Emily Scott
Masters Candidate, Integrative Biology, University of Colorado Denver

Effect of Serotonin on Mating Success in Male Teleopsis dalmanni

Successful mating is one of the most important behaviors to a species survival. Neuronal components, such as monoamines, that mediate whether a pair successfully mates or not are often overlooked in invertebrates such as Teleopsis dalmanni. Some monoamines that already have been implicated in reproductive behavior are dopamine and octopamine, but serotonin (5-HT) has not been fully examined. . We designed a study to explore the hypothesis that an increase in 5-HT in males would lead to an increase in successful mating attempts, as it increases aggressive behaviors between males.