Role of 11-ketotestosterone, testosterone, and prolactin in the expression of reproductive behaviors by male bluegill

"The bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), has a complex mating system which includes two male life histories--delayed maturity involving ""parental"" breeding behavior and precocious maturity involving ""cuckoldry"". Unlike cuckolders, members of the parental life history build nests and provide parental care to the offspring. The research presented in this thesis was performed to elucidate the role of hormones in the expression of reproductive behaviors among male bluegill. The first experiment determined the association of 11-ketotestosterone (11KT) and testosterone (T), two important androgen hormones regulating reproduction in teleost fish, with reproduction in both types of male bluegill. The second study assessed the role of these androgens in the expression of prespawning and parental care behaviors by parental males. Therefore, the effect of exogenously added 11KT, T, or an antiandrogen--cyproterone acetate (CYA) on such behaviors was investigated through observations and underwater tests of treated male bluegill. Finally, the third study investigated the involvement of prolactin (PRL), a protein hormone associated with the expression of parental behaviors in some vertebrates, with the hormonal regulation of parental care behaviors in nesting parental male bluegill. Specifically, the effects of exogenously added bromocriptine, a known prolactin-release inhibitor, on these fish was investigated in the wild. The results of these three studies established that parental and cuckolder male bluegill differ not only in their reproductive behaviors but also in physiological functions affecting reproduction. Second, they indicated that the mechanism regulating prespawning behaviors is complex and involves interactions between environmental, social, and physiological factors. Third, they demonstrated that 11KT is directly involved in the expression of spawning behavior characteristic of the parental males. Fourth, they provided evidence that, as in birds and mammals, PRL may be an important regulator of parental care behavior in fish. Thus, the involvement of PRL in the expression of parental care behavior in higher vertebrates may have its ancestral origin in fish."

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Animal Sciences

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Kindler, Pawel Marcin

Contributors dc:contributor

• Philipp, David P.

• Biology, Animal Physiology
• Biology, Zoology
• Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 1990 Kindler, Pawel Marcin

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

AAI9026230
(UMI)AAI9026230

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/21443