproductive cycle of giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis
Female distribution exerts a major impact on male mating tactics. Giraffe cows have a reproductive cycle, and a social system, that should favor a male roaming reproductive tactic. We conducted a 2-year study of female Rothschild’s giraffe (G. c. rothschildi) reproductive endocrinology in order to characterize attributes of the reproductive cycle and investigate how female […]
Hormonal alterations and reproductive inhibition in male fence lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis) infected with the malarial parasite Plasmodium mexicanum
When naturally infected with the malarial parasite Plasmodium mexicanum, Western fence lizards, Sceloporus occidentalis, exhibit numerous reproductive pathologies. Infected males display fewer courtship and territorial behaviors, have altered sexually dimorphic coloration, and have smaller testes. Infected animals store less fat by late summer, which, for females, reduces clutch size in the spring We describe hormonal […]
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 […]
A comparative analysis of scent-marking, social and reproductive behavior in 20 species of small cats (Felis)
Except for lions and cheetahs, members of family Felidae exhibit spatially and temporally dispersed social systems. However, this solitary existence does not preclude possession of a rich repertoire of communication signals. While patterns of communication have been examined in a number of the larger cats (e.g., lions, cheetahs, tigers), those of the smaller cats (