Testing hormonal responses to real and simulated social challenges in a competitive female bird.

ABSTRACT: Competitive interactions often occur in series; therefore animals may respond to social challenges in ways that prepare them for success in future conflict. Changes in the production of the steroid hormone testosterone (T) are thought to mediate phenotypic responses to competition, but research over the past few decades has yielded mixed results, leading to several potential explanations as to why T does not always elevate following a social challenge. Here, we measured T levels in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), a system in which females compete for limited nesting cavities and female aggression is at least partially mediated by T. We experimentally induced social challenges in two ways: (1) using decoys to simulate territorial intrusions and (2) removing subsets of nesting ca

SUBMITTER: George EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8857935 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan-Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature