Could steroid hormones act as pheromones in the aquatic frog, Xenopus laevis?
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1
Denison University, Biology, United States
The African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, is a fully aquatic, nocturnal species that inhabits the murky waters of African ponds. The use of vocalizations for social communication is well documented in this species, and it is clear from laboratory experiments that males increase advertisement calling in the presence of a sexually receptive female. However, the female need not call to elicit this response from the male. Visual signaling is not useful in detecting the gravid female due to eye placement and environmental conditions, but chemical communication is a real possibility that has not been previously examined. Based on the finding that steroid hormones act as pheromones in fish, we hypothesized that the increased release of estradiol and progesterone into the water by a sexually receptive female prior to oviposition could be a cue to increase male advertisement calling. Adult males were exposed to estradiol and progesterone in tank water, or to a plain water control, while their vocalizations were recorded. Males were also placed with gonadectomized male or female frogs, with and without hormones in the water, to assess the impact of other non-vocal, non-sex steroid cues. We found that male advertisement calling significantly increased in response to hormone exposure, particularly in the presence of an ovariectomized female, indicating that males were able to use water-borne sex-steroids to detect and respond to female reproductive status. Interestingly, we also found that males were able to distinguish between the sexes of the conspecifics they were housed with, even after gonadectomy, as calling was suppressed in the presence of a neutered male, even with hormonal exposure. This is the first evidence we know of that an amphibian may use steroid sex hormones as pheromones.
Acknowledgements
We thank the Denison University Research Foundation and the Anderson-Bowen Endowment for funding of this work.
Keywords:
advertisement call,
African clawed frog,
anuran amphibian,
chemical communication,
estrogen,
Progesterone
Conference:
Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology, College Park. Maryland USA, United States, 5 Aug - 10 Aug, 2012.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation (see alternatives below as well)
Topic:
Social Behavior
Citation:
Rhodes
HJ and
Ramsay
MJ
(2012). Could steroid hormones act as pheromones in the aquatic frog, Xenopus laevis?.
Conference Abstract:
Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnbeh.2012.27.00165
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Received:
27 Apr 2012;
Published Online:
07 Jul 2012.
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Correspondence:
Dr. Heather J Rhodes, Denison University, Biology, Granville, OH, 43023, United States, rhodesh@denison.edu