Causes and Consequences of The Stress Response in Reptiles

Neil Greenberg
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN

Real or perceived changes in the environment can evoke highly adaptive responses in reptiles that are coordinated by the neural and endocrine mechanisms of the stress response. Acute responses, involving catecholamines released in varying proportion at different sites along their sympathetic neural pathways may interact with and be complemented by chronic responses, involving the hypothalamic-adrenocortical system. The central and systemic consequences of these actions include apparent changes in cognition, affect, and motivation which, in concert, result in altered responses to environmental stimuli including the social stimuli provided by male and female conspecifics. This review will collate and summarize the results of a program of research into the behavioral canes and consequences of specific aspects of the physiological stress response of the small lizard, Anolis carolinensis. I will then attempt a synthesis that will hopefully illuminate the manner in which autonomic reflexes come under the influence of environmental stimuli and attain significance as social signals.