Sources of variation in HPG axis reactivity and individually consistent elevation of sex steroids in a female songbird.

ABSTRACT: Understanding sources of individual differences in steroid hormone production has important implications for the evolution of reproductive and social behaviors. In females in particular, little is known about the mechanistic sources of these individual differences, despite established linkages between sex steroids and a variety of fitness-related traits. Using captive female dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis) from two subspecies, we asked how variation in different components of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis related to variation in testosterone production among females, and we compared females to males in multiple components of the HPG axis. We demonstrated consistent individual differences in testosterone elevation in response to challenges with luteinizing hormone (LH) and

SUBMITTER: Rosvall KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3852689 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature