Rosemary Knapp
Professor, Biology Richards Hall 108 405-325-4389 rknapp at ou dot edu http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/K/Rosemary.Knapp-1/ Ph.D., Zoology - Arizona State University, 1996Research:
I am interested in understanding the physiological, ecological and evolutionary factors contributing to behavioral variation, with an ultimate aim of increasing our understanding of how behavior evolves. My students and I use approaches from behavioral endocrinology, neuroendocrinology and physiological ecology to study the bases of behavior by studying animals both in the field and in the laboratory. Our research has been centered on questions related to the physiological bases of variation in aggressive and reproductive behavior, with two main foci: 1) endocrinology of male parental behavior, and 2) variation in androgen-glucocorticoid interactions in species with alternative male reproductive tactics, to better understand intraspecific variation in behavior and spermatogenesis. To date, our focus has been on steroid hormones because of their important role as chemical messengers that mediate behavioral, physiological and developmental processes. Interactions between the stress and reproductive endocrine axes are of particular interest because these axes mediate some of the major costs and benefits associated with male reproductive behavior.
Selected Publications:
Vitousek, M. N., Johnson, M. A., Donald, J. W., Francis, C. D., Fuxjager, M., Goymann, W., Hau, M., Husak, J. F., Kircher, B. K., Knapp, R., Martin, L. B., Miller, E. T., Schoenle, L. A., Williams, T. D. (2018) HormoneBase, a population-level database of steroid hormone levels across vertebrates. Scientific Data 5: 180097. (doi: 10.1038/sdata.2018.97)
Partridge, C. G., MacManes, M. D., Knapp, R., and Neff, B. D. (2016) Brain transcriptional profiles of male alternative reproductive tactics and females in bluegill sunfish. Plos ONE. 11(12): e0167509. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0167509
Leary, C. J. and Knapp, R. (2014) The stress of elaborate male traits: new perspectives on androgen-based models of sexual selection. Anim. Behav. 89: 85-92.
Rodgers, C. M. C., Neff, B. D., and Knapp, R. (2013) Androgen-mediated nurturing and aggressive behaviors during paternal care in bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus). Horm. Behav. 63: 454-461 (doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.12.008).
Genova, R. M., Marchaterre, M. A., Knapp, R., Fergus, D., and Bass, A. H. (2012) Glucocorticoid and androgen signaling pathways diverge between advertisement calling and non-calling fish. Horm. Behav. 62: 426-432.
Knapp, R., Marsh-Matthews, E., Vo, L., and Rosencrans, S. (2011) Stress hormone masculinizes female morphology and behaviour. Biol. Lett. 7: 150-152. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2010.0514
Knapp, R. and Carlisle, S. L. (2011) Testicular function and hormonal regulation in fishes. pp. 43-63 In (Norris DO, Lopez KH, eds.) Hormones and Reproduction of Vertebrates. Vol. 1. Fishes. Elsevier, San Diego.
Neff, B. D. and Knapp, R. (2009) Paternity, parental behavior and circulating steroid hormone concentrations in nest-tending male bluegill. Horm. Behav. 56: 239-245.
Scobell, S. K., Fudickar, A. M., and Knapp, R. (2009) Potential reproductive rate of a sex-role reversed pipefish over several bouts of mating. Anim. Behav. 78: 747-753.
Knapp, R. and Neff, B. D. (2008) Alternative reproductive tactics in fishes. pp. 411-433 in Fish Behaviour (Magnhagen, C., Braithwaite, V. A., Forsgren, E., Kapoor, B. G., eds). Science Publishers Inc., Enfield, NH.