Changes in plasma progesterone in female Vipera aspis L. (Reptilia, Viperidae) during the sexual cycle in pregnant and nonpregnant females.

The plasma progesterone concentration in female Vipera aspis changes during pregnancy and exhibits an increase before ovulation, a summer peak, a decrease up to parturition, and a new increase at the beginning of hibernation. For females in their first or second year after gestation, the evolution of plasma progesterone shows a spring peak and a summer peak. Whatever the stage of the sexual cycle, females present two annual periods of steroidogenic activity producing plasma progesterone: one in spring and one in summer. All data suggest an annual endogenous endocrinological cycle of reproduction, modulated by external factors (temperature, food availability). The origin of plasma progesterone and its control in the sexual cycle are discussed.