Plasticity in reproductive physiology is one avenue by which environmental signals, such as poor quality food, can be coordinated with adaptive responses. Insects have the ability to resorb oocytes that are not oviposited. Oosorption is proposed to be an adaptive mechanism to optimize fitness in hostile environments, recouping resources that might otherwise be lost, and reinvesting them into fu...

Non-invasive endocrinology utilizes non-invasive biological samples (such as faeces, urine, hair, aquatic media, and saliva) for the quantification of hormones in wildlife. Urinary-based enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and radio-immunoassay have enabled the rapid quantification of reproductive and stress hormones in amphibians (Anura: Amphibia). With minimal disturbance, these methods can be used to a...

A spring emergence of avian haemosporidian infections is nearly universal among temperate zone birds and is often described as a cost of reproductive effort. We take advantage of the opportunistic (i.e. aseasonal) breeding schedule of the red crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) to determine the relative contributions of season versus host physiology to the timing and intensity of Haemoproteus infecti...

Microbes play key roles in shaping the physiology of insects and can influence behavior, reproduction and susceptibility to pathogens. In Sub-Saharan Africa, two major malaria vectors, Anopheles gambiae and An. coluzzii, breed in distinct larval habitats characterized by different microorganisms that might affect their adult physiology and possibly Plasmodium transmission. We analyzed the repro...

The kisspeptin system has emerged as one of the most important circuits within the central network governing reproduction. Although kisspeptin physiology has been examined in many species, much of our understanding of this system has come from mice. Recently, the study of several innovative strains of genetically engineered mouse models has revealed intriguing and unexpected insights into the f...

Solicitation signals by offspring are well known to influence parental behaviour, and it is commonly assumed that this behavioural effect translates into an effect on residual reproduction of parents. However, this equivalence assumption concerning behavioural and reproductive effects caused by offspring signals remains largely untested. Here, we tested the effect of a chemical offspring signal...

Seasonal breeding in the temperate zone is a dramatic example of a naturally occurring change in physiology and behaviour. Cues that predict periods of environmental amelioration favourable for breeding must be processed by the brain so that the appropriate responses in reproductive physiology can be implemented. The neural integration of several environmental cues converges on discrete hypotha...

Semen, The Ultra-Structure of Mammalian Spermatozoa, Pheromones and Mammalian Reproduction, The Uterus and the Control of Ovarian Function, The Hazards of Birth, and Human Fertility as a World Problem. Each of the separate subjects listed above was authored by an individual or group of individuals who appear to be extremely familiar with their subject material. In each of the chapters a rather ...

Hormone analysis is a precise and widely accepted tool for monitoring reproductive function and responses to stressors. Although hormones are present and can be measured in various biological matrices, non-invasive methods have gained popularity over the past 30 years as a more practical approach for assessing ovarian, testicular and, more recently, adrenocortical activity in intractable wildli...