Sensitivity of Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) to amplitudes and rates of photoperiodic change typical of the tropics.

Empirical data suggest that reproductive photoresponsiveness occurs in some populations of mammals above 13 degrees of latitude, but may be absent in populations from 0 degrees to 10 degrees of latitude. The present experiments examined the degree to which the low amplitude of change in photoperiod in the tropics constrains mammals from using daylength as a seasonal cue. The Syrian hamster, a temperate-zone species, was studied because of its well-documented ability to respond to small changes in photoperiod, and because of the absence of an alternative robustly responding species from the tropics. We subjected adult male hamsters to photoperiods that mimicked the amplitude and rate of photoperiod change of 30 degrees, 20 degrees, 10 degrees, and 5 degrees of latitude, but centered around an estimate of their critical daylength. For comparison, a fifth group was subjected to an abrupt change in daylength of a magnitude equal to the total annual variation occurring at 30 degrees. The two groups experiencing the gradually changing daylengths of 30 degrees and 20 degrees showed less within-group synchrony during testicular regression; in other dimensions of the annual testis cycle, including the degree of synchrony exhibited during recrudescence, they reacted similarly to the hamsters given the abrupt change in daylength. Some of the hamsters exposed to the gradually changing daylengths of 10 degrees responded to this challenge, as did a few in the 5 degrees treatment--in both cases, with poor within-group synchrony and a submaximal decrease in testis size. In an abbreviated second experiment, hamsters given abrupt decreases in daylength of magnitudes equal to those of the 10 degrees and 5 degrees groups responded slightly more frequently, and with maximal decreases in testis size. This suggests that mammals may not be constrained absolutely by an inability to respond to changes in photoperiod at 5 degrees to 10 degrees latitude. Seasonally breeding populations of mammals in the deep tropics that do not use photoperiod to regulate reproduction may use nonphotoperiodic cues because they offer a higher signal-to-noise ratio than do tropical changes in photoperiod.

Tau differences between short-day responsive and short-day nonresponsive white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) do not affect reproductive photoresponsiveness.

In laboratory-bred rodent populations, intraspecific variation in circadian system organization is a known cause of individual variation in reproductive photoresponsiveness. The authors sought to determine whether circadian system variation accounted for individual variation in reproductive photoresponsiveness in a single, highly genetically variable population of Peromyscus leucopus recently derived from the wild. Running-wheel activity patterns of male and female mice, aged 70 to 90 days, from artificially selected lines of reproductively photoresponsive (R) and nonresponsive (NR) lines were monitored under short-day photoperiod (8 h light, 16 h dark), long-day photoperiod (16 h light, 8 h dark), and constant darkness (DD). NR mice displayed a significantly longer mean free-running period (24.08 h) in DD compared with R mice (23.75 h), due in large part to a difference between NR and R females (24.25 h vs. 23.74 h, respectively). All other entrainment characteristics (alpha, phase angle of activity) under short days, long days, and DD were similar between R and NR mice. Variation in free-running period and entrainment characteristics has been shown to affect photoresponsiveness in other rodent species by altering the manner in which the circadian system interprets short days. To determine whether variation in photoresponsiveness in P. leucopus is due to differences in free-running period instead of variation downstream from the central circadian clock in the pathway controlling photoresponsiveness, the authors exposed young R and NR mice to DD and measured the effect on reproductive organ development. If variation in free-running period affected how the circadian system of mice interpreted short days, then both R and NR mice exposed to DD should have exhibited a delay in gonadal development. Only R mice exhibited pubertal delay in DD. NR mice exhibited large paired testes, paired seminal vesicles, paired ovaries, and uterine weight typical of mice nonresponsive to short days, whereas R mice exhibited reproductive organ weight typical of mice responsive to short days. These data suggest that despite significant differences in free-running period between R and NR mice, individual variation in photoresponsiveness is not due to differences in how the circadian systems of R and NR mice interpret the LD cycle.

Photoresponsive Fischer 344 Rats are reproductively inhibited by melatonin and differ in 2-[125I] lodomelatonin binding from nonphotoresponsive Sprague-Dawley rats.

Many temperate-zone species use photoperiod as an environmental cue to regulate reproductive timing. Strains of laboratory rats differ in their responsiveness to photoperiod, with the Fischer 344 (F344) strain being the most responsive known. F344 rats and closely related strains that differ in photoresponsiveness may be useful models to study the mechanisms and genetic basis for photoresponsiveness. We tested two hypotheses: (i) that melatonin mediates photoresponsiveness in F344 rats, as is the case in all other mammals tested, and (ii) that the location, abundance, or affinity of melatonin receptors, as estimated by the amount and location of binding of the radioligand 2-[125I]-iodomelatonin (IMEL) in the brain, might cause variation in photoresponsiveness among rat strains. Melatonin injections 1 h before lights off in a stimulatory photoperiod (L14 : D10) induced reproductive inhibition and reduced weight gain in a manner similar to short days of L8 : D16, while injections of ethanolic saline vehicle did not. Interestingly, melatonin injections administered during an inhibitory photoperiod (L10 : D14) caused greater inhibition of both reproduction and weight gain than short photoperiod alone. Pinealectomized F344 rats implanted subcutaneously with melatonin in a silastic capsule did not differ in testis size or body weight from controls with blank implants. The brains and pars tuberalis of the pituitary from photoresponsive F344 rats and nonphotoresponsive Harlan Sprague-Dawley (HSD) rats were processed for autoradiography using IMEL. We found significantly higher specific IMEL binding in the anterior and posterior regions of the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVNt) and reuniens nucleus of the thalamus of F344 rats than in the same areas in HSD rats. There were no differences between strains in specific IMEL binding in the medial PVNt, anteroventral and anterodorsal nucleus of the thalamus, suprachiasmatic nucleus, or the pars tuberalis. These results indicate that melatonin mediates photoresponsiveness in F344 rats. In addition, they provide support for the hypothesis that F344 rats may be photoresponsive due to differences from other strains in the location, density, or affinity of melatonin receptors.

Water-deprived white-footed mice express c-fos on a day/night cycle graded according to the duration of deprivation.

Mammals respond to electrolyte and water imbalance by a variety of neural and endocrine mechanisms that regulate water and salt intake and loss. We used the expression of c-fos and Fos-related antigens to indicate neuronal activation in hypothalamic neurons of members of an outbred laboratory population of white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) deprived of water for biologically reasonable periods of time (6-18 h). We examined Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-LIR) in the supraoptic nucleus (SON) and paraventricular nucleus (PVN). During the dark period, when these animals are normally active, 6 h of water deprivation produced near-maximal increases in the number of cells positive for Fos-LIR in the SON and PVN. In contrast, during the light period, when these mice are normally inactive and do not have access to water, 6 h of water deprivation only slightly affected Fos-LIR. During the day, it required as much as 12 h of water deprivation to produce increases in Fos-LIR cells approaching those achieved at night. Plasma osmolarity was directly related to the number of Fos-LIR cells. In addition, mice lost weight more rapidly at night than during the day when water-deprived, and also recovered that lost weight more rapidly when access to water was returned. Our results show (1) that biologically reasonable levels of water restriction (and resulting changes in blood osmolarity) induce changes in Fos-LIR in this wild mouse species, and (2) that these mice have a daily cycle of sensitivity to water deprivation that is demonstrated by both behavioral, psychological and immunohistological assessment of reactions to water deprivation.

Differences in hypothalamic 2-[125I]iodomelatonin binding in photoresponsive and non-photoresponsive white-footed mice, Peromyscus leucopus.

Photoperiod is an environmental cue used by many temperate-zone species to regulate their reproductive timing. Within species, the degree of reproductive photoresponsiveness can vary widely both among and within populations. The neuroendocrine mechanisms causing this individual variation in photoresponsiveness are unknown. Using selected lines from a population of white-footed mice known to vary genetically in reproductive photoresponsiveness, we tested the hypothesis that variation in the number and/or location of melatonin receptors is the basis for individual differences in reproductive photoresponsiveness. The brains and pars tuberalis of the pituitary from sixteen mice, (eight mice from each of two lines selected for two generations to respond strongly or weakly to photoperiod), were processed for autoradiography using the radioligand 2-[125I]-iodomelatonin (IMEL). We found significantly higher specific IMEL binding in the medial preoptic area and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of non-responsive mice than responsive mice. There were no differences between groups in specific IMEL binding in the suprachiasmatic and dorsomedial nuclei of the hypothalamus, pars tuberalis, or paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus. These results provide support for the hypothesis that individual variation in photoresponsiveness is due in part to differences in the density or affinity of melatonin receptors.

Husbandry, reproduction and postnatal development of the neotropical muroid rodent Zygodontomys brevicauda.

Laboratory colonies of the Neotropical muroid rodent Zygodontomys brevicauda have been employed in studies of arbovirus epidemiology and are currently the subjects of experimental research on tropical mammalian reproductive physiology and evolutionary quantitative genetics. Captive-bred litters typically consist of 4 or 5 pups weighing 3-4 g each at birth. Adults 20-40 weeks old average 60-80 g with some sexual dimorphism. Females are sexually mature at 3-4 weeks of age, males at 6-8 weeks. Ovulation is spontaneous and gestation is 25 days. Preliminary observations are provided on the microbiological status and parasites of captive-bred animals.

Divergent regulation of hypothalamic neuropeptide Y and agouti-related protein by photoperiod in F344 rats with differential food intake and growth.

Hypothalamic genes involved in food intake and growth regulation were studied in F344 rats in response to photoperiod. Two sub-strains were identified: F344/NHsd (F344/N) and F344/NCrHsd (F344/NCr); sensitive and relatively insensitive to photoperiod respectively. In F344/N rats, marked, but opposite, changes in the genes for neuropeptide Y (NPY) (+97.5%) and agouti-related protein (AgRP) (-39.3%) expression in the arcuate nucleus were observed in response to short (8 : 16 h light/dark cycle, SD) relative to long (16 : 8 h light/dark cycle, LD) day photoperiods. Changes were associated with both reduced food intake and growth. Expression of the genes for cocaine and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) and pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) in the arcuate nucleus was unchanged by photoperiod. POMC in the ependymal layer around the third ventricle was markedly inhibited by SD. Parallel decreases in the genes for growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) and somatostatin (Somatostatin) mRNA in the arcuate nucleus and Somatostatin in the periventricular nucleus were observed in SD. Serum levels of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and insulin were lower in F344/N rats in SD, whereas neither leptin nor corticosterone levels were affected. By contrast, F344/NCr rats that show only minor food intake and growth rate changes showed minimal responses in these genes and hormones. Thus, NPY/AgRP neurones may be pivotal to the photoperiodic regulation of food intake and growth. Potentially, the SD increase in NPY expression may inhibit growth by decreasing GHRH and Somatostatin expression, whereas the decrease in AgRP expression probably leads to reduced food intake. The present study reveals an atypical and divergent regulation of NPY and AgRP, which may relate to their separate roles with respect to growth and food intake, respectively.

Delayed development in Fischer's pygmy fruit bat, Haplonycteris fischeri, in the Philippines.

A long delay in post-implantation embryonic development was detected in Fischer's pygmy fruit bats (palaeotropical fruit bats of the suborder Megachiroptera), the first time such a delay has been demonstrated outside the bat suborder Microchiroptera. Samples of bats were obtained from the Philippines over 5 years, and reproductive tracts were preserved and examined using standard histological techniques. Most parous female pygmy bats were impregnated in June, within a few weeks of parturition, and the embryos underwent superficial implantation at the anterior end of the uterus contralateral to the previously gravid uterus. Shortly thereafter, the rate of embryonic growth slowed tremendously for up to 8 months. During the period of delay, the mean length of the embryoblast increased only from 280 microns to 520 microns. In March of the following year, the developmental rate increased, and the embryos completed development in the next 3 months. The 8-month delay gives these bats a gestation period of 11.5 months, the longest known in bats. Most nulliparous females become pregnant at an age of 3-5 months, and their embryos entered a similar delay that terminated in March or April, after 2-6 months of delay. Males showed signs of fertility throughout the entire year, but testis volume was highest during May, June and July, at about the time when most females become receptive.

Short-term hormonal responses to food intake in peripubertal female rats.

These studies focused on the phenomenon of "catch-up" pubertal development. Circulating levels of several hormones were characterized in 8-wk-old female rats whose growth and reproductive development had been blocked before puberty by restricting their food intake. Some of these females were fed ad libitum for 24 h to initiate rapid pubertal development. Blood levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and growth hormone (GH) were suppressed by food restriction and then partially restored to adult diestrus levels by 24 h of ad libitum feeding. Prolactin titers were also suppressed by food restriction but not significantly elevated by 24 h of ad libitum feeding. Circulating levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) were unaffected by either treatment. It is concluded that GH could play an active supplementary role to LH in eliciting catch-up pubertal development but that FSH and TSH could play only passive roles at best. The role of prolactin remains uncertain. On a finer time scale, when food-restricted females were examined in relation to the time of day at which they were fed, most showed high-amplitude LH pulses 2-4 h after eating but rarely at any other time. Thus under some conditions LH secretion can be modulated by food intake on an almost hour-by-hour basis. Overall, blood levels of corticosterone were generally but not always inversely correlated with the frequency of LH pulsing in these experiments. Finally, the present results argue against the concept that puberty is dependent on a critical whole body characteristic.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Failure of cryptorchidism to suppress fertility in a tropical rodent.

The cane mouse (Zygodontomys brevicauda) breeds year-round on the hot llanos of Venezuela, only 8 degrees above the equator. The reproductive responses of the males of this species to heat were compared with those of a temperature zone rodent, the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus). When tested at different ambient temperatures, the movement of the testis in relation to the scrotum was similar in the two species, but the cane mouse's testis proved to be much more resistant to maintenance at core body temperature. In two experiments, cryptorchid cane mice experienced only a 24% and a 5% decrease in testis weight, and almost all of these males showed normal spermatogenesis and sperm storage. In comparison, cryptorchid white-footed mice showed a 58% drop in testis weight, a total inhibition of spermatogenesis, and a complete or near absence of stored sperm in all males. A mating test demonstrated that cane mice indeed remain fertile for at least 2 to 3 mo after being rendered cryptorchid. Normal numbers of these males when paired with females fathered normal litters. It is noted that the relative insensitivity of the testis of the cane mouse to heat might actually be more representative of scrotal mammals in general than is suggested by our present perspective, which has been developed on the basis of study of humans and mammals from cool climates rather than the tropics, where most mammals live.

Photoperiod, melatonin secretion, and sexual maturation in a tropical rodent.

Descendants of a sample of cane mice (Zygodontomys brevicauda) trapped at 8 degrees latitude in Venezuela were tested for reproductive photoresponsiveness. This species breeds continuously, year around, despite living in a seasonally harsh habitat. At 50 days of age there were no differences in the weights of the testes or seminal vesicles or in sperm counts of males born and reared on 16L:8D, 13L:11D, 11L:13D, or 8L:16D photoperiods, although there were small differences in body weight. Females born and reared on 16L:8D vs. 8L:16D cycles became pregnant at the same rates and ages when paired with males at 21 or 31 days of age. The daily duration of melatonin secretion depended on the length of the dark phase of the cycle in both sexes. Circulating levels of melatonin were elevated for 8 h on a 16L:8D cycle and for between 9 and 16 h on an 8L:16D cycle. In this tropical species, the neuroendocrine pathway that links photoperiod to reproduction apparently is disconnected somewhere between melatonin and gonadotropin secretion, causing cane mice to be reproductively unresponsive to variation in photoperiod.

Acceleration and deceleration of sexual maturation by social cues in a tropical rodent Zygodontomys brevicauda.

The effects of social cues from adult conspecifics on the rate of sexual maturity were studied in a tropical rodent, the cane mouse (Zygodontomys brevicauda), in the laboratory. Several aspects of the biology of this species have suggested that it might be atypical in that young females may not accelerate or decelerate their rate of reproductive development in response to social cues. This hypothesis was tested by housing 16-day-old females with an adult male, an adult female, or alone, and reproductive development was assessed periodically, beginning when the mice were 20 days old. Young females paired with males underwent more uterine growth and matured markedly earlier than did isolated controls. Young females paired with adult females exhibited less uterine growth than did isolated controls. Thus, social cues both accelerate and decelerate reproductive development in females of this species, and the hypothesis that social cues have no effect on reproductive development in young females was rejected. The evolutionary conditions that favour unresponsiveness of young females to social cues appear to be restrictive, and may be rare in mammals.

Lack of reproductive photoresponsiveness and correlative failure to respond to melatonin in a tropical rodent, the cane mouse.

Cane mice (Zygodontomys brevicauda) are year-round breeders in Venezuela. As shown previously, these animals are not reproductively responsive to variation in photoperiod. In the present experiments, male cane mice were maintained on long or short day lengths (16L:8D or 8L:16D, respectively) and challenged with each of three experimental treatments known to "unmask" reproductive photoresponsiveness in laboratory rats: olfactory bulbectomy, prolonged food restriction, and exposure as neonates to a single injection of testosterone. Variation in photoperiod had no inhibitory effect on the responses of cane mice to any of these three treatments, as assessed by the weight of their testes and seminal vesicles. A fourth experiment demonstrated that cane mice are insensitive to 10 wk of continuous exposure to pharmacological levels of melatonin, again as assessed by reproductive organ weight. Likewise, a fifth experiment documented a lack of response to 10 wk of late-afternoon injections of massive amounts of melatonin. The cane mouse apparently is unique among the animals challenged so far in these ways in that it seems to have no vestige of reproductive photoresponsiveness.

A pseudoseasonal reproductive strategy in a tropical rodent, Peromyscus nudipes.

A population of cloud forest mice (Peromyscus nudipes) at latitude 10 degrees N near Monteverde, Costa Rica, was sampled four times by live-trapping twice during the 7-8 month wet season and twice during the 4-5 month dry season in 1989 and 1990. Body weights were lower during the early part of the dry season in males and throughout the dry season in females than at other times. Testes and seminal vesicles were somewhat lighter early in the dry season, but epididymal spermatozoa were abundant in most males throughout the year. Adult females ovulated, mated and became pregnant in the wet and dry seasons, but young were produced only during the wet season. Most embryos failed to implant during the dry season, and the few that did complete implantation were reabsorbed before midpregnancy. Apparently, every year, the females in this population spend several months actively engaged in a behavioural and metabolically costly process that is doomed to be unsuccessful. This reproductive strategy is termed pseudoseasonal, because reproductive success is highly seasonal, but attempts to reproduce are nonseasonal. Implantation failures similar to those seen in the wild were induced in the laboratory using mild restriction of food or water. Field evidence points to food restriction as the more important cause of pregnancy losses in the wild. Exposure to the gradually changing daylengths typical of Costa Rica had no effect on the production of young by adults, and maintenance on light cycles of 8 h light: 16 h dark, 11 h light: 13 h dark, 13 h light: 11 h dark and 16 h light: 8 h dark had no effect on the reproductive development of young animals of either sex.

Characteristics of a genetic polymorphism for reproductive photoresponsiveness in the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus).

Wild populations of Peromyscus are often composed of individuals that vary greatly in their reproductive response to photoperiod. A population of white-footed mice (P. leucopus) from Michigan (43 degrees N) was subjected to mass selection in the laboratory both for and against reproductive photoresponsiveness for four generations. The first generation of selection yielded one line of mice in which about 80% of the individuals were classified as reproductively photoresponsive (i.e., with undeveloped reproductive tracts when reared in short days, 8L: 16D) and another in which only about 20% were reproductively photoresponsive. Some and perhaps most of this difference was accounted for by changes in degree of responsiveness to photoperiod rather than by alterations in the proportion of discrete responsive vs. unresponsive phenotypes. Alteration of critical day length was not a factor. Three more generations of selection failed to change the proportions noted above significantly. Although the genetic control of reproductive photoresponsiveness is undoubtedly complex, a single variable locus may be responsible for much of the heritable variation present in this population. These results also suggest that natural populations contain genetically determined phenotypes that are intermediate between absolutely photoresponsive and absolutely unresponsive. The factors that might promote maintenance of heterogeneity of reproductive photoresponsiveness in a wild population of rodents are considered.

Reproductive photoresponsiveness in unmanipulated male Fischer 344 laboratory rats.

Laboratory rats are considered to be reproductively unresponsive to photoperiod because photoperiod treatments do not induce robust reproductive responses. Groups of 15 young male Fischer 344 (F344) rats were tested for effects of long (16L:8D) and short (8L:16D) photoperiods on testicular development and body mass. Two weeks of short photoperiod inhibited testicular growth, spermatogenesis, and increases in body weight. Testis size became refractory to short photoperiod after 8 wk, but the body weight was lower in short photoperiod for the full 10 wk of the study. In young Harlan Sprague-Dawley rats, in contrast, long and short photoperiod had no effect on either body weight or testis size. Pinealectomized F344 rats had significantly higher body weights and larger testes than did sham-operated controls, suggesting that the effects of photoperiod are mediated, at least in part, by the pineal gland. The F344 strain of laboratory rats is the first in which unmanipulated animals have been found to be robustly affected by photoperiod, indicating that this strain could be a valuable new model for the study of reproductive regulation by photoperiod.

An endogenous circannual rhythm of reproduction in a tropical bat, Anoura geoffroyi, is not entrained by photoperiod.

Most species of mammals live in the tropics, and many breed seasonally, but little is known about the regulation of their seasonal cycles. Males of a tropical bat, Anoura geoffroyi (Order Chiroptera, Family Phyllostomidae), from 10 degrees latitude in Trinidad, were studied to test the role of photoperiod in regulating seasonal reproduction in the deep tropics. Groups of males were subjected to five treatments: 1) constant photoperiod; 2) a 12-mo cycle of civil twilight photoperiods mimicking those occurring at 10 degrees latitude; 3) civil twilight photoperiods of 10 degrees latitude, but accelerated to a 9-mo cycle; 4) civil twilight photoperiods characteristic of 30 degrees latitude, but accelerated to a 9-mo cycle; and 5) constant photoperiod, but with the timing of dark onset varied to match the timing of darkness at 10 degrees latitude, and accelerated to a 9-mo cycle. In all treatments, the first cycle of testis growth and regression matched that expected in the wild population, as reported previously for some of these groups. Subsequently, the testis cycle of bats in constant conditions free-ran for 20 mo with a peak-to-peak period of 7.3 +/- 0.3 mo. Period lengths in the four nonconstant groups, 7.2-7.7 mo, were not significantly different from that under constant conditions. Bats failed to entrain to any photoperiod cycle, including those mimicking changes at 10 degrees or 30 degrees latitude. They also failed to entrain to the cycle in which day length was held constant while time of sunset was varied, as occurs at the equator.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Lability of fat stores in peripubertal wild house mice.

Traditionally, the adaptive value of mammalian white fat stores is considered in relation to long-term needs such as providing protection against the vagaries of winter or signalling the reproductive system when energy reserves are sufficient to risk pregnancy. As shown here, the fat stores of young house mice could not serve such needs. Despite prolonged acclimation and excess nesting material, food deprivation at 10 degrees C significantly lowered the fat stores of peripubertal female house mice in only 12 h, and would exhaust them in 30 h. Even close to thermoneutrality (24 degrees C) the calculated time to exhaustion was only 70 h. The fat stores of a young house mouse are obviously too meager to offer any meaningful protection over a winter of several months duration, or even over a 5-6-week cycle of pregnancy and lactation. Furthermore, in a wild habitat where food availability and ambient temperature can vary rapidly and greatly, such fat stores would be too labile to effectively coordinate puberty with somatic development.

Inhibition of reproductive maturation and somatic growth of Fischer 344 rats by photoperiods shorter than L14:D10 and by gradually decreasing photoperiod.

Photoperiod is the major regulator of reproduction in temperate-zone mammals. Laboratory rats are generally considered to be nonphotoresponsive, but young male Fischer 344 (F344) rats have a uniquely robust response to short photoperiods of 8 h of light. Rats transferred at weaning from a photoperiod of 16 h to photoperiods of < 14 h of light slowed in both reproductive development and somatic growth rate. Those in photoperiods < 13 h of light underwent the strongest responses. The critical photoperiod of F344 rats can be defined as 13.5 h of light, but photoperiods of

Seasonal reproduction of a tropical bat, Anoura geoffroyi, in relation to photoperiod.

Anoura geoffroyi (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae, Glossophaginae), Geoffroy's hairy-legged long-tongued bat, were collected from September 1984 to August 1985, and these bats were found to breed seasonally in the wild on Trinidad, West Indies, at 10 degrees N latitude. Histological examination of these samples indicated that females became pregnant in July or August, and young were born in late November or early December. The testes and epididymides were small from September to mid-April, increased threefold in weight between mid-April and late May, reached a peak weight in July, and decreased in weight in August. Spermatogenesis occurred throughout the testes of males captured from May to August. In 1990, the timing of parturition in females that gave birth in the laboratory to young conceived in the wild was similar to the timing in the field in 1984-1985. Groups of 10-13 males were subjected in the laboratory to (i) a gradually changing, civil twilight photoperiod that mimicked the natural cycle of annual change at 10 degrees N latitude, (ii) the same gradually changing cycle of photoperiod accelerated to a six-month period, or (iii) a constant photoperiod (light 12:54 h: dark 11:06 h). These treatments began in mid-December, four months before the initiation of testicular recrudescence in the wild. In all three groups, testicular volume remained low until April, and then increased two- to threefold between late April and late June, rising to a peak in July, as occurred in the wild.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)