Publications

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Preprints

Miller-Crews, I; Lipshutz, SE; Fulton, B; Bertram, J; Hahn, MJ; Rosvall, KA. Modeling the evolution of sex-biased gene expression: a case study in songbirds with convergent reproductive ecology.  Preprint: 10.1101/2025.08.21.671601

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles:

2025

Lipshutz, SE; Hibbins, MS; Bentz, AB; Buechlin, AM; Empson, TA; George, EM; Hauber, ME; Rusch, DB; Schelsky, WM; Thomas, QK; Torneo, SJ; Turner, AM; Wolf, SE; Woodruff, MJ; Hahn, MW; Rosvall, KA. 2025. Repeated behavioral evolution is associated with targeted convergence of gene expression in cavity-nesting songbirds. Nature Ecology & Evolution. article  IU Press; NPR’s Science Friday; Academic Minute; Org. and  Commentary by NI Bloch

Wolf, SE; George, EM; Dong, J; Rosvall, KA. Telomere-related gene networks in the ovary shift across environmental factors. 2025. J Experimental Zool A. 343:893–904. doi: 10.1002/jez.70003

George, EM; Rosvall, KA. 2025 How a territorial challenge changes sex steroid-related gene networks in the female brain: A field experiment with the tree swallow. Hormones & Behavior. 169: 105698. link

Levy, EJ; George, EM; Rusch, DB; Buechlein, AM; Rosvall, KA. 2025 Brain transcriptomics of a social challenge and maternal aggression in incubating female tree swallows. Hormones & Behavior. 168: 105692. link

2024

Levy, EJ; George, EM; Rusch, DB; Buechlein, AM; Rosvall, KA. 2025 Brain transcriptomics of a social challenge and maternal aggression in incubating female tree swallows. Hormones & Behavior. 168: 105692. link

Woodruff, MJ; Tsueda, S; Cutrell, T; Guardado, E; Rusch, D; Buechlein, A; Rosvall, KA. Heat alters diverse thermal tolerance mechanisms: an organismal framework for studying climate change effects in a wild bird. 2025. Functional Ecology. link 

George, EM; Weber, AM; Rosvall, KA. 2024. Scope and adaptive value of modulating aggression over breeding stages in a competitive female bird. Behavioral Ecology. 35: arae042. link

Bailey, ML; Nixon, C; Rusch, DB; Buechlein, A; Rosvall, KA; Bentz, AB. 2024. Maternal social environment shapes yolk testosterone allocation and embryonic neural gene expression in tree swallows. Hormones & Behavior. 163: 105561. link

Wolf, SE; Woodruff, MJ; Chang van Oordt, D; Clotfelter, E; Cristol, D; Derryberry, EP; Ferguson, S; Stanback, M; Taff, C; Vitousek, MN; Westneat, D; Rosvall, KA. 2024. Among-population variation in telomere regulatory proteins and their potential role as hidden drivers of intraspecific variation in life history. Journal of Animal Ecology. link

2023

Woodruff, MJ; Sermersheim, LO; Wolf, SE; Rosvall, KA. 2023. Organismal effects of heat in a fixed ecological niche: implications on the role of behavioral buffering in our changing world. Science of the Total Environment. 893: 164809. article

Siefferman, L; Bentz, AB; Rosvall, KA. 2023. Decoupling pioneering traits from latitudinal patterns in a North American bird experiencing an unusual southward range shift. In press at J An Ecol. 92: 1149–1160. article

Lipshutz, SE; Torneo, SJ; Rosvall, KA. 2023. How female-female competition affects male-male competition: insights on post-copulatory sexual selection from socially polyandrous species. American Naturalist. 201: 418–428. article

Zimmer, C; Taff, CC; Ardia, DR; Rosvall, KA; Kallenberg, C; Bentz, AB; Taylor, AR; Johnson, LS; Vitousek, MN. 2023. Gene expression in the female tree swallow brain is associated with among- and within-population variation in glucocorticoid levels. Hormones & Behavior. 147: 105280. article

2022

Rosvall, KA. 2022. Evolutionary endocrinology and the problem of Darwin's tangled bank. Hormones & Behavior. 146: 105246. article

Bentz, AB; Empson, TA; George, EM; Rusch, DB; Buechlein, AM; Rosvall, KA. 2022. How experimental competition changes ovarian gene activity in free living birds: implications for steroidogenesis, maternal effects, and beyond. Hormones & Behavior. 142: 105171. article

George, EM; Rosvall, KA. 2022. Bidirectional relationships between testosterone and aggression: a critical analysis of four predictions. Integrative & Comparative Biology. article

George, EM; Wolf, SE; Bentz, AB; Rosvall, KA. 2022. Testing hormonal responses to real and simulated social challenges in a competitive female bird. Behavioral Ecology. 33: 233–244. article

Lipshutz, SE; Howell, CR; Buechlein AM;, Rusch DB; Rosvall, KA; Derryberry EP. 2022. How thermal challenges change gene regulation in the songbird brain and gonad: implications for sexual selection in our changing world. Molecular Ecology. 31, 3613– 3626. article. IU Biology Press. Press Phys.org. 

Woodruff, MJ; Zimmer, C; Ardia, DR; Vitousek, MN; Rosvall, KA. 2022. Heat shock protein gene expression varies among tissues and populations in free-living birds. Ornithology. 139: ukac018. article

Wolf, SE; Beltran, SE; Sanders, TL; Rosvall, KA. 2022. The telomere regulatory gene POT1 responds to stress and predicts performance in nature: implications for telomeres and life history evolution. Molecular Ecology. 31:6155–6171. article

Wolf, SE; Rosvall, KA. 2022. A multi-tissue view on telomere dynamics and postnatal growth. J Exp Zool A. article

Kimmitt, AA; Becker, DJ; Diller, SN; Gerlach, NM; Rosvall, KA; Ketterson, ED. 2022. Plasticity in female timing may explain current shifts in breeding phenology of a North American songbird. J An Ecol. 91: 1988–1998. article

Green, PA; George, EM; Rosvall, KA; Johnsen, S; Nowicki, S. 2022. Testosterone, signal coloration, and signal color perception in male zebra finch contests. Ethology. 128: 131– 142. article

2021

Lipshutz, SE; Rosvall, KA. 2021. Nesting strategy shapes territorial aggression but not testosterone: a comparative approach in female and male birds. Hormones & Behavior. 133: 104995. article

Bentz, AB; George, EM; Wolf, SE; Rusch, DB; Podicheti, R; Buechlein, A; Nephew, KP; Rosvall, KA. 2021. Experimental competition induces immediate and lasting effects on the neurogenome in free-living female birds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. article Newsbreak, Phys.Org, IU Press

George, EM; Navarro, D; Rosvall, KA. 2021. A single GnRH challenge promotes paternal care, changing nestling growth for one day. Hormones & Behavior. 130: 104964. article

Wolf, SE; Stansberry, KR; Content, KR; Rosvall, KA. 2021. A putative telomerase activator has tissue-specific effects on telomere length in a developing songbird. Journal of Avian Biology. 52: e02639. article

2020

Lipshutz, SE; Rosvall, KA. Neuroendocrinology of sex-role reversal. 2020. Integrative & Comparative Biology. 60: 692-702. article

Lipshutz, SE; Rosvall, KA. 2020. Testosterone secretion varies in a sex- and stage-specific manner: insights on the regulation of competitive traits from a sex-role reversed species. General & Comparative Endocrinology. 292: 113444. article

Rosvall, KA; Bentz, AB, George, EM. 2020. How research on female vertebrates contributes to an expanded challenge hypothesis. Hormones and Behavior. 123: 104565. article

2019

Bentz, AB; Buechlein, A; Rusch, DB; Rosvall, KA. 2019. The neurogenomic transition from territory establishment to parenting in a territorial female songbird. BMC Genomics. 20: 819. article

Bentz, AB, Thomas, GWC; Rusch, DB; Rosvall, KA. 2019. De novo transcriptome assembly of the tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor): tissue-specific expression profiles and positive selection analysis. Scientific Reports. 9: 15849. article

Lipshutz, SE; George, EM; Bentz, AB; Rosvall, KA. 2019. Evaluating testosterone as a phenotypic integrator: from tissues to individuals species. Molecular & Cellular Endocrinology. 496: 110531. article

Bentz, AB; Philippi, KJ; Rosvall, KA. 2019. Evaluating seasonal patterns of female aggression: case study in a cavity-nesting bird with intense female-female competition. Ethology. 125: 555-564. article

Bentz, AB; Dossey EK; Rosvall KA. 2019. Tissue-specific gene regulation corresponds with seasonal plasticity in female testosterone. General & Comparative Endocrinology. 270: 26-34. article

2018

Virgin, E.E.; Rosvall, K.A. 2018. Endocrine-immune signaling as a predictor of survival: A prospective study in developing song bird chicks. General & Comparative Endocrinology. 267: 193-20. article

Abolins-Abols, M.; Hanauer, R.E.; Rosvall, K.A.; Peterson, M.P.; Ketterson, E.D. 2018. The effect of chronic and acute stressors, and their interaction, on gonadal function: an experimental test during gonadal recrudescence. Journal of Experimental Biology. jeb-180869. article

George, E.M.; Rosvall, K.A. 2018. Testosterone production and social environment vary with breeding stage in a competitive female songbird. Hormones and Behavior. 103: 28-35. article

Whittaker, D.J.*; Rosvall, K.A.*; Slowinski, S.P.; Soini, H.A.; Novotny, M.V.; Ketterson, E.D. 2018. Songbird chemical signals reflect uropygial gland androgen sensitivity and predict aggressive behavior. Journal of Comparative Physiology, A. 204: 5-15. *equal author contribution. article

2017

Ho, J; Bergeon Burns, C.M.; Rendon, N.M.; Rosvall, K.A.; Bradshaw, H.B.; Ketterson, E.D.; Demas, G.E. 2017. Lipid signaling and fat storage in the dark-eyed junco. General and Comparative Endocrinology. 247: 166-173. article

2016

Rosvall, K.A.; Bergeon Burns, C.M.; Jayaratna, S.P.; Ketterson E.D. 2016. Divergence along the gonadal steroidogenic pathway: implications for hormone-mediated phenotypic evolution. Hormones and Behavior. 8: 1-8. article

Rosvall, K.A.; Bergeon Burns, CM; Jayaratna, SP; Dossey, EK; Ketterson ED. 2016. Gonads and the evolution of hormonal phenotypes. Integrative and Comparative Biology. 56: 225-234. article

2014

Rosvall, K.A. Peterson, M.P. 2014. Behavioral effects of social challenges and genomic mechanisms of social priming: What’s testosterone got to do with it? Current Zoology. 60(6): 791-803. (Theme Issue: Ecological and Evolutionary Connections between Morphology, Behavior and Physiology). article

Cain, K.E.; Rosvall, K.A. 2014. Next steps for understanding the selective relevance of female-female competition. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 2:32. article

Rosvall, K.A.; Peterson, M.P.; Reichard, D.G.; Ketterson, E.D. 2014. Highly context-specific activation of the HPG axis in the dark-eyed junco and implications for the Challenge Hypothesis. General & Comparative Endocrinology. 201: 65-73.article

Bergeon Burns, C.M.; Rosvall, K.A.; Hahn, T.P.; Demas, G.E.; Ketterson, E.D. 2014. Examining sources of variation in HPG axis function among individuals and populations of the dark-eyed junco. Hormones & Behavior. 65(2): 179-87. article, Press:F1000,Featured commentary by Greg Ball

Peterson, M.P.; Rosvall, K.A.; Taylor, C.A.; Choi, J.H.; Ziegenfus, C.; Tang, H.; Colbourne, J.K.; Ketterson, E.D. 2014. Potential for sexual conflict assessed via testosterone-mediated transcriptional changes in liver and muscle of a songbird. J. Experimental Biology. 217: 507-517. article

2013

Rosvall K.A.; Bergeon Burns, C.M.; Hahn, T.P.; Ketterson, E.D. 2013. Sources of variation in HPG axis reactivity and individually consistent elevation of sex steroids in a female songbird. General & Comparative Endocrinology. 194: 230-239. article

Rosvall, K.A. 2013. Proximate perspectives on the evolution of female aggression: Good for the gander, good for the goose? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, B. 368: 20130083. article

Peterson, M. P.; K. A. Rosvall; J. Choi; C. Ziegenfus; H. Tang; J. K. Colbourne; E. D. Ketterson. 2013. Testosterone affects neural gene expression differently in male and female juncos: a role for hormones in mediating sexual dimorphism and conflict. PLoS ONE. 8(4): e61784. article

Rosvall, K. A. 2013. Life history trade-offs and the evolution of behavioral sensitivity to testosterone: an experimental test when female aggression and maternal care co-occur. PLoS ONE. 8(1): e54120. article

Bergeon Burns, C.M.*; Rosvall, K.A.*; Ketterson E.D. 2013. Neural steroid sensitivity and aggression: comparing individuals of two songbird subspecies. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 26(4): 820-31. *equal author contribution. article

2012

Rosvall, K. A.*, Reichard, D. G.*, Ferguson, S.M., Whittaker, D.J., Ketterson, E. D. 2012. Robust behavioral effects of song playback in the absence of testosterone or corticosterone release. Horm. Behav. 62: 418-425. *equal author contribution. article

Rosvall, K. A., Bergeon Burns, C.M., Barske, J., Goodson, J.L., Schlinger, B.A., Sengelaub, D.R., Ketterson, E.D. 2012. Neural sensitivity to sex steroids predicts individual differences aggression: implications for behavioral evolution. Proc. R. Soc. B. 279: 3547-3555.article. press coverage

2011

Rosvall, K. A. 2011. Maintenance of variation in sexually selected traits in females: a case study using intrasexual aggression in tree swallows Tachycineta bicolor. J. Avian Biol. 42: 454-462. article

Rosvall, K. A. 2011. Intrasexual competition among females: evidence for sexual selection? Behav. Ecol. 22: 1131-1140. invited review

Rosvall, K. A. 2011. By any name, female-female competition yields differential mating success. Behav. Ecol. 22: 1144-1146. invited commentary

Rosvall, K. A. 2011. Cost of female intrasexual aggression in terms of offspring quality: a cross-fostering study. Ethology. 117: 1-13. article

2010 and before

Rosvall, K. A. 2010. Do males offset the cost of female aggression? An experimental test in a biparental songbird. Behav. Ecol. 21: 161-168. article

Rosvall, K. A. 2008. Sexual selection on aggressiveness in females: evidence from an experimental test with tree swallows. Anim. Behav. 75: 1603-1610. article