Effects of septal lesions on the courtship behavior of male ring doves ( Streptopelia risoria)

Abstract

Male ring doves exhibit several androgen-dependent behavior patterns. Preliminary studies indicated that one of these, the nest-soliciting display, was selectively increased following septal lesions. In the present study castrated male ring doves received a septal lesion followed by daily intramuscular injections of 30 μg testosterone propionate (TP). Although one of the androgen-dependent displays, the bow-coo, was unaffected by the lesions, nest soliciting was significantly elevated during the period of hormone treatment. The restoration of nest-soliciting behavior in the males with septal lesions was even more rapid than that of unlesioned males receiving 200 μg TP/day, although after 12 days of treatment the performances of the latter came to approximate those of the males bearing septal lesions. Males that had received lesions in brain areas other than the septum were no more responsive to 30 μg of TP than were nonlesioned males receiving similar hormone treatment. It is suggested that the influence of the septum differs among the various androgen-dependent displays.