Search results for: Lynne D. Houck

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Male terrestrial salamanders demonstrate sequential mate choice based on female gravidity and size

Sarah L. Eddy, Damien B. Wilburn, Adam J. Chouinard, Kari A. Doty, more

Animal Behaviour > 2016 > 113 > C > 23-29

In many vertebrate mating systems, mate choice evolves when signalling via visual, chemical or auditory traits is an energetically costly process. Selection may favour individuals that can discriminate among potential mates and invest in signalling to mates with particular characteristics. Most commonly, females with costly gametes are thought to be the more selective sex; however, runaway sexual...

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Pheromone isoform composition differentially affects female behaviour in the red-legged salamander, Plethodon shermani

Damien B. Wilburn, Sarah L. Eddy, Adam J. Chouinard, Stevan J. Arnold, more

Animal Behaviour > 2015 > 100 > Complete > 1-7

Pheromones are a diverse class of biological molecules that play critical roles in mediating social and sexual behaviours. In many systems, pheromones exist in complex mixtures, with the precise composition and ratios of the different components essential for bioactivity. The interactive effects of complex pheromone mixtures, however, have been minimally studied in vertebrates. In the red-legged salamander,...

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The Influence of Sequential Male Courtship Behaviors on Courtship Success and Duration in a Terrestrial Salamander, Plethodon shermani

Sarah L. Eddy, Karen M. Kiemnec‐Tyburczy, Josef C. Uyeda, Lynne D. Houck, more

Ethology > 118 > 12 > 1240 - 1250

Most organisms use multiple cues across many modalities to assess potential mates. Salamanders in the genus Plethodon have an elaborate courtship display, yet previous studies primarily have concentrated on the influence of olfactory cues on courtship success. In this study, we tested whether two different cues (one chemical and one visual) affected courtship success and duration in the red‐legged...

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PROTEOMIC AND UTR ANALYSES OF A RAPIDLY EVOLVING HYPERVARIABLE FAMILY OF VERTEBRATE PHEROMONES

Damien B. Wilburn, Kathleen E. Bowen, Ronald G. Gregg, Jian Cai, more

Evolution > 66 > 7 > 2227 - 2239

During the annual mating season, the mental gland of male plethodontid salamanders diverts its protein synthesizing capacity to the production of courtship pheromones that increase female receptivity. Plethodontid modulating factor (PMF), a highly disulfide‐bonded 7‐kDa pheromone, shows unusual hypervariability with each male expressing >30 isoforms. Twenty‐eight PMFs were purified and matched...

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A pheromone mechanism for swaying female mate choice: enhanced affinity for a sexual stimulus in a woodland salamander

Elyse A. Vaccaro, Pamela W. Feldhoff, Richard C. Feldhoff, Lynne D. Houck

Animal Behaviour > 2010 > 80 > 6 > 983-989

Traditionally, male signals have been thought to function in satisfying female choice by conveying meaningful information about a potential mate. However, the male signal, rather than merely providing raw material for female evaluation, may actively modulate a female’s intrinsic preferences or decision-making capabilities in favour of a given male. We propose two broad mechanisms by which male signals...

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Rapid Evolution of Plethodontid Modulating Factor, a Hypervariable Salamander Courtship Pheromone, is Driven by Positive Selection

Catherine A. Palmer, Richard A. Watts, Amy P. Hastings, Lynne D. Houck, more

Journal of Molecular Evolution > 2010 > 70 > 5 > 427-440

Sexual communication in plethodontid salamanders is mediated by a proteinaceous pheromone that a male delivers to a female during courtship, boosting her receptivity. The pheromone consists of three proteins from three unrelated protein families. These proteins are among a small group of pheromones known to affect female receptivity in vertebrates. Previously, we showed that the genes of two of these...

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Male courtship pheromones suppress female tendency to feed but not to flee in a plethodontid salamander

Elyse A. Vaccaro, Pamela W. Feldhoff, Richard C. Feldhoff, Lynne D. Houck

Animal Behaviour > 2009 > 78 > 6 > 1421-1425

Female sexual receptivity is a behaviour at the crux of mechanistic and evolutionary perspectives of reproductive behaviour. To gain insight into the general processes by which a male persuades a female to mate with him, we tested whether the courtship pheromones of the red-legged salamander, Plethodon shermani, dampened female defensive or ingestive behaviours. Females did not sprint significantly...

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Exposure to pheromones increases plasma corticosterone concentrations in a terrestrial salamander

Stephanie N. Schubert, Corina L. Wack, Lynne D. Houck, Pamela W. Feldhoff, more

General and Comparative Endocrinology > 2009 > 161 > 2 > 271-275

Sensory cues involved in social interactions can influence plasma steroid hormone concentrations. Although pheromonal communication is common in amphibians, it is unknown whether pheromones can alter hormone levels in amphibians as they do in mammals. We tested whether courtship pheromones would alter steroid hormone concentrations in male and female terrestrial salamanders (Plethodon shermani). Plasma...

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The effects of sex on chemosensory communication in a terrestrial salamander (Plethodon shermani)

Stephanie N. Schubert, Lynne D. Houck, Pamela W. Feldhoff, Richard C. Feldhoff, more

Hormones and Behavior > 2008 > 54 > 2 > 270-277

Although much evidence reveals sexually dimorphic processing of chemosensory cues by the brain, potential sex differences at more peripheral levels of chemoreception are understudied. In plethodontid salamanders, the volume of the vomeronasal organ (VNO) is almost twice as large in males as compared to females, both in absolute and relative size. To determine whether the structural sexual dimorphism...

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In situ localization of plethodontid courtship pheromone mRNA in formalin-fixed tissue

Mary F. Fontana, Lynne D. Houck, Nancy L. Staub

General and Comparative Endocrinology > 2007 > 150 > 3 > 480-485

Male plethodontid salamanders produce courtship pheromones that increase female receptivity. Three protein components of the courtship pheromone cocktail have been characterized in the mental gland of Plethodon shermani, the red-legged salamander: plethodontid receptivity factor (PRF), plethodontid modulating factor (PMF), and sodefrin precursor-like factor (SPF). In this study, a streamlined in situ...

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Effects of androgens on behavioral and vomeronasal responses to chemosensory cues in male terrestrial salamanders (Plethodon shermani)

Stephanie N. Schubert, Lynne D. Houck, Pamela W. Feldhoff, Richard C. Feldhoff, more

Hormones and Behavior > 2006 > 50 > 3 > 469-476

Chemosensory stimuli and sex steroid hormones are both required for the full expression of social behaviors in many species. The terrestrial salamander, Plethodon shermani, is an emerging nonmammalian system for investigating the nature and evolution of pheromonal communication, yet little is known regarding the role of sex steroid hormones. We hypothesized that increased circulating androgen levels...

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Conspecific and heterospecific pheromone effects on female receptivity

Stephanie M. Rollmann, Lynne D. Houck, Richard C. Feldhoff

Animal Behaviour > 2003 > 66 > 5 > 857-861

Courtship pheromones play an important role in salamander reproductive behaviour. In salamanders of the family Plethodontidae, males deliver specialized pheromones to females during courtship interactions. These courtship pheromones increase female receptivity and may be involved in mate discrimination. In order to test hypotheses related to mate discrimination, we staged courtship encounters between...

article

Experimental analysis of monogamy in the Caribbean cleaner goby, Gobiosoma evelynae

Jeffery A. Harding, Glenn R. Almany, Lynne D. Houck, Mark A. Hixon

Animal Behaviour > 2003 > 65 > 5 > 865-874

To investigate factors promoting monogamy, we studied the reproductive behaviour and ecology of the monogamous Caribbean cleaner goby at two sites near St Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. We assessed mate fidelity and the amount of time required to acquire a new mate in experimentally widowed males and females. We also measured behavioural responses of pair members and single females to experimentally...

article

Pheromonal activation of vomeronasal neurons in plethodontid salamanders

Celeste R. Wirsig-Wiechmann, Lynne D. Houck, Pamela W. Feldhoff, Richard C. Feldhoff

Brain Research > 2002 > 952 > 2 > 335-344

Pheromones from the mental glands of male plethodontid salamanders increase sexual receptivity in conspecific females. The pheromone enters the vomeronasal organ during courtship to produce this effect. Vomeronasal neurons from female Plethodon shermani were examined following exposure to male pheromone or saline placed on the nares. Agmatine was used in conjunction with the pheromone to enable immunocytochemical...

article

Population Variation in Salamander Courtship Pheromones

Stephanie M. Rollmann, Lynne D. Houck, Richard C. Feldhoff

Journal of Chemical Ecology > 2000 > 26 > 12 > 2713-2724

We examined intraand interspecific chemical variation in salamander courtship pheromones. The extent to which plethodontid receptivity factor (PRF) and other glandular components vary among populations of Plethodon jordani was analyzed by reverse-phase HPLC. Gland extracts from individuals revealed that males within a population differ in the relative amounts of the glandular components as well as...

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Courtship Behavior and Plasma Levels of Androgens and Corticosterone in Male Marbled Salamanders,Ambystoma opacum(Ambystomatidae)

Lynne D. Houck, Mary T. Mendonça, Tracy K. Lynch, David E. Scott

General and Comparative Endocrinology > 1996 > 104 > 2 > 243-252

We measured plasma levels of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and corticosterone for male marbled salamanders (Ambystoma opacum) collected during the breeding season. Our goal was to ascertain whether steroid levels changed in response to particular reproductive behaviors or laboratory confinement. Six groups of salamanders were examined: (a) MIGRATING, males migrating toward the pond basin...

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