Meeting Abstract
Rosemary Knapp was an incredibly influential figure in behavioral endocrinology. Her meticulous work on hormonal regulation of alternative mating tactics set the stage for research in this area and guided many studies in this and other realms. Her knowledge, insight, wit and charm drew admiration from countless students and established scientists alike. Her passing is a major loss. As a PhD student in her lab, Rosemary and I developed some of the first work on hormonal regulation of alternative mating tactics in anuran amphibians. Here I compare our earlier work on toads (Bufo cognatus) to current work in treefrogs (Hyla cinerea). These two species differ in their ecology and behavior, especially in terms of temporal patterns of reproductive activity and aggression. I discuss how these differences relate to hormone production and conditional adoption of satellite behavior. A common theme that emerges from this work is that circulating glucocorticoid levels play a central role in mediating changes in both mating tactic expression and vocal attractiveness, implicating glucocorticoids as important modulators of sexually selected traits.
