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Brain, Behavior and Evolution
LaDage L.D.a· Yu T.b· Zani P.A.caDivision of Mathematics & Natural Sciences, Penn State Altoona, Altoona, PA, USA
bDepartment of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
cDepartment of Biology, University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, Stevens Point, WI, USA
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Article / Publication Details
Received: November 17, 2021
Accepted: April 28, 2022
Published online: May 10, 2022
Number of Print Pages: 11
Number of Figures: 4
Number of Tables: 0
ISSN: 0006-8977 (Print)
eISSN: 1421-9743 (Online)
For additional information: https://www.karger.com/BBE
AbstractSeveral areas of the vertebrate brain are involved in facilitating and inhibiting the production of sexual behaviors and displays. In the laboratory, a higher rate of sexual displays is correlated with a larger ventral posterior amygdala (VPA), an area of the brain involved in the expression of sexual display behaviors, as well as larger VPA neuronal somas. However, it remains unclear if individuals in the field reflect similar patterns, as there are likely many more selective pressures in the field that may also modulate the VPA architecture. In this study, we examined variation in VPA volume and neuron soma volume in wild-caught common side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana) from two different populations. In a population from Nevada, males experience high predation pressure and have decreased sexual display rates during the breeding season, whereas a population in Oregon has lower levels of predation and higher rates of male sexual displays. We found that wild-caught males from the population with lower display rates also exhibited decreased VPA volume and VPA neuron cell soma volume, which may suggest that decreased display rate, possibly due to increased predation rate, covaries with VPA attributes.
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Received: November 17, 2021
Accepted: April 28, 2022
Published online: May 10, 2022
Number of Print Pages: 11
Number of Figures: 4
Number of Tables: 0
ISSN: 0006-8977 (Print)
eISSN: 1421-9743 (Online)
For additional information: https://www.karger.com/BBE
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