Photo courtesy of © MPI for Biological Intelligence / Axel Griesch
Ruffs have three male morphs that differ in the expression of male sexual behaviour. A collaborative study together with colleagues of FU Berlin, Helmholtz Munich, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, and the Max-Planck-Institute for Behavioral Intelligence, showed that these differences are mainly due to the regulation of circulating levels of testosterone in the blood of males. A modified enzyme breaks down the concentration of testosterone very rapidly in the morphs that show low levels of aggression toward other males during courtship.
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