Testosterone secretion varies in a sex- and stage-specific manner: Insights on the regulation of competitive traits from a sex-role reversed species.

dc.contributor.author

Lipshutz, Sara E

dc.contributor.author

Rosvall, Kimberly A

dc.date.accessioned

2023-09-02T02:38:09Z

dc.date.available

2023-09-02T02:38:09Z

dc.date.issued

2020-06

dc.date.updated

2023-09-02T02:38:07Z

dc.description.abstract

Testosterone (T) mediates a variety of traits that function in competition for mates, including territorial aggression, ornaments, armaments, and gametogenesis. The link between T and mating competition has been studied mainly in males, but females also face selection pressures to compete for mates. Sex-role reversed species, in which females are the more competitive sex, provide a unique perspective on the role of T in promoting competitive traits. Here, we examine patterns of T secretion in sex-role reversed northern jacanas (Jacana spinosa) during breeding, when females are fertile and males are either seeking copulations or conducting parental care. We measured baseline levels of T in circulation along with a suite of behavioral and morphological traits putatively involved in mating competition. We evaluated hypotheses that levels of T track gonadal sex and parental role, and we begin to investigate whether T and competitive traits co-vary in a sex- and stage- specific manner. Although females had higher expression of competitive traits than males at either breeding stage, we found that females and incubating males had similar levels of T secretion, which were lower than those observed in copulating males. T was correlated with wing spur length in females and testes mass in copulating males, but was otherwise uncorrelated with other competitive traits. These findings suggest that levels of T in circulation alone do not predict variation in competitive traits across levels of analysis, including gonadal sex and parental role. Instead, our findings coupled with prior research indicate that selection for female mating competition and male care may generate different physiological regulation of competitive traits.

dc.identifier

S0016-6480(19)30621-5

dc.identifier.issn

0016-6480

dc.identifier.issn

1095-6840

dc.identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10161/28957

dc.language

eng

dc.publisher

Elsevier BV

dc.relation.ispartof

General and comparative endocrinology

dc.relation.isversionof

10.1016/j.ygcen.2020.113444

dc.subject

Animals

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Testosterone

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Breeding

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Aggression

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Competitive Behavior

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Sex Characteristics

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Principal Component Analysis

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Female

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Male

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Charadriiformes

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Sexual Behavior, Animal

dc.title

Testosterone secretion varies in a sex- and stage-specific manner: Insights on the regulation of competitive traits from a sex-role reversed species.

dc.type

Journal article

duke.contributor.orcid

Lipshutz, Sara E|0000-0002-9816-2977

pubs.begin-page

113444

pubs.organisational-group

Duke

pubs.organisational-group

Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

pubs.organisational-group

Biology

pubs.publication-status

Published

pubs.volume

292

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