WENDY SALTZMAN
Assistant Professor of Biology
Spieth 3354
Phone (951) 827-6356
E-mail: saltzman@ucr.edu
Degree: Ph.D., University of California, Davis, 1991
Complete publication list with PDF reprints
Lab Group Photo June 2004
Lab Group Photo July 2007
UCR Daily News Story 15 March 2005; BBC Radio Feature 10 March 2005; CBC Radio Feature 19 March 2005
The research in my lab focuses on behavioral endocrinology, the dynamic and complex interactions among hormones, brain and behavior. We are especially interested in the interactions between stress and reproduction. Much attention has focused on the potential role of stress in inhibiting fertility and reproductive behavior. In reality, however, the relationship between stress-related physiology and reproduction is more nuanced, highly complex and bi-directional. Thus, our research focuses on the cross-talk between stress-related hormones, neuropeptides and the reproductive system, especially within the context of critical social influences. This work has broad relevance to vertebrate reproductive and behavioral biology, as well as potential implications for wildlife conservation and clinical applications in humans.
We are also interested in the control of endocrine function and fertility by the social environment. Such social influences are particularly pronounced in cooperative breeders, species in which a single, behaviorally dominant female breeds in each social group and other group members provide alloparental care for her offspring. Behaviorally subordinate females typically undergo physiological and/or behavioral suppression of reproduction in response to social cues and may become completely infertile as a consequence of their subordinate status. Intriguingly, in spite of the cooperative nature of infant care in these animals, breeding females may be highly aggressive towards other females’ infants and may commonly commit infanticide. Thus, we are investigating social regulation of reproduction in cooperative breeders, as well as social and neuroendocrine influences on parental and infanticidal behavior.
Current and recent research includes studies of cooperatively breeding common marmoset monkeys (based at the National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin – Madison), Mongolian gerbils and California mice (at UC Riverside). Topics include:
• Neuroendocrine and behavioral mechanisms of reproductive suppression
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Social suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal endocrine axis
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Social, hormonal and neurochemical influences on parental behavior
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Infanticide as a female reproductive strategy
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I participate in the Physiology graduate track within the Department of Biology's Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology Graduate Program, as well as the interdepartmental graduate programs in Neuroscience and Biomedical Sciences. |
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Selected Publications
- Abbott, D.H., Keverne, E.B., Bercovitch, F.B., Shively, C.A., Mendoza, S.P., Saltzman, W., Snowdon, C.T., Ziegler, T.E., Banjevic, M., Garland, T. Jr. and Sapolsky, R.M. 2003. Are subordinates always stressed? A comparative analysis of rank differences in cortisol levels among primates. Hormones and Behavior 43:67-82. [PDF file]
- Saltzman, W. 2003 . Reproductive competition among female common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus): proximate and ultimate causes. In: Jones, C.B., ed. Sexual Selection and Reproductive Competition in Primates: New Perspectives and Directions. American Society of Primatologists, Norman, OK, pp. 197-229. [PDF file]
- Saltzman, W., Prudom, S.L, Schultz-Darken, N.J., Wittwer, D.J. and Abbott, D.H. 2004. Social suppression of cortisol in female marmoset monkeys: role of circulating ACTH levels and glucocorticoid negative feedback. Psychoneuroendocrinology 29:141-161. [PDF file]
- Saltzman, W., Pick, R.R., Salper, O.J., Liedl, K.J. and Abbott, D.H. 2004. Onset of plural cooperative breeding in common marmoset families following replacement of the breeding male. Animal Behaviour 68:59-73. [PDF file]
- Pattison, J.C., Abbott, D.H., Saltzman, W., Nguyen, A.D., Henderson, G., Ju, H., Pryce, C.R., Allen, A.J., Conley, A.J. and Bird, I.M. 2005. Marmoset monkeys express an adrenal fetal zone at birth but not a zona reticularis in adulthood. Endocrinology 146:365-374. [PDF file]
- Saltzman, W. and Abbott, D.H. 2005. Diminished maternal responsiveness during pregnancy in multiparous female common marmosets. Hormones and Behavior 47:151-163. [PDF file]
- Blumstein, D.T., Patton, M.L. and Saltzman, W. 2006. Faecal glucocorticoid concentrations and alarm calling in free-living yellow-bellied marmots. Biology Letters 2: 29-32. [PDF file]
- Saltzman, W., Ahmed, S., Fahimi, A., Wittwer, D.J. and Wegner, F.H. 2006. Social suppression of female reproductive maturation and infanticidal behavior in cooperatively breeding Mongolian gerbils. Hormones and Behavior 49: 527-537. [PDF file]
- Saltzman, W., Hogan, B.K. and Abbott, D.H. 2006. Diminished cortisol levels in subordinate female marmosets are associated with altered central drive to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Biological Psychiatry. [PDF file]
- Saltzman, W., Hogan, B.K., Allen, A.J., Horman, B.M. and Abbott, D.H. 2006. Hypoestrogenism does not mediate social suppression of cortisol in subordinate female marmosets. Psychoneuroendocrinology. [PDF file]
- Saltzman, W., Digby, L.J. and Abbott, D.H. 2008. Reproductive skew in female common marmosets: what can proximate mechanisms tell us about ultimate causes? Proceedings of the Royal Society B, E-pub ahead of print. [PDF file]
- Saltzman, W., Liedl, K.J., Salper, O.J., Pick, R.R. and Abbott, D.H. 2008. Post-conception reproductive competition in cooperatively breeding common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Hormones and Behavior 53:274-286. [PDF file]
- Saltzman, W., Thinda, S., Higgins, A.L., Matsumoto,W.R., Ahmed, S., McGeehan, L. and Kolb, E.M. 2008. Effects of siblings on reproductive maturation and infanticidal behavior in cooperatively breeding Mongolian gerbils. Developmental Psychobiology, E-pub ahead of print. [PDF file]
Click here for a complete publication list.
Updated 22 Oct. 2008 by M.C.