Objective
Effects of hormones on behaviour have been recognized for over a century. The reciprocal is also true behaviour can have profound effects on hormone secretions. For example, in response to conspecific intruders, testosterone in territorial male birds can increase to maintain aggression over the course of a challenge.
Thus, social cues are often powerful stimuli for the induction of neuroendocrine responses. Recognition of competitors can be altered by sexual imprinting birds reared by heterospecifics (cross-fostered birds) often misdirect territorial aggression toward the foster species. However, it is not known whether neuroendocrine responses are misdirected in a similar fashion.
The organization of the neuroendocrine system may be pre-programmed to respond only to conspecific cues. Great tits and blue tits misdirect aggressive responses after cross-fostering. We will examine whether the testosterone response of free-living tits toward heterospecifics becomes similarly misdirected to determine whether the organization of hormonal responses is flexible to early social learning.
We hypothesize that early social memory will have a tremendous impact not only on behaviour, but also on the structuring of endocrine responses in the brain. Tits will be cross-fostered in woodland plots near Oslo, Norway. Great tits and blue tits are especially well-suited for this proposed research because they show species-specific differences in the degree of sexual imprinting.
The behavioural responses of adult cross-fostered males toward conspecific and heterospecific decoys will be investigated with simulated territorial intrusions. Blood from focal birds will then be collected and assayed for testosterone. Birds raised by unrelated conspecifics will serve as controls.
These studies w ill strengthen our understanding of the role of early social cues in the control of neuroendocrine secretions, and will provide a solid basis for future studies of hormone-behaviour interactions.
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Keywords
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP6-2002-MOBILITY-7
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Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
IIF - Marie Curie actions-Incoming International Fellowships
Coordinator
OSLO
Norway
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