Tales of testosterone: Advancing our understanding of environmental endocrinology through studies of neotropical birds

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygcen.2018.07.003

Document Type

Review

Publication Date

3-1-2019

Publication Title

General and Comparative Endocrinology

Abstract

Studies of birds have greatly advanced our understanding of how testosterone modulates complex phenotypes, specifically its role in mediating male reproductive and associated behaviors. Yet most of the foundational studies have been limited to northern latitude breeding species despite the fact that they represent only a small fraction of worldwide avian diversity. In contrast, phylogenetic, life-history, and mating system diversity all reach their apex in neotropical avifauna and yet these birds, along with more southern latitude species, remain very poorly understood from an endocrine perspective. Despite the relatively limited previous work on taxa breeding in Central and South America, empirical findings have had a disproportionately large impact on our understanding of testosterone's role in everything from geographic variation to behavioral roles and neuroplasticity. Here, we synthesize how studies of neotropical breeding avifauna have advanced our understanding of how testosterone's actions can and are associated with the broad patterns of phenotypic diversity that we see in birds. In addition, we outline how these studies can be used individually or in a comparative context to address fundamental questions about the environmental endocrinology of testosterone and to understand the diversity of roles that testosterone plays in mediating behavioral variation, reproductive strategies, and associated life-history trade-offs.

Volume

273

First Page

184

Last Page

191

ISSN

00166480

PubMed ID

29990493

Identifier

SCOPUS_ID:85049749839

Documento original

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