Exam 7: Physiological Analysis of Behavior- the Endocrine System

Crews and colleagues (1984, 1987) examined patterns of reproduction with regard to (1) gamete production, (2) secretion of sex steroids, and (3) timing of mating behavior in a wide variety of vertebrates and found that three general patterns of reproduction emerged. In the red-sided garter snake, for example, the window of mating opportunity is from 1 to 4 weeks, and courtship behavior of adult male snakes is activated by an increase in ambient temperature following winter dormancy, rather than by a surge in testicular hormones. Sperm produced 5 to 10 weeks later are stored for use during the next spring. This pattern would be an example of a(n)

When male marine toads (Bufo marinus) were allowed to clasp females for either zero, one, two, or three hours, concentrations of androgens increased with the number of hours spent in amplexus. The rise in androgens during amplexus suggests that

The effect of corticosterone on neurons and on amplectic-clasping behavior in the roughskin newt occurred within minutes of its administration, indicating that the corticosterone

Male tree lizards (Urosaurus ornatus) of the nonaggressive phenotype are flexible in their territorial behavior, switching between territorial and nomadic behavior in response to environmental conditions. When conditions become stressful, levels of the hormone corticosterone rise, eventually triggering the switch to nomadic behavior.

The hormone that is believed to underlie parental behaviors in Florida scrub jays, such as feeding young at the nest, is

Hormones

When researchers administered corticosterone to amplexing male roughskin newts (Taricha granulosa) or exposed them to stressful conditions known to prompt corticosterone secretion

Arnold and Breedlove (1985) questioned the usefulness of the distinction between organizational and activational effects of steroid hormones on behavior.

Some male tree lizards (Urosaurus ornatus) are aggressive while others are nonaggressive. They are one phenotype or the other and remain so for life. These alternative phenotypes are said to be

In general, an interventional approach to the study of hormone function

A correlational study of hormonal influence on behavior is likely to make use of which of the following techniques?

Among domestic dogs (Canis lupus), adult males

Alpha-fetoprotein

Hormones that are water-soluble and usually affect cells by binding to receptor molecules on the cell surface are known as

Dzieweczynski et al. (2005, 2006) found that aggressive behavior and levels of the hormone 11 KT (an androgen that mediates aggression) in male Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) were influenced by male territory status and the presence of an audience. Levels of aggressive behavior and 11 KT tended to be highest when

As Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) make the developmental transition from parr to smolt, a number of hormones, such as prolactin, growth hormone, cortisol, and thyroid hormones, interact with a variety of environmental cues to produce changes in

Sex differences in the calling behavior of clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) can be traced, in part, to hormone-induced changes in the number and type of muscle fibers in the frog's larynx. This illustrates best the way in which hormones influence behavior by means of their effect on

Interestingly, it has been determined that aggressive behavior is not limited to the breeding season among nonmigratory (sedentary) populations of song sparrows, and that the behavior is regulated by

Female domestic pigs (Sus scrofa) are able to detect lower quantities of the boar pheromone, 16-androsterone, than are males. This illustrates best the way in which hormones influence behavior by means of their effect on