Publications

Tales of testosterone: Advancing our understanding of environmental endocrinology through studies of neotropical birds

Faculty Author(s): Horton, B.M.
Student Author(s): -
Department: BIOL
Publication: General and Comparative Endocrinology
Year: 2019
Abstract: Keywords Testosterone; Androgens; Birds; Reproduction Highlights * Birds are foundational to our understanding of testosterone action. * Neotropical breeding birds have greatly influenced our understanding of testosterone action. * Future studies should take advantage of the biodiversity of neotropical birds. * Testosterone's role varies with the diversity of life history strategies. Abstract Studies of birds have greatly advanced our understanding of how testosterone modulates complex phenotypes, specifically its role in mediating male reproductive and associated behaviors. Yet most of the foundational studies have been limited to northern latitude breeding species despite the fact that they represent only a small fraction of worldwide avian diversity. In contrast, phylogenetic, life-history, and mating system diversity all reach their apex in neotropical avifauna and yet these birds, along with more southern latitude species, remain very poorly understood from an endocrine perspective. Despite the relatively limited previous work on taxa breeding in Central and South America, empirical findings have had a disproportionately large impact on our understanding of testosterone's role in everything from geographic variation to behavioral roles and neuroplasticity. Here, we synthesize how studies of neotropical breeding avifauna have advanced our understanding of how testosterone's actions can and are associated with the broad patterns of phenotypic diversity that we see in birds. In addition, we outline how these studies can be used individually or in a comparative context to address fundamental questions about the environmental endocrinology of testosterone and to understand the diversity of roles that testosterone plays in mediating behavioral variation, reproductive strategies, and associated life-history trade-offs. Author Affiliation: (a) Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA (b) Departamento de Ciencias Basicas, Universidad de la Salle, Cra 2 No. 10-70, Bogota, Colombia (c) Department of Biology, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USA (d) Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, PO Box 37012, MRC 5503, Washington DC 20013, USA (e) Department of Biology, Millersville University of Pennsylvania, Millersville, PA 17551, USA * Corresponding author at: Department of Biological Sciences, 2119 Derring Hall, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. Article History: Received 27 February 2018; Revised 21 June 2018; Accepted 6 July 2018 Byline: I.T. Moore [itmoore@vt.edu] (a,*), B.J. Vernasco (a), C. Escallon (b), T.W. Small (c), T.B. Ryder (d), B.M. Horton (e)
Link: Tales of testosterone: Advancing our understanding of environmental endocrinology through studies of neotropical birds