Meeting Abstract

59.5  Wednesday, Jan. 6  Hormonal correlates accompanying reproductive behavior in three species of python BRASHEARS, J.A.*; DENARDO, D.F.; Arizona State University jake.brashears@asu.edu

Parental care, while ubiquitous among mammals and birds, is also common in ectothermic vertebrates. The examination of parental care across major taxa sheds light on the physiological context within which it evolves. Pythonidae offers a unique opportunity to study parental care due to the interspecific variation in the complexity of parental behavior found within the family. To date, little is know about the hormonal mechanisms that are involved in the expression of parental care of ectotherms. We determined hormonal levels of 4 sex steroids – estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and corticosterone – as well as free thyroxine during three reproductive stages: non-reproductive, gravid, and brooding.