Plasticity of the reproductive axis caused by social status change in an african cichlid fish: I. Pituitary gonadotropins.

ABSTRACT: Social position in a dominance hierarchy is often tightly coupled with fertility. Consequently, an animal that can recognize and rapidly take advantage of an opportunity to rise in rank will have a reproductive advantage. Reproduction in all vertebrates is controlled by the brain-pituitary-gonad axis, and in males of the African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni, GnRH1 neurons at the apex of this axis are under social control. However, little is known about how quickly social information is transformed into functional reproductive change, or about how socially controlled changes in GnRH1 neurons influence downstream actions of the brain-pituitary-gonad axis. We created an opportunity for reproductively suppressed males to ascend in status and then measured how quickly the perception of th

SUBMITTER: Maruska KP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3219043 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature