Meeting Abstract
Field studies of animals behaving in their natural habitat provide an essential context for framing questions related to the evolution of daily and seasonal changes in social behavior. How the timing of such events on multiple timescales ranging from milliseconds to hours is determined by neurohormonal mechanisms remains largely unexplored. Studies of circulating hormones, like those led by Rosemary Knapp, are a cornerstone of all such investigations. How might we use such foundational information to identify the contribution of cellular and molecular mechanisms determining this form of adult plasticity? This and related questions will be addressed largely by focusing on recent evidence from studies of one particular group of aquatic vertebrates commonly known as toadfishes that exhibit alternative reproductive tactics and depend upon acoustic communication for their reproductive success. Research support from NSF IOS-1656664 and 1457108.
