CSIRO Publishing Books Journals About Us Shopping Cart You are here: Journals > Australian Journal of Zoology   
Australian Journal of Zoology
  Evolutionary, Molecular and Comparative Zoology
 
Search
 
 
  Advanced Search
   

Journal Home
About the Journal
Editorial Board
Contacts
Content
Online Early
Current Issue
Just Accepted
All Issues
Special Issues
Sample Issue
For Authors
General Information
Notice to Authors
Submit Article
Open Access
For Referees
General Information
Review Article
Annual Referee Index
For Subscribers
Subscription Prices
Customer Service

 Early Alert
Subscribe to our Email Alert or RSS feeds for the latest journal papers.

 Connect with us
facebook   youtube

 Zool. Suppl. Series
All volumes of the Australian Journal of Zoology Supplementary Series are online and available to subscribers of Australian Journal of Zoology.

 

Article << Previous     |     Next >>   Contents Vol 53(4)

Reproductive biology and stress of captivity in male brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) on Guam

Robert D. Aldridge A B, Anna A. Arackal A

A Department of Biology, Saint Louis University, 3507 Laclede Avenue, St Louis, MO 63103-2010, USA.
B Corresponding author. Email: aldridge@slu.edu
 
PDF (278 KB) $25
 Export Citation
 Print
  


Abstract

This study was designed to describe the reproductive biology of a sample of wild-caught brown treesnakes and to determine the effect of increased food intake (nutrition) on the development of the testis and sexual segment of the kidney, and on sperm storage in the vas deferens in captive males. The wild snakes were trapped and preserved within 24 h, in December 1999, from a snake trap-line in northern Guam. In the nutrition experiment adult snakes were matched for snout–vent length and separated into three groups. Groups 1 and 2 were fed a high-calorie diet for 8 and 4 weeks, respectively. Group 3 males, the control group, received a low-calorie diet and were preserved at 7 weeks. In the wild sample all snakes above 1035 mm snout–vent length were undergoing spermatogenesis, had a well developed sexual segment of the kidney, and had sperm stored in the vas deferens. In all experimental groups, spermatogenesis and development of the sexual segment of the kidney was terminated or inhibited, and in most snakes sperm were absent from the vas deferens. Blood levels of stress hormones (i.e. corticosterone) and reproductive hormones (androgens) were not measured. However, a previous study reported that the stress of captivity causes an increase in plasma levels of corticosterone in brown treesnakes, and other studies on squamates indicate that high corticosterone levels can disrupt reproductive hormones and shut down the reproductive cycle.

   
Subscriber Login
Username:
Password:  

    


 
Top  Email this page
 
Legal & Privacy | Contact Us | Help

CSIRO

© CSIRO 1996-2012