An organism's reproductive fitness is sensitive to the environment, integrating cues of resource availability, ecological factors, and hazards within its habitat. Events that challenge the environment of an organism activate the central stress response system, which is primarily mediated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The regulatory functions of the HPA axis govern the cardio...

Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] yield formation is severely affected by high temperature stress during reproductive stages. This study pursues to (i) identify the growth stage(s) most sensitive to high temperature stress during reproductive development, (ii) determine threshold temperature and duration of high temperature stress that decreases floret fertility and individual grain weight,...

Animals facing seasonal variation in food availability experience selective pressures that favor behavioral adjustments such as migration, changes in activity, or shifts in diet. Eclectic omnivores such as many primates can process low-quality fallback food when preferred food is unavailable. Such dietary flexibility, however, may be insufficient to eliminate constraints on reproduction even fo...

M. Bansal and N. Kaushal, Oxidative Stress Mechanisms and their Modulation, DOI 10.1007/978-81-322-2032-9_2, © Springer India 2014 Oxidative stress has been well implicated in the pathogenesis of various human diseases. Presently mechanistic considerations of the oxidative stress pathogenesis in most vital organ systems, e.g., nervous system, cardiovascular system, male/ female reproductive sys...

fertility in the male is dependent on the proper production of sperm cells. this process, called spermatogenesis is very complex and involves the synchronization of numerous factors. the presence of pro–inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (tnf–α), interleukin–1 alpha (il–1 α) and interleukin 1 beta (il–1 β) cytokines in the male reproductive tract (testis, epididymis and sperm) ...

OBJECTIVES The present study was undertaken to determine the effects of acute exposure to malathion on oxidative stress and cytotoxic potential of anticholinesterase insecticide, malathion in reproductive toxicology of adolescent male mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty two adolescent male mice at pubertal age were treated with 500 mg/kg body weight (BW) of malathion for three days. After expo...

The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axis systems are inversely related in humans and animals. Although livestock animals, such as sheep (Ovis aries), tend to be well adapted to their environment, it is known that the livestock production processes subject animals to a multitude of physical and psychological stressful stimuli that have the p...

Oxidative stress, determined by the balance between the production of damaging reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant defences, is hypothesized to play an important role in shaping the cost of reproduction and life history trade-offs. To test this hypothesis, we manipulated reproductive effort in 94 breeding pairs of tawny owls (Strix aluco) to investigate the sex- and melanism-specific ...

In many taxa, reproductive performance increases throughout the lifespan and this may occur in part because older adults invest more in reproduction. The mechanisms that facilitate an increase in reproductive performance with age, however, are poorly understood. In response to stressors, vertebrates release glucocorticoids, which enhance survival but concurrently shift investment away from repr...