4.2 Hormone patterns
Male plasma TT values were highest in August (Fig. 3B), corresponding to the apex of courtship and mating activity in this species.
The peak hormone values mid-season agree with literature addressing the reproductive organs of T.c. Carolina that state the testis-and body-weight ratios are highest in July and August when spermatogenesis is at its peak.
However, males also exhibited high TT concentrations in April when we began sampling.
Legler found a similar pattern in the size of T. ornata testes to increase in April and May, decrease in June, followed by another increase in July and August.
Females usually had undetectable concentrations of TT and only had measureable amounts in the spring.