Naslov
Neurochemical correlates of competitive exclusion in reptiles: the role of dopamine in the brains of two species of lizard - Podarcis siculus and Podarcis melisellensis

Autori
Blažević, Sofia Ana ; Glogoški, Marko ; Nikolić, Barbara ; Tkalec, Mirta ; Hranilović, Dubravka ; Lisičić, Duje

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
Fens Regional Meeting 2019 : book of abstracts / Isaković, Anđelka - Beograd : Serbian Neuroscience Society, 2019, 557-557

ISBN
978-86-917255-3-2

Skup
FENS Regional Meeting 2019

Mjesto i datum
Beograd, Srbija, 10.07.2019. - 13.07.2019

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Poster

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
catecholamines ; HPLC ; behavior ; lizard

Sažetak
In the Eastern Adriatic, the Italian wall lizard (Podarcis siculus, PS), a dominant competitor, excludes from a shared habitat the endemic Dalmatian wall lizard (P. melisellensis, PM). Brain monoamines have a wide implication in social behavior traits and could lie at the basis of this behavioral interference. Animals of both species were collected from the same area and, after a period of acclimatization at the Department of Animal Physiology, we conducted two basic cognitive behavioral tests: open field and radial maze. In addition, we developed a high performance liquid chromatography (UV/VIS detection) method with which we reliably measured concentrations of 5HT, DA, and NA in 32 brains of the two lizard species. In behavioral tests, PS showed significantly higher exploratory tendencies and greater activity than PM (spent more time on hind legs, entered into more radial maze arms, reached the end of an arm more frequently, moved over greater distance). In the brain, no statistically significant influence of species, sex, or their interaction was observed for NA and 5HT concentrations. PS had statistically significant higher levels of dopamine in brain, twice as much, than PM. Taking into account that a significant aggressive relationship, with PS dominating over PM, has been previously observed, and that dopamine – linked to higher activity and initiative – directly influences this behavior, the observed differences in dopamine levels could represent a trait in these species and may contribute to the competitive exclusion of P. melisellensis by P. siculus in the Eastern Adriatic.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Biologija

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