Life history and hormones - Why are hormone levels so different between and among individuals and species?

fan-tailed whydah courting

© Wolfgang Goymann

fan-tailed whydah courting

© Wolfgang Goymann

Individual birds show huge differences in the concentration of hormones such as testosterone or corticosterone. Which environmental, social and intrinsic factors drive the huge differences in hormone levels? And how do these differences affect survival, health, fecundity, and reproductive success of individuals?

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Selected publications of the Hormones and life histories project

Moore, I.T.; Hernandez, J.; Goymann, W.: Who rises to the challenge? Testing the Challenge Hypothesis in fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. Hormones and Behavior (2020) DOI

Goymann, W.; Moore, I. T.; Oliveira, R. F.: Challenge hypothesis 2.0: A fresh look at an established idea. Bioscience 69 (6), S. 432 - 442 (2019) DOI

Wingfield, J. C.; Goymann, W.; Jalabert, C.; Soma, K. K.: Concepts derived from the Challenge Hypothesis. Hormones and Behavior 115, 104550 (2019) DOI

Goymann, W.; Dávila, P. F.: Acute peaks of testosterone suppress paternal care: Evidence from individual hormonal reaction norms. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 284 (1857), 20170632 (2017) DOI

Hau, M.; Goymann, W.: Endocrine mechanisms, behavioral phenotypes and plasticity: Known relationships and open questions. Frontiers in Zoology 12 (Suppl. 1), S7 (2015) DOI

Goymann, W.; Helm, B.: Seasonality of life histories in tropical birds: Circannual rhythms and Zeitgeber. In: Annual, lunar, and tidal clocks. Patterns and mechanisms of nature's enigmatic rhythms, S. 247 - 275 (Hg. Numata, H.; Helm, B.). Springer, Tokyo (2014) DOI

Goymann, W.; Wingfield, J. C.: Male-to-female testosterone ratios, dimorphism, and life history-what does it really tell us? Behavioral Ecology 25 (4), S. 685 - 699 (2014) DOI

Goymann, W.; Wingfield, J. C.: Correlated evolution of female and male testosterone-internal constraints or external determinants? A response to comments on Goymann and Wingfield. Behavioral Ecology 25 (4), S. 704 - 705 (2014) DOI

Creel, S.; Dantzer, B.; Goymann, W.; Rubenstein, D. R.: The ecology of stress: Effects of the social environment. Functional Ecology 27 (1), S. 66 - 80 (2013) DOI

Hirschenhauser, K.; Gahr, M.; Goymann, W.: Winning and losing in public: Audiences direct future success in Japanese quail. Hormones and Behavior 63 (4), S. 625 - 633 (2013) DOI

Buehler, D. M.; Vezina, F.; Goymann, W.; Schwabl, I.; Versteegh, M.; Tieleman, B. I.; Piersma, T.: Independence among physiological traits suggests flexibility in the face of ecological demands on phenotypes. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 25 (8), S. 1600 - 1613 (2012) DOI

Goymann, W.; Landys, M. M.: Testosterone and year-round territoriality in tropical and non-tropical songbirds. Journal of Avian Biology 42 (6), S. 485 - 489 (2011) DOI

Landys, M. M.; Goymann, W.; Schwabl, I.; Trappschuh, M.; Slagsvold, T.: Impact of season and social challenge on testosterone and corticosterone levels in a year-round territorial bird. Hormones and Behavior 58 (2), S. 317 - 325 (2010) DOI

Goymann, W.: Social modulation of androgens in male birds. General and Comparative Endocrinology 163 (1-2), S. 149 - 157 (2009) DOI

Hau, M.; Gill, S. A.; Goymann, W.: Tropical field endocrinology: Ecology and evolution of testosterone concentrations in male birds. Invited review. General and Comparative Endocrinology 157 (3), S. 241 - 248 (2008) DOI

Goymann, W.; Landys, M. M.; Wingfield, J. C.: Distinguishing seasonal androgen responses from male-male androgen responsiveness - Revisiting the Challenge Hypothesis. Hormones and Behavior 51 (4), S. 463 - 476 (2007) DOI

Landys, M. M.; Goymann, W.; Räß, M.; Slagsvold, T.: Hormonal responses to male-male social challenge in the blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus: Single-broodedness as an explanatory variable. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 80 (2), S. 228 - 240 (2007) DOI

Goymann, W.; Geue, D.; Schwabl, I.; Flinks, H.; Schmidl, D.; Schwabl, H.; Gwinner, E.: Testosterone and corticosterone during the breeding cycle of equatorial and European stonechats (Saxicola torquata axillaris and S. t. rubicola). Hormones and Behavior 50 (5), S. 779 - 785 (2006) DOI

Goymann, W.; Moore, I. T.; Scheuerlein, A.; Hirschenhauser, K.; Grafen, A.; Wingfield, J. C.: Testosterone in tropical birds: Effects of environmental and social factors. American Naturalist 164 (3), S. 327 - 334 (2004) DOI

Goymann, W.; Wingfield, J. C.: Allostatic load, social status and stress hormones: The costs of social status matter. Animal Behaviour 67 (3), S. 591 - 602 (2004) DOI