Long-term sperm storage and plasma steroid profile of pregnancy in a western diamond-backed rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)

Herpetological Review

Volumn 35, Issue 4, 2004, Pages 328-333

  Schuett, Gordon W ^a   Grober, Matthew S ^b   Van Kirk, Edward A ^c   Murdoch, William J ^c  

^a ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY WEST   (United States)

^b GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CROTALUS; CROTALUS ATROX; SERPENTES;

EID: 12244280879     PISSN: 0018084X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (63)

1. ALDRIDGE, R. D. 1979. Female reproductive cycles of the snakes Arizona elegans and Crotalus viridis. Herpetologica 35:256-261.
2. _, AND D. DUVALL. 2002. Evolution of the mating season in the pitvipers of North America. Herpetol. Monogr. 16:1-25.
3. ALMEIDA-SANTOS, S. M., F. M. F. ABDALLA, P. F. SILVEIRA, N. YAMANOUYE, M. C. BRENO, AND M. G. SALOMÃO. In press. Reproductive cycle of the Neotropical Crotalus durissus terrificus: I. Seasonal levels and interplay between steroid hormones and vasotocinase. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol.
4. BELL, M. E., T. R. MYERS, T. J. MCDONALD, AND D. A. MYERS. 1997. Fetal sheep pituitary proopiomelanocortin in late gestation: effect of bilateral lesions of the paraventricular nucleus on regional and cellular messenger ribonucleic acid levels. Endocrinology 138:3873-3880.
5. BONNET, X., G. NAULLEAU, AND R. MAUGET. 1994. The influence of body condition on the 17-β estradiol levels in relation to vitellogenesis in female Vipera aspis (Reptilia, Viperidae). Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 93:424-437.
6. _, D. BRADSHAW, AND R. SHINE. 2001. Changes in plasma progesterone in relation to vitellogenesis and gestation in the viviparous snake Vipera aspis. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 121:84-94.
7. _, AND O. LOURDAIS. 2002. Benefits of complementary techniques: using capture-recapture and physiological approaches to understand the costs of reproduction in the Aspic Viper (Vipera aspis). In G. W. Schuett, M. Höggren, M. E. Douglas, and H. W. Greene (eds.), Biology of the Vipers, pp. 483-496. Eagle Mountain Publishing, Eagle Mountain, Utah.
8. BREUNER, C. W., AND M. ORCHINIK. 2002. Plasma binding proteins as mediators of corticosteroid action in vertebrates. J. Endocrinol. 175:99-112.
9. CALLARD, G. V., Z. PETRO, AND K. J. RYAN. 1977. Identification of aromatase in the reptilian brain. Endocrinology 100:1214-1218.
10. _, AND _. 1978. Conversion of androgen to estrogen and other steroids in the vertebrate brain. Amer. Zool. 18:511-523.
11. CAMPBELL, J. A., AND E. D. BRODIE, JR. (eds.). 1992. Biology of the Pitvipers. Selva, Tyler, Texas.
12. CHAN, S. W. C., S. ZIEGEL, AND I. P. CALLARD. 1973. Plasma progesterone in snakes. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 44A:631-637
13. CUSTODIA-LORA, N., AND I. P. CALLARD. 2002. Progesterone and progesterone receptors in reptiles. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 127:1-7.
14. DRICKAMER, L. C., AND L. L. GILLIE. 1998. Integrating proximate and ultimate causation in the study of vertebrate behavior: methods consideration. Amer. Zool. 38:43-58.
15. DUVALL, D., S. J. ARNOLD, AND G. W. SCHUETT. 1992. Pitviper mating systems: ecological potential, sexual selection, and microevolution. In J. A. Campbell and E. D. Brodie, Jr. (eds.), Biology of the Pitvipers, pp. 321-336. Selva, Tyler, Texas.
16. _, G. W. SCHUETT, AND S. J. ARNOLD. 1993. Ecology and evolution of snake mating systems. In R. A. Seigel and J. T. Collins (eds.), Snakes: Ecology and Behavior, pp. 165-200. McGraw-Hill, New York.
17. EDWARDS, A., AND S. M. JONES. 2001. Changes in plasma progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone concentrations throughout the reproductive cycle in female viviparous Blue-tongued Skinks, Tiliqua nigrolutea (Scincidae), in Tasmania. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 122:260-269.
18. FITCH, H. S., AND G. R. PISANI. Life history traits of the Western Diamond-back Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) studied from roundup samples in Oklahoma. Occ. Papers Mus. Nat. Hist. Univ. Kansas 156:1-24.
19. GANS, C., AND D. CREWS (eds.). 1992. Biology of the Reptilia, Vol. 18. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
20. GARSTKA, W. R., R. R. TOKARZ, M. DIAMOND, A. HALPERT, AND D. CREWS. 1985. Behavioral and physiological control of yolk synthesis and deposition in the female Red-sided Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis). Horm. Behav. 19:137-153.
21. GIBBS, H. L., AND P. J. WEATHERHEAD. 2001. Insights into population ecology and sexual selection in snakes through application of DNA-based genetic markers. J. Hered. 92:173-179.
22. GIRLING, J. E., AND A. CREE. 1995. Plasma corticosterone levels are not significantly related to reproductive stage in female common geckos (Hoplodactylus maculates)
23. HIGHFILL, D. R., AND R. A. MEAD. 1975a. Sources and levels of progesterone during pregnancy in the garter snake, Thamnophis elegans. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 27:389-400.
24. _, AND _. 1975 b. Function of corpora lutea of pregnancy in the viviparous garter snake, Thamnophis elegans. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 27:401-407.
25. Ho, S.-M., S. KLEIS, R. MCPHERSON, G. J. HEISERMANN, AND I. P. CALLARD. 1982. Regulation of vitellogenesis in reptiles. Herpetologica 38:40-50.
26. _. 1987. Endocrinology of vitellogenesis. In D. O. Norris, and R. E. Jones (eds.), Hormones and Reproduction in Fishes, Amphibians, and Reptiles, pp. 145-169. Plenum Press, New York.
27. JENNINGS, D. H., M. C. MOORE, R. KNAPP, L. MATTHEWS, AND M. ORCHINIK. 2000. Plasma steroid-binding globulin mediation of differences in stress reactivity in alternative male phenotypes in tree lizards, Urosaurus ornatus. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 120:289-299.
28. nd ed. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles.
29. KLEIS-SAN FRANCISCO, S., AND I. P. CALLARD. 1986. Progesterone receptors on the oviduct of a viviparous snake (Nerodia): correlations with ovarian function and plasma steroid levels. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 63:220-229.
30. MARTÍNEZ-TORRES, M., M. E. HERNÁNDEZ-CABALLERO, C. ALVAREZ-RODRIGUEZ, J. A. LUIS-DÍAZ, AND G. ORTÍZ-LÓPEZ. 2003. Luteal development and progesterone levels during pregnancy of the viviparous temperate lizard Barisia imbricata imbricata (Reptilia: Anguidae). Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 132:55-65.
31. MCNICOL, D., JR., AND D. CREWS. 1979. Estrogen/progesterone synergy in the control of female sexual receptivity in the lizard, Anolis carolinensis. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 38:68-74.
32. MENDONÇA, M., AND D. CREWS. 1990. Mating-induced neuroendocrine reflex in the garter snake: facultative ovarian development. J. Comp. Physiol. A166:629-632.
33. MOORE, M. C., AND J. LINDZEY. 1992. The physiological basis of sexual behavior in male reptiles. In C. Gans and D. Crews (eds.), Biology of the Reptilia, Vol. 18, pp. 70-113. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
34. +-ATPaSe during fetal life in sheep. Amer. J. Physiol. 276:R1825-R1832.
35. REPP, R. A. 1998. Wintertime observations of five species of reptiles in the Tucson area: shelter site selections / fidelity to shelter sites / note on behavior. Bull. Chicago Herpetol. Soc. 33:49-56.
36. ROSEN, P. C., AND S. R. GOLDBERG. 2002. Female reproduction in the Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox (Serpentes: Viperidae), from Arizona. Texas J. Sci. 54:347-356.
37. SAINT GIRONS, H., S. D. BRADSHAW, AND F. J. BRADSHAW. 1993. Sexual activity and plasmalevels of sex steroids in the Aspic viper Vipera aspis L. (Reptilia, Viperidae). Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 91:287-297.
38. SCHUETT, G. W. 1982. A Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) brood produced from autumn copulations. Copeia 1982:700-702.
39. _. 1992. Is long-term sperm storage an important component of the reproductivebiology of temperate pitvipers? In J. A Campbell, and E. D. Brodie, Jr. (eds.), Biology of the Pitvipers, pp. 169-184. Selva, Tyler, Texas.
40. _, S. L. CARLISLE, A. T. HOLYCROSS, J. K. O'LEILE, D. L. HARDY, SR., E. A VAN KIRK, AND W. J. MURDOCH. 2002a. Mating system of male Mojave Rattlesnakes (Crotalus scutulatus): seasonal timing of mating, agonistic behavior, spermatogenesis, sexual segment of the kidney, and plasma sex steroids. In G. W. Schuett, M. Höggren, M. E. Douglas, and H. W. Greene (eds.), Biology of the Vipers, pp. 515-532. Eagle Mountain Publishing, Eagle Mountain, Utah.
41. _, P. J. FERNANDEZ, W. F. GERGITS, N. J. CASNA, D. CHISZAR, H. M. SMITH, J. B. MITTON, S. P. MACKESSY, R. A. ODUM, AND M. J. DEMLONG. 1997a. Production of offspring in the absence of males: evidence for facultative parthenogenesis in bisexual snakes. Herpetol. Nat. Hist. 5:1-10.
42. _, AND M. S. GROBER. 2000. Post-fight levels of plasma lactate and plasma corticosterone in male Copperheads, Agkistrodon contortrix (Serpentes, Viperidae): differences between winners and losers. Physiol. Behav. 71(3-4):335-341.
43. _, H. J. HARLOW, J. D. ROSE, E. A VAN KIRK, AND W. J. MURDOCH. 1996. Levels of plasma corticosterone and testosterone in male Copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix) following staged fights. Horm. Behav. 30:60-68.
44. _, AND _. 1997b. Annual cycle of plasma testosterone in male Copperheads, Agkistrodon contortrix (Serpentes, Viperidae): relationship to timing of spermatogenesis, mating, and agonistic behavior. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 105:417-424.
45. _, M. HÖGGREN, M. E. DOUGLAS AND H. W. GREENE (eds.). 2002b. Biology of the Vipers. Eagle Mountain Publishing, Eagle Mountain, Utah.
46. _, D.L. HARDY, SR., H. W. GREENE, R. L. BARLEY, M. S. GROBER, E. A. VAN KIRK, AND W. J. MURDOCH. In press. Sympatric rattlesnakes with contrasting mating systems show differences in seasonal patterns of plasma sex steroids. Anim. Behav.
47. _, R. A. REPP, E. N. TAYLOR, D. F. DENARDO, E. A. VAN KIRK, AND W. J. MURDOCH. 2001. Plasma sex steroid levels of wild Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes (Crotalus atrox) during winter. Horm. Behav. 39:348.
48. _, E. N. TAYLOR, E. A. VAN KIRK, AND W. J. MURDOCH. 2004. Handling stress and plasma corticosterone levels in captive male Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnakes (Crotalus atrox). Herpetol. Rev. 35:229-233.
49. SEIGEL, R. A., AND N. B. FORD. 1987. Reproductive ecology. In R. A. Seigel, J. T. Collins, and S. S. Novak (eds.), Snakes: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, pp. 210-252. Macmillan Publishing, New York.
50. SEVER, D. H., AND W. C. HAMLETT. 2002. Female sperm storage in reptiles. J. Exp. Zool. 292:187-199.
51. SHINE, R. 2003. Reproductive strategies in snakes. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 270:995-1004.
52. SMITH, R. 1999. The timing of birth. Sci. Amer. 280:68-75.
53. STAUB, N. L., and M. DE BEER. 1997. The role of androgens in female vertebrates. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 108:1-24.
54. TAYLOR, E. N., D. F. DENARDO, AND D. H. JENNINGS. 2004. Seasonal steroid hormone levels and their relation to reproduction in the Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox (Serpentes: Viperidae). Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 136:328-337.
55. _, AND G. W. SCHUETT. 2004. Effect of temperature and storage duration on the stability of steroid hormones in blood samples from Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnakes (Crotalus atrox). Herpetol. Rev. 35:14-17
56. TINKLE, D. W. 1962. Reproductive potential and cycles in female Crotalus atrox from northwestern Texas. Copeia 1962:306-313.
57. TSAI, T.-S., AND M.-C. TU. 2002. Reproductive cycle of female Chinese Green Tree Vipers, Trimeresurus stejnegeri stejnegeri, in northern Taiwan. Herpetologica 57:157-168.
58. WEISS, G. 2000. Endocrinology of parturition. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metabol. 85:4421-4425.
59. WHITTIER, J. M., AND R. R. TOKARZ. 1992. Physiological regulation of sexual behavior in female reptiles. In C. Gans, and D. Crews (eds.), Biology of the Reptilia, Vol. 18, pp. 24-69. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
60. _, R. T. MASON, AND D. CREWS. 1987. Plasma steroid hormone levels of female Red-sided Garter Snakes, Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis: relationship to mating and gestation. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 67:33-43.
61. WILSON, B. S., AND J. C. WINGFIELD. 1992. Correlation between female reproductive condition and plasma corticosterone in the lizard Uta stansburiana. Copeia 1992:691-697.
62. WU, J., J. M. WHITTIER, AND D. CREWS. 1985. Role of progesterone in the control of female sexual receptivity in Anolis carolinensis. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 58:402-406
63. XAVIER, F. 1987. Functional morphology and regulation of the corpus luteum. In D. O. Norris, and R. E. Jones (eds.), Hormones and Reproduction in Fishes, Amphibians, and Reptiles, pp. 241-282. Plenum Press, New York.