Presentation Details
| Testing the endocrine mechanisms that regulate female song using steroid hormone implants Karan Odom1, 2, Rohith Srinivasan1, Gregory Ball2. 1Department of Biological Sciences, University of the Pacific, University of the Pacific, CA, USA.2Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, MD, USA |
Abstract
In temperate-breeding male songbirds, singing peaks early in the breeding season and is associated with increased circulating testosterone. In many species, females also sing but typically with much lower circulating testosterone, suggesting that alternative endocrine pathways may regulate female song. We hypothesize that estradiol (E2) and androgen receptor (AR) signaling contribute to the regulation of female song. Estradiol is a metabolite that binds to estrogen receptors, while dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is an androgenic metabolite of testosterone. To test whether estradiol and/or androgen receptor signaling regulates female song, we experimentally elevated hormone concentrations in female house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) using beeswax implants containing E2, DHT, or testosterone. We quantified song rates before and after implantation. House wrens are ideal for this study because females produce complex songs early in the breeding season. Our results demonstrate whether estrogenic vs androgenic signaling, or their interaction regulates, female song in a wild-breeding temperate songbird with female song.
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