lecture - mating systems

define polyandry

female has multiple male mates

what kind of parental care is associated with polyandry

paternal care

define monogamy

1 female, 1 male

what kind of parental care is associated with monogamy

biparental or no parental care

define polygyny

male has multiple female mates

what kind of parental care is associated with polygyny

maternal care

what is meant with the trade off between parental and sexual behavior

trade off is when certain hormones are in greater concentration to influence between aggressive/guarding and nurturing behavior

what kind of hormones are associated with the parental and sexual behavior trade off

testosterone

prolactin

progesterone

estrogen

gonadotropins

what sex steroid hormones mainly regulate sexual phase

estrogen and testosterone

what mainly regulates parental phase

PRL

what kind of behaviors does testosterone influence

mate guarding, male-male competition, aggressive territorial behavior

what kind of behaviors does PRL influence

nesting/nurturing

what are some environmental factors that can influence rising testosterone

more males in area, females in area, potentially environmental changes

describe PRL in precocial birds

PRL rises and peaks soon, but seemingly for longer

starts and peaks much before hatching

what is a precocial bird

birds that have self sufficient offspring

what is an altrical bird

birds with offspring that are not self sufficient

describe PRL in altricial birds

PRL starts and peaks later, starts and peaks near hatching and continues at medium levels post hatch

what does PRL do to bird behavior compare altricial and precocial birds

suggest that parental behaviors start in altricial birds is closer to and after hatching to promote behaviors to help offspring post hatch, while in precocial birds hormone shift away from nurturing behavior quickly post hatch

describe PRL in phalaropes comparing M and F

PRL peaks in laying for females and post hatch in males which makes sense as phalaropes have mainly male parental care as they are polyandrous

describe PRL in sandpipers comparing M and F

PRL peaks at roughly similar times which makes sense as they are monogamous and so both parents have behaviors influenced towards nurturing behavior

usually higher levels of PRL translates to...

more time feeding and caring for young

in the polyandrous paternal care sandpipers when does PRL peak in males and why is it weird

peaks after hatching phase

interesting as they are precocial birds so it would usually peak before hatching

what is 11KT

primary fish androgen

what is bromocriptine

PRL inhibitor

what are some complications of bromocriptine

complications to offspring due to lack of parental behaviors to help them

can exogenous PRL balance out the side effects of bromocriptine

yes

define mating system

how organisms obtain mates and acheive fert

mating systems are closely related to....

parental systems

hormones serve as mediators between

external environment, internal physio, and behavior

elevation of T beyond breeding baseline only slightly does what

increases freq or intensity of sexual behavior and is thought to be important for male-male competition

define breeding baseline

enough T to stimulate spermatogenesis, secondary sex characteristics, and repro behavior

in mammals what makes milk

females

in discus fish what makes equivalent to milk

both sexes secrete mucus to feed offspring

in rock doves what makes crop milk

both sexes make crop milk

what does PRL promote in birds

incubation, brooding, and offspring feeding

what does PRL promote in fish

egg fanning, removal of damaged/dead eggs

responsiveness to PRL in birds depends on what

secretion, transport, reception, response pathways

describe the spotted sandpoiper mating system

sequentially polyandrous

male parental care

competition for mates - females set territory females compete

when was PRL highest in male spotted sandpipers

highest during chick care phase, longer peak in general