Goldsmith A R, Williams D M
J Endocrinol. 1980 Aug;86(2):371-9. doi: 10.1677/joe.0.0860371.
The concentrations of prolactin and LH were measured in the plasma of male and female mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) during the breeding season. The concentration of prolactin in the female birds was low before and during egg-laying, increased threefold (P less than 0.001) during incubation and returned to basal levels immediately after the young were hatched. The drakes, which do not participate in incubation in this species, had fairly low prolactin levels throughout the breeding period; levels being slightly higher during the incubation phase than at other times but still much lower (P less than 0.001) than in the incubating females. Concentrations of LH in the females were high during egg-laying but declined at the onset of incubation. In the drakes levels of LH remained high for much longer and did not appear to decline at a fixed time relative to the reproductive cycle of the female birds. These observations support the view that prolactin is associated with incubation in birds, though the data do not permit a conclusion as to whether an increase in prolactin secretion causes incubation behaviour or is stimulated by it.
在繁殖季节，对雄性和雌性绿头鸭（Anas platyrhynchos）血浆中的催乳素和促黄体生成素浓度进行了测量。雌性鸟类在产卵前和产卵期间催乳素浓度较低，在孵化期间增加了两倍（P<0.001），幼雏孵化后立即恢复到基础水平。在这个物种中不参与孵化的雄鸭，在整个繁殖期催乳素水平相当低；在孵化阶段水平略高于其他时期，但仍远低于（P<0.001）正在孵化的雌性。雌性在产卵期间促黄体生成素浓度较高，但在孵化开始时下降。在雄鸭中，促黄体生成素水平保持较高的时间长得多，并且相对于雌鸟的生殖周期，似乎不会在固定时间下降。这些观察结果支持了催乳素与鸟类孵化有关的观点，尽管数据不允许得出催乳素分泌增加是导致孵化行为还是由孵化行为刺激的结论。
