Hormonal control of male reproductive behavior in the lizard, Anolis carolinensis: role of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and estradiol.

The androgen aromatization hypothesis was examined in the male lizard, Anolis carolinensis. After castration, sc silastic implants of testosterone (T) restored both challenge and courtship behavior, while dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or 17beta-estradiol (E) had no effect on male behaviors. Both T and DHT, but not E, stimulated hypertrophy and colloid production by the renal sex segment, a secondary sexual characteristic of male lizards. In two separate studies, castrates received DHT in combination with E. In each replicate, half of the castrates responded with increases in courtship behavior after hormone treatment. Epithelial cell height of the sex segment of all DHT and E-treated castrates was comparable to T- or DHT-treated castrates, but colloid production was not stimulated. These experiments indicate that in this species, treatment with T stimulates both sexual behavior and secondary sex character development, whereas treatment with E alone is without effect centrally or peripherally.