Thesis (M.S.)--University of Florida, 2003. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on July 4, 2005). Includes bibliographical references (p. 27-33).

Thesis (M.S.)--Missouri State University, 2008. / "December 2008." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 33-37). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--Missouri State University, 2008. / "August 2008" Includes bibliographical references (leaves 23-27). Also available online.

I conducted an integrative field study on male cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus), a common pitviper of the southeastern United States, to investigate the evolution of contrasting mating patterns in North American pitvipers (bimodal and unimodal annual patterns) and resolve conflicting information about the pattern exhibited by the cottonmouth. I determined a unimodal late summer peak of testosterone (T) and a muted unimodal seasonal cycle of the sexual segment of the kidney (a secondary sexual characteristic), both of which were correlated with the single peak of spermatogenesis in late summer. I also conducted a study to determine diel and seasonal variation of corticosterone (CORT), the effect of captive handling on CORT, and the relationship between CORT and T after captive handling, and detected a significant elevation of CORT and a significant decrease of T after capture in male cottonmouths, as well as a significant negative correlation between CORT and T.