Seasonal variation in plasma sex steroid concentrations in juvenile American alligators

Abstract

Seasonal variation in plasma sex steroid concentrations is common in mature vertebrates, and is occasionally seen in juvenile animals. In this study, we examine the seasonal pattern of sex hormone concentration in juvenile American alligators ( Alligator mississippiensis) and make a limited comparison of these seasonal patterns on two different lakes in Florida. Male juvenile alligators from a reference lake, Lake Woodruff, displayed temporal patterns in plasma testosterone (T) concentrations that appear to be seasonal. A similar pattern in plasma estradiol-17β (E 2) was observed in juvenile females from Lake Woodruff. Males had significantly elevated T concentrations during the spring and late summer, whereas females had elevated E 2 in the spring and late summer and significantly depressed E 2 concentrations during the winter. A limited 4-month survey of animals from contaminated Lake Apopka found a lack of such seasonality. These results suggest that: (1) healthy wild populations of juvenile alligators have a prolonged peripubescent period that is marked by seasonal hormonal cycles, (2) juvenile alligators exposed to environmental contaminants can lack such seasonal cyclicity, and (3) future studies of juvenile alligators should incorporate such seasonality into the experimental design.