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Connor Lambert_Thesis_FINAL.pdf (814.91 KB)

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ERa Expression and Monogamy in Prairie Voles: An Experimental Field Study

Lambert, Connor T.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1524835563594466

Abstract Details

2018, Master of Science, Miami University, Biology.
Field studies can greatly enhance our understanding of mechanisms that mediate social behaviors. Laboratory experiments indicate that relatively low expression of estrogen receptor alpha (ERa) in the medial amygdala (MeA) of the brain is linked to behaviors indicative of social monogamy in male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), but this has not been examined in a field setting. I tested the hypothesis that ERa expression in the MeA influences sociosexual behaviors of male prairie voles in an ecologically relevant setting. I created replicate, semi-natural populations of prairie voles during 2015 and 2016 and monitored their behavior for 15 weeks. Males were bred for contrasting ERa expression in the first experiment and RNAi was used to inhibit ERa in half the males for the second. Although I detected little difference in males’ behaviors in the first experiment, I found that males with lower ERa had stronger associations with one female, smaller home ranges overlapping fewer females, and greater home range overlap with one female than males with higher ERa in the second experiment. These findings suggest that ERa in the MeA is an ecologically relevant mediator of sociosexual behavior and may be important in the evolution of monogamy in the prairie vole.
Nancy Solomon, PhD (Advisor)
Brian Keane, PhD (Advisor)
Ann Rypstra, PhD (Committee Member)
39 p.
Animals; Behavioral Sciences; Biology; Neurobiology; Zoology
monogamy; estrogen receptor alpha; prairie vole; medial amygdala; social behavior; social brain; field study; RNAi vector

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Lambert, C. T. (2018). ERa Expression and Monogamy in Prairie Voles: An Experimental Field Study [Master's thesis, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1524835563594466

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Lambert, Connor. ERa Expression and Monogamy in Prairie Voles: An Experimental Field Study . 2018. Miami University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1524835563594466.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Lambert, Connor. "ERa Expression and Monogamy in Prairie Voles: An Experimental Field Study ." Master's thesis, Miami University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1524835563594466

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

miami1524835563594466
361
© 2018, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Miami University and OhioLINK.
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