51
|
Li GY, Zhang ZQ. Development, lifespan and reproduction of spider mites exposed to predator-induced stress across generations. Biogerontology 2019; 20:871-882. [DOI: 10.1007/s10522-019-09835-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2019] [Accepted: 09/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
|
52
|
Landeira-Dabarca A, Näslund J, Johnsson JI, Álvarez M. Cue recognition and behavioural responses in the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) under risk of fish predation. Acta Ethol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-019-00324-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
|
53
|
Possenti CD, Bentz AB, Romano A, Parolini M, Caprioli M, Rubolini D, Navara K, Saino N. Predation risk affects egg mass but not egg steroid hormone concentrations in yellow-legged gulls. Curr Zool 2019; 65:401-408. [PMID: 31413713 PMCID: PMC6688572 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoy064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2018] [Accepted: 08/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Predators have both direct, consumptive effects on their prey and non-lethal effects on physiology and behavior, including reproductive decisions, with cascading effects on prey ecology and evolution. Here, we experimentally tested such non-lethal effects of exposure to increased predation risk on clutch size, egg mass, and the concentration of yolk steroid hormones in the yellow-legged gull Larus michahellis. We simulated increased predation risk by displaying stuffed predators (adult fox Vulpes vulpes, and adult buzzard Buteo buteo) to breeding adults before egg laying. The concentration of corticosterone, which has been shown to increase under exposure to maternal predation risk in other species, and of testosterone did not differ between eggs from mothers exposed to the predators and eggs from control mothers (i.e., eggs exposed to a novel object of similar size and position to the stuffed predators). The concentration of the two hormones negatively covaried. Clutch size did not vary according to experimental treatment, whereas egg mass was markedly larger in clutches from nests exposed to predators than in clutches from control nests. By increasing egg mass, mothers may reduce the risk of cooling of the eggs when incubation is impeded by predators, boost energy reserves, reduce post-natal detectability caused by food solicitation, and/or enhance development at hatching, thus increasing the chances of offspring survival. In general, our results are inconsistent with most of the few previous studies on similar non-lethal predator effects and suggest that such effects may vary among species according to ecological conditions, social behavior, and developmental mode.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Daniela Possenti
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, Via Giovanni Celoria 26, Milano 20133, Italy
| | - Alexandra Bea Bentz
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, 203 Poultry Science Building, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Andrea Romano
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, Via Giovanni Celoria 26, Milano 20133, Italy
| | - Marco Parolini
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, Via Giovanni Celoria 26, Milano 20133, Italy
| | - Manuela Caprioli
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, Via Giovanni Celoria 26, Milano 20133, Italy
| | - Diego Rubolini
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, Via Giovanni Celoria 26, Milano 20133, Italy
| | - Kristen Navara
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, 203 Poultry Science Building, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Nicola Saino
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, Via Giovanni Celoria 26, Milano 20133, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
54
|
Tilgar V. Repeated stimulation of the pituitary-adrenal axis alters offspring phenotype of a wild passerine. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 222:jeb.200659. [PMID: 31053648 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.200659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2019] [Accepted: 04/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Prolonged stress can have long-lasting effects on an individual's physiology and growth. However, the impact of chronically elevated glucocorticoids on the expression of early antipredator responses is still poorly documented. In this study, I simulated the effect of repeated acute stress on offspring phenotype in free-living pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) by administering adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) to nestlings for 6 days. The results showed that frequent induction of stress responses by ACTH injections, independent of parental care, adversely affected offspring final body size, wing length and baseline corticosterone levels. Nestling behavioural activity did not differ between ACTH- and saline-treated groups during exposure to control sounds, whereas behavioural activity during exposure to alarm calls was reduced in manipulated offspring only. I conclude that prolonged physiological stress may have short-term benefits to nest-bound offspring, such as more effective antipredator behaviour, but at the expense of negative effects on body size and developmental speed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vallo Tilgar
- Department of Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, 51014 Tartu, Estonia
| |
Collapse
|
55
|
Serpeloni F, Radtke KM, Hecker T, Sill J, Vukojevic V, de Assis SG, Schauer M, Elbert T, Nätt D. Does Prenatal Stress Shape Postnatal Resilience? - An Epigenome-Wide Study on Violence and Mental Health in Humans. Front Genet 2019; 10:269. [PMID: 31040859 PMCID: PMC6477038 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2019.00269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2018] [Accepted: 03/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Stress during pregnancy widely associates with epigenetic changes and psychiatric problems during childhood. Animal studies, however, show that under specific postnatal conditions prenatal stress may have other, less detrimental consequences for the offspring. Here, we studied mental health and epigenome-wide DNA methylation in saliva following intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy in São Gonçalo, a Brazilian city with high levels of violence. Not surprisingly, mothers exposed to pregnancy IPV expressed elevated depression, PTSD and anxiety symptoms. Children had similar psychiatric problems when they experienced maternal IPV after being born. More surprisingly, when maternal IPV occurred both during (prenatal) and after pregnancy these problems were absent. Following prenatal IPV, genomic sites in genes encoding the glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1) and its repressor FKBP51 (FKBP5) were among the most differentially methylated and indicated an enhanced ability to terminate hormonal stress responses in prenatally stressed children. These children also showed more DNA methylation in heterochromatin-like regions, which previously has been associated with stress/disease resilience. A similar relationship was seen in prenatally stressed middle-eastern refugees of the same age as the São Gonçalo children but exposed to postnatal war-related violence. While our study is limited in location and sample size, it provides novel insights on how prenatal stress may epigenetically shape resilience in humans, possibly through interactions with the postnatal environment. This translates animal findings and emphasizes the importance to account for population differences when studying how early life gene–environment interactions affects mental health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fernanda Serpeloni
- Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Studies in Violence and Health Jorge Careli, National School of Public Health of Rio de Janeiro - National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Karl M Radtke
- Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.,Evolutionary Biology and Zoology, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Tobias Hecker
- Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Johanna Sill
- Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Vanja Vukojevic
- Division of Molecular Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Simone G de Assis
- Department of Studies in Violence and Health Jorge Careli, National School of Public Health of Rio de Janeiro - National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Maggie Schauer
- Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Thomas Elbert
- Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Daniel Nätt
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
56
|
Webster MM, Chouinard-Thuly L, Herczeg G, Kitano J, Riley R, Rogers S, Shapiro MD, Shikano T, Laland KN. A four-questions perspective on public information use in sticklebacks (Gasterosteidae). ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:181735. [PMID: 30891285 PMCID: PMC6408396 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.181735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2018] [Accepted: 01/08/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Whether learning primarily reflects general processes or species-specific challenges is a long-standing matter of dispute. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of public information use (PI-use) in sticklebacks (Gasterosteidae). PI-use is a form of social learning by which animals are able to assess the relative quality of resources, here prey patches, by observing the behaviour of others. PI-use was highly specific with only Pungitius and their closest relative Culaea inconstans showing evidence of PI-use. We saw no effects of ontogenetic experience upon PI-use in Pungitius pungitius. Experiments with live demonstrators and animated fish revealed that heightened activity and feeding strikes by foraging conspecifics are important cues in the transmission of PI. Finally, PI-use was the only form of learning in which P. pungitius and another stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus differed. PI-use in sticklebacks is species-specific and may represent an 'ecological specialization' for social foraging. Whether this reflects selection on perception, attentional or cognitive processes remains to be determined.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mike M. Webster
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TF, UK
| | - Laura Chouinard-Thuly
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TF, UK
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Docteur Penfield, Montréal, Quebec, Canada H3A 1B1
| | - Gabor Herczeg
- Ecological Genetics Research Group, Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Finland
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary
| | - Jun Kitano
- Division of Ecological Genetics, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Japan
| | - Riva Riley
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TF, UK
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Sean Rogers
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Calgary, Canada
| | - Michael D. Shapiro
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Takahito Shikano
- Ecological Genetics Research Group, Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - Kevin N. Laland
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TF, UK
| |
Collapse
|
57
|
Ahi EP, Singh P, Lecaudey LA, Gessl W, Sturmbauer C. Maternal mRNA input of growth and stress-response-related genes in cichlids in relation to egg size and trophic specialization. EvoDevo 2018; 9:23. [PMID: 30519389 PMCID: PMC6271631 DOI: 10.1186/s13227-018-0112-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2018] [Accepted: 11/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Egg size represents an important form of maternal effect determined by a complex interplay of long-term adaptation and short-term plasticity balancing egg size with brood size. Haplochromine cichlids are maternal mouthbrooders showing differential parental investment in different species, manifested in great variation in egg size, brood size and duration of maternal care. Little is known about maternally determined molecular characters of eggs in fishes and their relation to egg size and trophic specialization. Here we investigate maternal mRNA inputs of selected growth- and stress-related genes in eggs of mouthbrooding cichlid fishes adapted to different trophic niches from Lake Tanganyika, Lake Malawi, Lake Victoria and compare them to their riverine allies. RESULTS We first identified two reference genes, atf7ip and mid1ip1, to be suitable for cross-species quantification of mRNA abundance via qRT-PCR in the cichlid eggs. Using these reference genes, we found substantial variation in maternal mRNA input for a set of candidate genes related to growth and stress response across species and lakes. We observed negative correlation of mRNA abundance between two of growth hormone receptor paralogs (ghr1 and ghr2) across all haplochromine cichlid species which also differentiate the species in the two younger lakes, Malawi and Lake Victoria, from those in Lake Tanganyika and ancestral riverine species. Furthermore, we found correlations between egg size and maternal mRNA abundance of two growth-related genes igf2 and ghr2 across the haplochromine cichlids as well as distinct clustering of the species based on their trophic specialization using maternal mRNA abundance of five genes (ghr1, ghr2, igf2, gr and sgk1). CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that variations in egg size in closely related cichlid species can be linked to differences in maternal RNA deposition of key growth-related genes. In addition, the cichlid species with contrasting trophic specialization deposit different levels of maternal mRNAs in their eggs for particular growth-related genes; however, it is unclear whether such differences contribute to differential morphogenesis at later stages of development. Our results provide first insights into this aspect of gene activation, as a basis for future studies targeting their role during ecomorphological specialization and adaptive radiation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ehsan Pashay Ahi
- Institute of Biology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, 8010 Graz, Austria
- Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18A, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Pooja Singh
- Institute of Biology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | | | - Wolfgang Gessl
- Institute of Biology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Christian Sturmbauer
- Institute of Biology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, 8010 Graz, Austria
| |
Collapse
|
58
|
Dellinger M, Zhang W, Bell AM, Hellmann JK. Do male sticklebacks use visual and/or olfactory cues to assess a potential mate's history with predation risk? Anim Behav 2018; 145:151-159. [PMID: 31666748 DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.09.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Differential allocation occurs when individuals alter their reproductive investment based on their mate's traits. A previous study showed that male threespine sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus, reduced courtship towards females that had previously been exposed to predation risk compared to unexposed females. This suggests that males can detect a female's previous history with predation risk, but the mechanisms by which males assess a female's history are unknown. To determine whether males use chemical and/or visual cues to detect a female's previous history with predation risk, we compared rates of courtship behaviour in the presence of visual and/or olfactory cues of predator-exposed females versus unexposed females in a 2×2 factorial design. We found that males differentiate between unexposed and predator-exposed females using visual cues: regardless of the olfactory cues present, males performed fewer zigzags (a conspicuous courtship behaviour) when they were exposed to visual cues from predator-exposed females compared to unexposed females. However, males' response to olfactory cues changed over the course of the experiment: initially, males performed fewer courtship displays when they received olfactory cues of predator-exposed females compared to unexposed females, but they did not discriminate between cues from predator-exposed and unexposed females later in the experiment. A follow-up experiment found that levels of cortisol released by both predator-exposed and unexposed females decreased over the course of the experiment. If cortisol is linked to or correlated with olfactory cues of predation risk that are released by females, then this suggests that the olfactory cues became less potent over the course of the experiment. Altogether, these results suggest that males use both visual and olfactory cues to differentiate between unexposed and predator-exposed females, which may help ensure reliable communication in a noisy environment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marion Dellinger
- COMUE Université Bretagne Loire, Oniris, Nantes-Atlantic College of veterinary medicine and food sciences
| | - Weiran Zhang
- Department of Animal Biology, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
| | - Alison M Bell
- Department of Animal Biology, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.,Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.,Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
| | - Jennifer K Hellmann
- Department of Animal Biology, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
| |
Collapse
|
59
|
Gartstein MA, Skinner MK. Prenatal influences on temperament development: The role of environmental epigenetics. Dev Psychopathol 2018; 30:1269-1303. [PMID: 29229018 PMCID: PMC5997513 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579417001730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
This review summarizes current knowledge and outlines future directions relevant to questions concerning environmental epigenetics and the processes that contribute to temperament development. Links between prenatal adversity, epigenetic programming, and early manifestations of temperament are important in their own right, also informing our understanding of biological foundations for social-emotional development. In addition, infant temperament attributes represent key etiological factors in the onset of developmental psychopathology, and studies elucidating their prenatal foundations expand our understanding of developmental origins of health and disease. Prenatal adversity can take many forms, and this overview is focused on the environmental effects of stress, toxicants, substance use/psychotropic medication, and nutrition. Dysregulation associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity-disruptive disorders was noted in the context of maternal substance use and toxicant exposures during gestation, as well as stress. Although these links can be made based on the existing literature, currently few studies directly connect environmental influences, epigenetic programming, and changes in brain development/behavior. The chain of events starting with environmental inputs and resulting in alterations to gene expression, physiology, and behavior of the organism is driven by epigenetics. Epigenetics provides the molecular mechanism of how environmental factors impact development and subsequent health and disease, including early brain and temperament development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maria A. Gartstein
- Department of Psychology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA-99164-4820, USA
| | - Michael K. Skinner
- Center for Reproductive Biology, School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA-99164-4236, USA
| |
Collapse
|
60
|
Orizaola G, Richter-Boix A, Laurila A. Transgenerational effects and impact of compensatory responses to changes in breeding phenology on antipredator defenses. Ecology 2018; 97:2470-2478. [PMID: 27859081 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2016] [Revised: 03/17/2016] [Accepted: 04/19/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
As organisms living in temperate environments often have only a short time window for growth and reproduction, their life-history strategies are expected to be influenced by these time constraints. Parents may alter the pace of offspring life-history as a response to changes in breeding phenology. However, the responses to changes in time constraints must be balanced with those against other stressors, such as predation, one of the strongest and more ubiquitous selective factors in nature. Here, after experimentally modifying the timing of breeding and hatching in the moor frog (Rana arvalis), we studied how compensatory responses to delayed breeding and hatching affect antipredator strategies in amphibian larvae. We examined the activity patterns, morphology and life-history responses in tadpoles exposed to different combinations of breeding and hatching delays in the presence and absence of predators. We found clear evidence of adaptive transgenerational effects since tadpoles from delayed breeding treatments increased growth and development independently of predation risk. The presence of predators reduced tadpole activity, tadpoles from delayed breeding treatments maintaining lower activity than non-delayed ones also in the absence of predators. Tadpoles reared with predators developed deeper tails and bodies, however, tadpoles from breeding delay treatments had reduced morphological defenses as compared to non-delayed individuals. No significant effects of hatching delay were detected in this study. Our study reveals that amphibian larvae exposed to breeding delay develop compensatory life-history responses even under predation risk, but these responses trade-off with the development of morphological antipredator defenses. These results suggest that under strong time constraints organisms are selected to develop fast growth and development responses, and rely on lower activity rates as their main antipredator defense. Examining how responses to changes in phenology affect species interactions is highly relevant for better understanding ecological responses to climate change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Germán Orizaola
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, 75236, Sweden
| | - Alex Richter-Boix
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, 75236, Sweden
| | - Anssi Laurila
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, 75236, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
61
|
Ensminger DC, Langkilde T, Owen DAS, MacLeod KJ, Sheriff MJ. Maternal stress alters the phenotype of the mother, her eggs and her offspring in a wild-caught lizard. J Anim Ecol 2018; 87:1685-1697. [PMID: 30074248 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2018] [Accepted: 07/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
While biomedical researchers have long appreciated the influence of maternally derived glucocorticoids (GCs) on offspring phenotype, ecologists have only recently begun exploring its impact in wild animals. Interpreting biomedical findings within an ecological context has posited that maternal stress, mediated by elevations of maternal GCs, may play an adaptive role preparing offspring for a stressful or rigorous environment. Yet, the influence of maternal stress on offspring phenotype has been little studied in wild animals. We experimentally elevated GCs to ecologically relevant levels (mimicking increases in maternal stress hormones following a nonlethal predator encounter, a heat challenge, or a chasing or confinement stressor) in female eastern fence lizards Sceloporus undulatus during gestation. We tested the hypothesis that maternally derived stress hormones themselves are sufficient to alter offspring phenotype. Specifically, we examined the effects of experimentally elevated maternal GCs on fitness-relevant traits of the mother, her eggs and her subsequent offspring. We found that daily maternal GC elevation: (a) increased maternal antipredator behaviours and postlaying glucose levels; (b) had no effect on egg morphology or caloric value, but altered yolk hormone (elevated GC) and nutrient content; and (c) altered offspring phenotype including stress-relevant physiology, morphology and behaviour. These findings reveal that maternally derived GCs alone can alter offspring phenotype in a wild animal, changes that may be mediated via maternal behaviour, and egg hormone and nutrient content. Understanding the ecological consequences of these effects under different environmental conditions will be critical for determining the adaptive significance of elevated maternal GCs for offspring.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David C Ensminger
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.,Department of Biology, Mueller Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
| | - Tracy Langkilde
- Department of Biology, Mueller Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
| | - Dustin A S Owen
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.,Department of Biology, Mueller Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.,Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
| | - Kirsty J MacLeod
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.,Department of Biology, Mueller Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.,Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
| | - Michael J Sheriff
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.,Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
| |
Collapse
|
62
|
Fox RJ, Head ML, Barber I. Good parenting may not increase reproductive success under environmental extremes. J Evol Biol 2018; 31:1638-1646. [PMID: 30063102 PMCID: PMC6849592 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2017] [Revised: 07/25/2018] [Accepted: 07/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
For species exhibiting parental care, the way in which parents adjust care behaviour to compensate for environmental change potentially influences offspring survival and, ultimately, population viability. Using the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) - a species in which males provide parental care by building and tending a nest and fanning the eggs - we examined how low dissolved oxygen (DO) levels affect paternal care, embryo development and survival. Although levels of nest tending were unaffected by DO level, we found that larger males fanned their embryos more under low oxygen conditions. This resulted in faster rates of embryo development within the clutches of these larger males, but reduced embryo survival at 7 days post-fertilization compared to clutches of smaller males. Our results suggest that although parents may attempt to compensate for environmental change via alterations to care behaviour, their ability to do so can be dependent on parental phenotype. This sets up the potential for oxygen levels to act on the strength and direction of selection within populations. We discuss possible explanations for the surprising result that supposedly adaptive changes in care behaviour by large males (i.e. increased fanning) led to reduced embryo survival at 7 days post-fertilization, and whether, as a consequence, acute environmental conditions may have the potential to overwhelm selection on sexual traits.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca J Fox
- School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia.,Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Megan L Head
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.,Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Iain Barber
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.,School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Nottinghamshire, UK
| |
Collapse
|
63
|
St-Cyr S, Abuaish S, Spinieli RL, McGowan PO. Maternal Predator Odor Exposure in Mice Programs Adult Offspring Social Behavior and Increases Stress-Induced Behaviors in Semi-Naturalistic and Commonly-Used Laboratory Tasks. Front Behav Neurosci 2018; 12:136. [PMID: 30050417 PMCID: PMC6050368 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2018] [Accepted: 06/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Maternal stress has a profound impact on the long-term behavioral phenotype of offspring, including behavioral responses to stressful and social situations. In this study, we examined the effects of maternal exposure to predator odor, an ethologically relevant psychogenic stressor, on stress-induced behaviors in both semi-naturalistic and laboratory-based situations. Adult C57BL/6 mice offspring of dams exposed to predator odor during the last half of pregnancy showed increased anti-predatory behavior, more cautious foraging behavior and, in the elevated plus maze, avoidance of elevated open areas and elevated open areas following restraint stress challenge. These offspring also exhibited alterations in social behavior including reduced free interaction and increased initial investigation despite normal social recognition. These changes in behavior were associated with increased transcript abundance of corticotropin-releasing factor, mineralocorticoid receptor and oxytocin (Oxt) in the periventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. Taken together, the findings are consistent with a long-term increase in ethologically-relevant behavioral and neural responses to stress in male and female offspring as a function of maternal predator odor exposure.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sophie St-Cyr
- Center for Environmental Epigenetics and Development, Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Sameera Abuaish
- Center for Environmental Epigenetics and Development, Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Richard L Spinieli
- Center for Environmental Epigenetics and Development, Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Psychobiology Graduate Program, School of Philosophy, Science and Literature, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Patrick O McGowan
- Center for Environmental Epigenetics and Development, Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
64
|
Sheriff MJ, Dantzer B, Love OP, Orrock JL. Error management theory and the adaptive significance of transgenerational maternal-stress effects on offspring phenotype. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:6473-6482. [PMID: 30038749 PMCID: PMC6053571 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2017] [Revised: 02/22/2018] [Accepted: 03/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
It is well established that circulating maternal stress hormones (glucocorticoids, GCs) can alter offspring phenotype. There is also a growing body of empirical work, within ecology and evolution, indicating that maternal GCs link the environment experienced by the mother during gestation with changes in offspring phenotype. These changes are considered to be adaptive if the maternal environment matches the offspring's environment and maladaptive if it does not. While these ideas are conceptually sound, we lack a testable framework that can be used to investigate the fitness costs and benefits of altered offspring phenotypes across relevant future environments. We present error management theory as the foundation for a framework that can be used to assess the adaptive potential of maternal stress hormones on offspring phenotype across relevant postnatal scenarios. To encourage rigorous testing of our framework, we provide field-testable hypotheses regarding the potential adaptive role of maternal stress across a diverse array of taxa and life histories, as well as suggestions regarding how our framework might provide insight into past, present, and future research. This perspective provides an informed lens through which to design and interpret experiments on the effects of maternal stress, provides a framework for predicting and testing variation in maternal stress across and within taxa, and also highlights how rapid environmental change that induces maternal stress may lead to evolutionary traps.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Sheriff
- Department of Ecosystem Science and ManagementHuck Institute of the Life SciencesPennsylvania State UniversityUniversity ParkPennsylvania
| | - Ben Dantzer
- Departments of Psychology, Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichigan
| | - Oliver P. Love
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of WindsorWindsorONCanada
| | - John L. Orrock
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of WisconsinMadisonWisconsin
| |
Collapse
|
65
|
St-Cyr S, Abuaish S, Welch KC, McGowan PO. Maternal predator odour exposure programs metabolic responses in adult offspring. Sci Rep 2018; 8:8077. [PMID: 29799024 PMCID: PMC5967341 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-26462-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Accepted: 05/11/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
A cardinal feature of the reaction to stress is the promotion of energy mobilization, enabling appropriate behavioural responses. Predator odours are naturalistic and ecologically relevant stressors present over evolutionary timescales. In this study, we asked whether maternal predator odour exposure could program long-term energy mobilization in C57BL/6 mice offspring. To test this hypothesis, we measured rates of oxygen consumption in prenatally predator odour exposed mice in adulthood while controlling for levels of locomotor activity at baseline and under stress. Circulating thyroid hormone levels and the transcript abundance of key regulators of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis within the periventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus and in the liver, including carriers and receptors and thyrotropin-releasing hormone, were measured as endocrine mediators facilitating energy availability. Prenatally predator odour exposed mice of both sexes mobilized more energy during lower energy demand periods of the day and under stressful conditions. Further, prenatally predator odour exposed mice displayed modifications of their hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis through increased circulating thyroxine and thyroid hormone receptor α within the PVN and decreased transthyretin in the liver. Overall, these results suggest that maternal exposure to predator odour is sufficient to increase long-term energy mobilization in adult offspring.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sophie St-Cyr
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Center for Environmental Epigenetics and Development, Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Colcket Translational Research Building, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, 3501 Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sameera Abuaish
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Center for Environmental Epigenetics and Development, Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Kenneth C Welch
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Patrick O McGowan
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, Canada. .,Center for Environmental Epigenetics and Development, Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. .,Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. .,Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
66
|
Brachetta V, Schleich CE, Cutrera AP, Merlo JL, Kittlein MJ, Zenuto RR. Prenatal predatory stress in a wild species of subterranean rodent: Do ecological stressors always have a negative effect on the offspring? Dev Psychobiol 2018; 60:567-581. [DOI: 10.1002/dev.21635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2017] [Accepted: 03/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Brachetta
- Laboratorio de Ecología Fisiológica y del Comportamiento, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC); Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET; de Mar del Plata Argentina
| | - Cristian E. Schleich
- Laboratorio de Ecología Fisiológica y del Comportamiento, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC); Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET; de Mar del Plata Argentina
| | - Ana P. Cutrera
- Laboratorio de Ecología Fisiológica y del Comportamiento, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC); Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET; de Mar del Plata Argentina
| | - Julieta L. Merlo
- Laboratorio de Ecología Fisiológica y del Comportamiento, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC); Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET; de Mar del Plata Argentina
| | - Marcelo J. Kittlein
- Laboratorio de Ecología Fisiológica y del Comportamiento, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC); Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET; de Mar del Plata Argentina
| | - Roxana R. Zenuto
- Laboratorio de Ecología Fisiológica y del Comportamiento, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC); Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET; de Mar del Plata Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
67
|
Tóth Z, Hettyey A. Egg-laying environment modulates offspring responses to predation risk in an amphibian. J Evol Biol 2018; 31:710-721. [PMID: 29485239 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2017] [Revised: 01/18/2018] [Accepted: 02/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Predator-induced plasticity has been in the focus of evolutionary ecological research in the last decades, but the consequences of temporal variation in the presence of cues predicting offspring environment have remained controversial. This is partly due to the fact that the role of early environmental effects has scarcely been scrutinized in this context while also controlling for potential maternal effects. In this study, we investigated how past environmental conditions, that is different combinations of risky or safe adult (prenatal) and oviposition (early post-natal) environments, affected offspring's plastic responses in hatching time and locomotor activity to predation risk during development in the smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris). We found that females did not adjust their reproductive investment to the perceived level of risk in the adult environment, and this prenatal environment had generally negligible effect on offspring phenotype. However, when predator cues were absent during oviposition, larvae raised in the presence of predator cues delayed their hatching and exhibited a decreased activity compared to control larvae developing without predator cues, which responses are advantageous when predators pose a threat to hatched larvae. In the presence of predator cues during oviposition, the difference in hatching time persisted, but the difference in general locomotor activity disappeared between risk-exposed and control larvae. Our findings provide clear experimental evidence that fine-scale temporal variation in a predictive cue during and after egg-laying interactively affects offspring phenotype, and highlight the importance of the early post-natal environment, which may exert a substantial influence on progeny's phenotype also under natural conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zoltán Tóth
- Lendület Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Attila Hettyey
- Lendület Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| |
Collapse
|
68
|
Sheriff MJ, Bell A, Boonstra R, Dantzer B, Lavergne SG, McGhee KE, MacLeod KJ, Winandy L, Zimmer C, Love OP. Integrating Ecological and Evolutionary Context in the Study of Maternal Stress. Integr Comp Biol 2018; 57:437-449. [PMID: 28957523 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icx105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Maternal stress can prenatally influence offspring phenotypes and there are an increasing number of ecological studies that are bringing to bear biomedical findings to natural systems. This is resulting in a shift from the perspective that maternal stress is unanimously costly, to one in which maternal stress may be beneficial to offspring. However, this adaptive perspective is in its infancy with much progress to still be made in understanding the role of maternal stress in natural systems. Our aim is to emphasize the importance of the ecological and evolutionary context within which adaptive hypotheses of maternal stress can be evaluated. We present five primary research areas where we think future research can make substantial progress: (1) understanding maternal and offspring control mechanisms that modulate exposure between maternal stress and subsequent offspring phenotype response; (2) understanding the dynamic nature of the interaction between mothers and their environment; (3) integrating offspring phenotypic responses and measuring both maternal and offspring fitness outcomes under real-life (either free-living or semi-natural) conditions; (4) empirically testing these fitness outcomes across relevant spatial and temporal environmental contexts (both pre- and post-natal environments); (5) examining the role of maternal stress effects in human-altered environments-i.e., do they limit or enhance fitness. To make progress, it is critical to understand the role of maternal stress in an ecological context and to do that, we must integrate across physiology, behavior, genetics, and evolution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Sheriff
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Huck Institute of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Alison Bell
- School of Integrative Biology, Program in Neuroscience, and Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, IL 61821, USA
| | - Rudy Boonstra
- Centre for the Neurobiology of Stress, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Ben Dantzer
- Department of Psychology, and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Sophia G Lavergne
- Centre for the Neurobiology of Stress, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Katie E McGhee
- Department of Biology, the University of the South, Sewanee, TN 37383, USA
| | - Kirsty J MacLeod
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Huck Institute of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.,Department of Biology, Mueller Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Laurane Winandy
- CNRS, Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier, ENFA, UMR5174 (Laboratoire Évolution and Diversité Biologique), 31077 Toulouse, France.,CNRS, UMR5321, Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, 09200 Moulis, France
| | - Cedric Zimmer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
69
|
Donelan SC, Trussell GC. Parental and embryonic experiences with predation risk affect prey offspring behaviour and performance. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:20180034. [PMID: 29540520 PMCID: PMC5879633 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2018] [Accepted: 02/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Because phenotypic plasticity can operate both within and between generations, phenotypic outcomes are often shaped by a complex history of environmental signals. For example, parental and embryonic experiences with predation risk can both independently and interactively influence prey offspring traits early in their life. Parental and embryonic risk experiences can also independently shape offspring phenotypes throughout an offspring's ontogeny, but the persistence of their interactive effects throughout offspring ontogeny is unknown. We examined the effects of parental and embryonic experiences with predation risk on the response of 1-year-old prey (the carnivorous snail, Nucella lapillus) offspring to current predation risk. We found that parental and embryonic risk experiences had largely independent effects on offspring performance and that these effects were context dependent. Parental experience with risk had strong impacts on multiple offspring traits in the presence of current risk that generally improved offspring performance under risk, but embryonic risk experience had relatively weaker effects and only operated in the absence of current risk to reduce offspring growth. These results illustrate that past environmental experiences can dynamically shape organism phenotypes across ontogeny and that attention to these effects is key to a better understanding of predator/prey dynamics in natural systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C Donelan
- Marine Science Center, Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, 430 Nahant Road, Nahant, MA 01908, USA
| | - Geoffrey C Trussell
- Marine Science Center, Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, 430 Nahant Road, Nahant, MA 01908, USA
| |
Collapse
|
70
|
Li X, Niu C. Maternal Effects Via Resting eggs in Predator Defense of the Rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus. Zoolog Sci 2018; 35:49-56. [PMID: 29417899 DOI: 10.2108/zs170062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Maternal effects play important evolutionary and ecological roles. Amictic female mothers of monogonont rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus can transmit predatory information of Asplanchna brightwellii in their environment to their offspring by changing the offspring's defensive morphology to increase their fitness. However, it remains unclear whether such maternal effects also exist during sexual reproduction of a mictic mother. This study explored the maternal effect in mictic mothers using the B. calyciflorus and A. brightwellii as a prey-predator model. We collected resting eggs from two groups of mictic mothers that previously experienced environments with (P environment) or without (NP environment) Asplanchna kairomones. Stem females from the resting eggs of each maternal group were also hatched and reared in P and NP environments. The population growth rate of offspring who experienced the same environment as their mictic mothers was significantly higher than those that experienced a different environment. When exposed to a gradient of predator kairomone levels, the posterolateral spine of the offspring elongated with increasing kairomone concentration. Offspring from the P mictic mother showed significantly shorter posterolateral spines than those from the NP mictic mother at each predator kairomone level. Offspring originating from NP mictic mothers clearly elongated their posterolateral spines at low concentrations of predator kairomones, while those from P mothers elongated their posterolateral spines only at the highest levels of predator kairomone. Our findings highlight the existence of anticipatory maternal effects during the sexual process via resting eggs of B. calyciflorus in response to predator kairomone.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxuan Li
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Cuijuan Niu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| |
Collapse
|
71
|
Langenhof MR, Komdeur J. Why and how the early-life environment affects development of coping behaviours. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018; 72:34. [PMID: 29449757 PMCID: PMC5805793 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2452-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2017] [Revised: 01/19/2018] [Accepted: 01/25/2018] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the ways in which individuals cope with threats, respond to challenges, make use of opportunities and mediate the harmful effects of their surroundings is important for predicting their ability to function in a rapidly changing world. Perhaps one of the most essential drivers of coping behaviour of adults is the environment experienced during their early-life development. Although the study of coping, defined as behaviours displayed in response to environmental challenges, has a long and rich research history in biology, recent literature has repeatedly pointed out that the processes through which coping behaviours develop in individuals are still largely unknown. In this review, we make a move towards integrating ultimate and proximate lines of coping behaviour research. After broadly defining coping behaviours (1), we review why, from an evolutionary perspective, the development of coping has become tightly linked to the early-life environment (2), which relevant developmental processes are most important in creating coping behaviours adjusted to the early-life environment (3), which influences have been shown to impact those developmental processes (4) and what the adaptive significance of intergenerational transmission of coping behaviours is, in the context of behavioural adaptations to a fast changing world (5). Important concepts such as effects of parents, habitat, nutrition, social group and stress are discussed using examples from empirical studies on mammals, fish, birds and other animals. In the discussion, we address important problems that arise when studying the development of coping behaviours and suggest solutions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M. Rohaa Langenhof
- Behavioural Physiology and Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Behavioural Physiology and Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
72
|
Morales J, Lucas A, Velando A. Maternal programming of offspring antipredator behavior in a seabird. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Judith Morales
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC, José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alberto Lucas
- Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Universidade de Vigo, Campus As Lagoas – Marcosende, Vigo, Spain
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio Ramón Margalef Carretera San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, Universitat d’Alacant. Alacant, Spain
| | - Alberto Velando
- Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Universidade de Vigo, Campus As Lagoas – Marcosende, Vigo, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
73
|
Donelan SC, Trussell GC. Synergistic effects of parental and embryonic exposure to predation risk on prey offspring size at emergence. Ecology 2017; 99:68-78. [PMID: 29083481 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2017] [Revised: 09/20/2017] [Accepted: 10/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Cues signaling predation risk can strongly influence prey phenotypes both within and between generations. Parental and embryonic effects have been shown to operate independently in response to predation risk, but how they interact to shape offspring life history traits remains largely unknown. Here, we conducted experiments to examine the synergistic impacts of parental and embryonic experiences with predation risk on offspring size at emergence in the snail, Nucella lapillus, which is an ecologically important intermediate consumer on rocky intertidal shores. We found that when embryos were exposed to predation risk, the offspring of risk-experienced parents emerged larger than those of parents that had no risk experience. This response was not the result of increased development time, greater resource availability, or fewer emerging offspring, but may have occurred because both parental and embryonic experiences with risk increased growth efficiency, perhaps by reducing embryonic respiration rates under risk. Our results highlight the potential for organisms to be influenced by a complex history of environmental signals with important consequences for individual fitness and predator-prey interactions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C Donelan
- Marine Science Center and the Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Nahant, Massachusetts, 01908, USA
| | - Geoffrey C Trussell
- Marine Science Center and the Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Nahant, Massachusetts, 01908, USA
| |
Collapse
|
74
|
Poisson A, Valotaire C, Borel F, Bertin A, Darmaillacq AS, Dickel L, Colson V. Embryonic exposure to a conspecific alarm cue triggers behavioural plasticity in juvenile rainbow trout. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
|
75
|
Tamilselvan P, Sloman K. Developmental social experience of parents affects behaviour of offspring in zebrafish. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
|
76
|
Flynn EE, Todgham AE. Thermal windows and metabolic performance curves in a developing Antarctic fish. J Comp Physiol B 2017; 188:271-282. [PMID: 28988313 DOI: 10.1007/s00360-017-1124-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2017] [Revised: 09/04/2017] [Accepted: 09/11/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
For ectotherms, temperature modifies the rate of physiological function across a temperature tolerance window depending on thermal history, ontogeny, and evolutionary history. Some adult Antarctic fishes, with comparatively narrow thermal windows, exhibit thermal plasticity in standard metabolic rate; however, little is known about the shape or breadth of thermal performance curves of earlier life stages of Antarctic fishes. We tested the effects of acute warming (- 1 to 8 °C) and temperature acclimation (2 weeks at - 1, 2, 4 °C) on survival and standard metabolic rate in early embryos of the dragonfish Gymnodraco acuticeps from McMurdo Sound, Ross Island, Antarctica. Contrary to predictions, embryos acclimated to warmer temperatures did not experience greater mortality and nearly all embryos survived acute warming to 8 °C. Metabolic performance curve height and shape were both significantly altered after 2 weeks of development at - 1 °C, with further increase in curve height, but not alteration of shape, with warm temperature acclimation. Overall metabolic rate temperature sensitivity (Q 10) from - 1 to 8 °C varied from 2.6 to 3.6, with the greatest thermal sensitivity exhibited by embryos at earlier developmental stages. Interclutch variation in metabolic rates, mass, and development of simultaneously collected embryos was also documented. Taken together, metabolic performance curves provide insight into the costs of early development under warming temperatures, with the potential for thermal sensitivity to be modified by dragonfish phenology and magnitude of seasonal changes in temperature.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erin E Flynn
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Anne E Todgham
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
77
|
Urban MC, Richardson JL, Freidenfelds NA, Drake DL, Fischer JF, Saunders PP. Microgeographic Adaptation of Wood Frog Tadpoles to an Apex Predator. COPEIA 2017. [DOI: 10.1643/cg-16-534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
|
78
|
The mean and variance of climate change in the oceans: hidden evolutionary potential under stochastic environmental variability in marine sticklebacks. Sci Rep 2017; 7:8889. [PMID: 28827678 PMCID: PMC5567136 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-07140-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2017] [Accepted: 06/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Increasing climate variability may pose an even greater risk to species than climate warming because temperature fluctuations can amplify adverse impacts of directional warming on fitness-related traits. Here, the influence of directional warming and increasing climate variability on marine stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus) offspring size variation was investigated by simulating changes to the mean and variance of ocean temperatures predicted under climate change. Reproductive traits of mothers and offspring size reaction norms across four climate scenarios were examined to assess the roles of standing genetic variation, transgenerational and within-generation plasticity in adaptive potential. Mothers acclimated to directional warming produced smaller eggs than mothers in constant, ambient temperatures, whereas mothers in a predictably variable environment (weekly change between temperatures) produced a range of egg sizes, possibly reflecting a diversified bet hedging strategy. Offspring size post-hatch was mostly influenced by genotype by environment interactions and not transgenerational effects. Offspring size reaction norms also differed depending on the type of environmental predictability (predictably variable vs. stochastic), with offspring reaching the largest sizes in the stochastic environment. Release of cryptic genetic variation for offspring size in the stochastic environment suggests hidden evolutionary potential in this wild population to respond to changes in environmental predictability.
Collapse
|
79
|
Effects of maternal cortisol treatment on offspring size, responses to stress, and anxiety-related behavior in wild largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Physiol Behav 2017; 180:15-24. [PMID: 28782525 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2017] [Revised: 08/02/2017] [Accepted: 08/02/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Cortisol, the main glucocorticoid stress hormone in teleost fish, is of interest as a mediator of maternal stress on offspring characteristics because it plays an organizational role during early development. The present study tested the hypothesis that maternal exposure to cortisol treatment prior to spawn affects offspring phenotype using wild largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Baseline and stress-induced cortisol concentrations, body size (i.e. length and mass), and behavior (i.e. anxiety, exploration, boldness, and aggression) were assessed at different offspring life-stages and compared between offspring of control and cortisol-treated females. Cortisol administration did not affect spawning success or timing, nor were whole-body cortisol concentrations different between embryos from cortisol-treated and control females. However, maternal cortisol treatment had significant effects on offspring stress responsiveness, mass, and behavior. Compared to offspring of control females, offspring of cortisol-treated females exhibited larger mass right after hatch, and young-of-the-year mounted an attenuated cortisol response to an acute stressor, and exhibited less thigmotaxic anxiety, exploratory behavior, boldness and aggression. Thus, offspring phenotype was affected by elevated maternal cortisol levels despite the absence of a significant increase in embryo cortisol concentrations, suggesting that a mechanism other than the direct deposition of cortisol into eggs mediates effects on offspring. The results of the present raise questions about the mechanisms through which maternal stress influences offspring behavior and physiology, as well as the impacts of such phenotypic changes on offspring fitness.
Collapse
|
80
|
Delayed effect of early-life corticosterone treatment on adult anti-predator behavior in a common passerine. Physiol Behav 2017; 177:82-90. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.04.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2016] [Revised: 04/18/2017] [Accepted: 04/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
|
81
|
McCormick MI, Lönnstedt OM. Disrupted learning: habitat degradation impairs crucial antipredator responses in naive prey. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 283:rspb.2016.0441. [PMID: 27170715 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.0441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2016] [Accepted: 04/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Habitat degradation is a global problem and one of the main causes of biodiversity loss. Though widespread, the mechanisms that underlie faunal changes are poorly understood. In tropical marine systems, corals play a crucial role in forming habitat, but coral cover on many reefs is declining sharply. Coral degradation affects the olfactory cues that provide reliable information on the presence and intensity of threat. Here, we show for the first time that the ability of a habitat generalist to learn predators using an efficient and widespread method of predator learning is compromised in degraded coral habitats. Results indicate that chemical alarm cues are no longer indicative of a local threat for the habitat generalist (the damselfish, Pomacentrus amboinensis), and these cues can no longer be used to learn the identity of novel predators in degraded habitats. By contrast, a rubble specialist and congeneric (Pomacentrus coelestis) responded to olfactory threat cues regardless of background environment and could learn the identity of a novel predator using chemical alarm cues. Understanding how some species can cope with or acclimate to the detrimental impacts of habitat degradation on risk assessment abilities will be crucial to defining the scope of resilience in threatened communities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark I McCormick
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Oona M Lönnstedt
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia Department of Ecology and Genetics, Limnology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
82
|
Vrtílek M, Polačik M, Reichard M. The role of energetic reserves during embryonic development of an annual killifish. Dev Dyn 2017; 246:838-847. [DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.24528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2016] [Revised: 05/04/2017] [Accepted: 05/25/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Milan Vrtílek
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; Brno Czech Republic
| | - Matej Polačik
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; Brno Czech Republic
| | - Martin Reichard
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; Brno Czech Republic
| |
Collapse
|
83
|
Oku K, van den Beuken TPG. Male behavioural plasticity depends on maternal mating status in the two-spotted spider mite. EXPERIMENTAL & APPLIED ACAROLOGY 2017; 71:319-327. [PMID: 28432470 PMCID: PMC5437173 DOI: 10.1007/s10493-017-0127-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2016] [Accepted: 04/09/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
In haplodiploid organisms including the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae), both unmated and mated females can produce male offspring. A previous study reported that males produced by unmated females (UM males) find pre-reproductive females more quickly than males produced by mated females (M males) in T. urticae. However, it remains unclear what factors cause the difference. We investigated effects of maternal mating status on mate-searching behaviour of their sons by changing the sons' developmental environment. In T. urticae, the primary sex ratio of mated-female colonies is female-biased. For both UM and M males, half of individuals were reared with males to imitate unmated-female colonies, whereas the rest were reared with females to imitate mated-female colonies. In UM males, individuals that had developed with males found pre-reproductive females more quickly than those that had developed with females. However, such a difference was not observed in M males. This indicates that behavioural response to the developmental environment differs between UM and M males. It means that the behavioural plasticity depends on maternal mating status. When males were individually reared, however, there was no significant difference in the mate-searching behaviour between UM and M males, indicating that maternal mating status does not independently affect their sons' mate-searching behaviour. This study showed that male mate-searching behaviour is changed by their developmental environment and maternal mating status. This behavioural plasticity depending on maternal mating status is the first reported in haplodiploid organisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Keiko Oku
- National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Agricultural Research Center, Tsukuba, Japan.
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, P. O. Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Tom P G van den Beuken
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, P. O. Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, P. O. Box 94248, 1090 GE, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
84
|
Tigreros N, Norris RH, Wang EH, Thaler JS. Maternally induced intraclutch cannibalism: an adaptive response to predation risk? Ecol Lett 2017; 20:487-494. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.12752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2016] [Revised: 01/10/2017] [Accepted: 01/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Rachel H. Norris
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca NY12854 USA
| | - Eugenia H. Wang
- Department of Entomology Cornell University Ithaca NY12854 USA
| | - Jennifer S. Thaler
- Department of Entomology Cornell University Ithaca NY12854 USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca NY12854 USA
| |
Collapse
|
85
|
Sopinka NM, Jeffrey JD, Burnett NJ, Patterson DA, Gilmour KM, Hinch SG. Maternal programming of offspring hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal axis in wild sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). Gen Comp Endocrinol 2017; 242:30-37. [PMID: 26718080 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2015.12.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2015] [Revised: 11/30/2015] [Accepted: 12/19/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
In fishes, maternal exposure to a stressor can influence offspring size and behavior. However, less is known about how maternal stress influences physiological processes in offspring, such as function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal (HPI) axis. We examined the impact of chronic maternal exposure to an acute chase stressor on the stress response/HPI activity of progeny in wild sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). Resting plasma cortisol and brain preoptic area (POA) corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) mRNA levels did not vary between offspring reared from undisturbed, control females and offspring reared from females exposed to the stressor. However, resting levels of POA glucocorticoid receptors (GR1 and GR2), and head kidney melanocortin 2 receptor (MC2R), steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), and cytochrome P450 side chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc) were elevated in offspring reared from stressor-exposed females. Offspring reared from stressor-exposed females had lower plasma cortisol levels 1-h after an acute chase stressor compared to cortisol levels in offspring reared from control females. In offspring reared from chased females, mRNA levels of genes associated with cortisol biosynthesis were reduced in the head kidney post-chase. In offspring reared from control females, mRNA levels in the head kidney did not vary pre- to post-chase. Together, the results of the present study suggest maternal programming of progeny with respect to baseline and stressor-induced mediators of HPI axis activity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- N M Sopinka
- Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Laboratory, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
| | - J D Jeffrey
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - N J Burnett
- Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Laboratory, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - D A Patterson
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Science Branch, Pacific Region, Cooperative Resource Management Institute, School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - K M Gilmour
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - S G Hinch
- Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Laboratory, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
86
|
|
87
|
Paitz RT, Bukhari SA, Bell AM. Stickleback embryos use ATP-binding cassette transporters as a buffer against exposure to maternally derived cortisol. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 283:20152838. [PMID: 26984623 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Offspring from females that experience stressful conditions during reproduction often exhibit altered phenotypes and many of these effects are thought to arise owing to increased exposure to maternal glucocorticoids. While embryos of placental vertebrates are known to regulate exposure to maternal glucocorticoids via placental steroid metabolism, much less is known about how and whether egg-laying vertebrates can control their steroid environment during embryonic development. We tested the hypothesis that threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) embryos can regulate exposure to maternal steroids via active efflux of maternal steroids from the egg. Embryos rapidly (within 72 h) cleared intact steroids, but blocking ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters inhibited cortisol clearance. Remarkably, this efflux of cortisol was sufficient to prevent a transcriptional response of embryos to exogenous cortisol. Taken together, these findings suggest that, much like their placental counterparts, developing fish embryos can actively regulate their exposure to maternal cortisol. These findings highlight the fact that even in egg-laying vertebrates, the realized exposure to maternal steroids is mediated by both maternal and embryonic processes and this has important implications for understanding how maternal stress influences offspring development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ryan T Paitz
- School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Campus Box 4120, Normal, IL 61790, USA
| | - Syed Abbas Bukhari
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA Illinois Informatics Institute, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Alison M Bell
- School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| |
Collapse
|
88
|
Chaby LE. Why are there lasting effects from exposure to stress during development? An analysis of current models of early stress. Physiol Behav 2016; 164:164-81. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.05.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2016] [Revised: 04/29/2016] [Accepted: 05/17/2016] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
|
89
|
Metzger DCH, Schulte PM. Maternal stress has divergent effects on gene expression patterns in the brains of male and female threespine stickleback. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 283:rspb.2016.1734. [PMID: 27683372 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2016] [Accepted: 09/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Maternal stress can have long-term effects on neurodevelopment that can influence offspring performance and population evolutionary trajectories. To examine the mechanistic basis for these neurodevelopmental effects of maternal stress, we used RNA-seq to assess differential gene expression across the brain transcriptome of adult male and female threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) from stressed and unstressed mothers. We identified sexually divergent effects of maternal stress on the brain transcriptome. In males, genes that were upregulated by maternal stress were enriched for processes involved in synaptic function and organization and steroid hormone-mediated signalling pathways, whereas in females genes that were upregulated by maternal stress were enriched for processes involved in protein translation and metabolic functions. The expression of several genes involved in the hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal response to stress and epigenetic processes such as the regulation of DNA methylation patterns and miRNAs increased in males and not in females. These data suggest that maternal stress has markedly different effects on cellular pathways in the brains of male and female offspring of mothers that are exposed to stress, which could have important implications when assessing the long-term ecological and evolutionary impacts of stress across generations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David C H Metzger
- Department of Zoology, 6270 University Boulevard, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - Patricia M Schulte
- Department of Zoology, 6270 University Boulevard, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4
| |
Collapse
|
90
|
Transgenerational transmission of pregestational and prenatal experience: maternal adversity, enrichment, and underlying epigenetic and environmental mechanisms. J Dev Orig Health Dis 2016; 7:588-601. [PMID: 27488022 DOI: 10.1017/s2040174416000416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Transgenerational transmission refers to positive and negative adaptations in brain function and behavior that affect following generations. In this paper, empirical findings regarding the transgenerational transmission of maternal adversity during three critical periods - childhood, pregestational adulthood and pregnancy - will be reviewed in terms of pregnancy outcomes, maternal care, offspring behavior and development, and physiological functioning. Research on the transgenerational transmission of enrichment and the implications for interventions to ameliorate the consequences of adversity will also be presented. In the final section, underlying epigenetic and environmental mechanisms that have been proposed to explain how experience is transferred across generations through transgenerational transmission will be reviewed. Directions for future research are suggested throughout.
Collapse
|
91
|
Diaz-Real J, Kim SY, Velando A. Hatching hierarchy but not egg-related effects governs behavioral phenotypes in gull chicks. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
|
92
|
Bowers EK, Bowden RM, Thompson CF, Sakaluk SK. Elevated corticosterone during egg production elicits increased maternal investment and promotes nestling growth in a wild songbird. Horm Behav 2016; 83:6-13. [PMID: 27189763 PMCID: PMC4915999 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2016] [Revised: 05/11/2016] [Accepted: 05/13/2016] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Glucocorticoids circulating in breeding birds during egg production accumulate within eggs, and may provide a potent form of maternal effect on offspring phenotype. However, whether these steroids affect offspring development remains unclear. Here, we employed a non-invasive technique that experimentally elevated the maternal transfer of corticosterone to eggs in a wild population of house wrens. Feeding corticosterone-injected mealworms to free-living females prior to and during egg production increased the number of eggs that females produced and increased corticosterone concentrations in egg yolks. This treatment also resulted in an increase in the amount of yolk allocated to eggs. Offspring hatching from these eggs begged for food at a higher rate than control offspring and eventually attained increased prefledging body condition, a trait predictive of their probability of recruitment as breeding adults in the study population. Our results indicate that an increase in maternal glucocorticoids within the physiological range can enhance maternal investment and offspring development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- E Keith Bowers
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4120, USA.
| | - Rachel M Bowden
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4120, USA
| | - Charles F Thompson
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4120, USA
| | - Scott K Sakaluk
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4120, USA
| |
Collapse
|
93
|
McNeil PL, Nebot C, Sloman KA. Physiological and Behavioral Effects of Exposure to Environmentally Relevant Concentrations of Prednisolone During Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Embryogenesis. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2016; 50:5294-304. [PMID: 27120978 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b00276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
The presence of synthetic glucocorticoids within the aquatic environment has been highlighted as a potential environmental concern as they may mimic the role of endogenous glucocorticoids during vertebrate ontogeny. Prednisolone is a commonly prescribed synthetic glucocorticoid which has been repeatedly detected in the environment. This study investigated the impact of environmentally relevant concentrations of prednisolone (0.1, 1, and 10 μg/L) during zebrafish embryogenesis using physiological and behavioral end points which are known to be mediated by endogenous glucocorticoids. The frequency of spontaneous muscle contractions (24 hpf) was significantly reduced by prednisolone and 0.1 μg/L increased the distance embryos swam in response to a mechanosensory stimulus (48 hpf). The percentage of embryos hatched significantly increased following prednisolone treatment (1 and 10 μg/L), while growth and mortality were unaffected. The onset of heart contraction was differentially affected by prednisolone while heart rate and oxygen consumption both increased significantly throughout embryogenesis. No substantial effect on the axial musculature was observed. Morphological changes to the lower jaw were detected at 96 hpf in response to 1 μg/L of prednisolone. Several parameters of swim behavior were also significantly affected. Environmentally relevant concentrations of prednisolone therefore alter early zebrafish ontogeny and significantly affect embryo behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paul L McNeil
- Institute of Biomedical and Environmental Health Research, School of Science and Sport, University of the West of Scotland , Paisley, U.K
| | - Carolina Nebot
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Bromatology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Santiago de Compostela , Lugo, Spain
| | - Katherine A Sloman
- Institute of Biomedical and Environmental Health Research, School of Science and Sport, University of the West of Scotland , Paisley, U.K
| |
Collapse
|
94
|
Harris BN, Carr JA. The role of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal/interrenal axis in mediating predator-avoidance trade-offs. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2016; 230-231:110-42. [PMID: 27080550 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2016.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2015] [Revised: 04/07/2016] [Accepted: 04/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Maintaining energy balance and reproducing are important for fitness, yet animals have evolved mechanisms by which the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal/interrenal (HPA/HPI) axis can shut these activities off. While HPA/HPI axis inhibition of feeding and reproduction may have evolved as a predator defense, to date there has been no review across taxa of the causal evidence for such a relationship. Here we review the literature on this topic by addressing evidence for three predictions: that exposure to predators decreases reproduction and feeding, that exposure to predators activates the HPA/HPI axis, and that predator-induced activation of the HPA/HPI axis inhibits foraging and reproduction. Weight of evidence indicates that exposure to predator cues inhibits several aspects of foraging and reproduction. While the evidence from fish and mammals supports the hypothesis that predator cues activate the HPA/HPI axis, the existing data in other vertebrate taxa are equivocal. A causal role for the HPA axis in predator-induced suppression of feeding and reproduction has not been demonstrated to date, although many studies report correlative relationships between HPA activity and reproduction and/or feeding. Manipulation of HPA/HPI axis signaling will be required in future studies to demonstrate direct mediation of predator-induced inhibition of feeding and reproduction. Understanding the circuitry linking sensory pathways to their control of the HPA/HPI axis also is needed. Finally, the role that fear and anxiety pathways play in the response of the HPA axis to predator cues is needed to better understand the role that predators have played in shaping anxiety related behaviors in all species, including humans.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Breanna N Harris
- Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, United States
| | - James A Carr
- Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
95
|
Temperature-dependent metabolism in Antarctic fish: Do habitat temperature conditions affect thermal tolerance ranges? Polar Biol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-016-1934-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
|
96
|
Jeffrey JD, Gilmour KM. Programming of the hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal axis by maternal social status in zebrafish (Danio rerio). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016; 219:1734-43. [PMID: 27045091 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.138826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2016] [Accepted: 03/17/2016] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
The present study examined the effects of maternal social status, with subordinate status being a chronic stressor, on development and activity of the stress axis in zebrafish embryos and larvae. Female zebrafish were confined in pairs for 48 h to establish dominant/subordinate hierarchies; their offspring were reared to 144 h post-fertilization (hpf) and sampled at five time points over development. No differences were detected in maternal cortisol contribution, which is thought to be an important programmer of offspring phenotype. However, once zebrafish offspring began to synthesize cortisol de novo (48 hpf), larvae of dominant females exhibited significantly lower baseline cortisol levels than offspring of subordinate females. These lower cortisol levels may reflect reduced hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal (HPI) axis activity, because corticotropin-releasing factor (crf) and cytochrome p450 side chain cleavage enzyme (p450scc) mRNA levels also were lower in larvae from dominant females. Moreover, baseline mRNA levels of HPI axis genes continued to be affected by maternal social status beyond 48 hpf. At 144 hpf, stress-induced cortisol levels were significantly lower in offspring of subordinate females. These results suggest programming of stress axis function in zebrafish offspring by maternal social status, emphasizing the importance of maternal environment and experience on offspring stress axis activity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer D Jeffrey
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5
| | - Kathleen M Gilmour
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5
| |
Collapse
|
97
|
Shama LNS, Mark FC, Strobel A, Lokmer A, John U, Mathias Wegner K. Transgenerational effects persist down the maternal line in marine sticklebacks: gene expression matches physiology in a warming ocean. Evol Appl 2016; 9:1096-1111. [PMID: 27695518 PMCID: PMC5039323 DOI: 10.1111/eva.12370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2015] [Accepted: 01/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Transgenerational effects can buffer populations against environmental change, yet little is known about underlying mechanisms, their persistence or the influence of environmental cue timing. We investigated mitochondrial respiratory capacity (MRC) and gene expression of marine sticklebacks that experienced acute or developmental acclimation to simulated ocean warming (21°C) across three generations. Previous work showed that acute acclimation of grandmothers to 21°C led to lower (optimized) offspring MRCs. Here, developmental acclimation of mothers to 21°C led to higher, but more efficient offspring MRCs. Offspring with a 21°C × 17°C grandmother-mother environment mismatch showed metabolic compensation: their MRCs were as low as offspring with a 17°C thermal history across generations. Transcriptional analyses showed primarily maternal but also grandmaternal environment effects: genes involved in metabolism and mitochondrial protein biosynthesis were differentially expressed when mothers developed at 21°C, whereas 21°C grandmothers influenced genes involved in hemostasis and apoptosis. Genes involved in mitochondrial respiration all showed higher expression when mothers developed at 21° and lower expression in the 21°C × 17°C group, matching the phenotypic pattern for MRCs. Our study links transcriptomics to physiology under climate change, and demonstrates that mechanisms underlying transgenerational effects persist across multiple generations with specific outcomes depending on acclimation type and environmental mismatch between generations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lisa N S Shama
- Coastal Ecology Section Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar-und Meeresforschung Wadden Sea Station Sylt Germany
| | - Felix C Mark
- Integrative Ecophysiology Section Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar-und Meeresforschung Bremerhaven Germany
| | - Anneli Strobel
- Integrative Ecophysiology Section Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar-und Meeresforschung Bremerhaven Germany; Man Society Environment (MGU) Department of Environmental Sciences University of Basel Switzerland
| | - Ana Lokmer
- Coastal Ecology Section Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar-und Meeresforschung Wadden Sea Station Sylt Germany
| | - Uwe John
- Ecological Chemistry Section Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar-und Meeresforschung Bremerhaven Germany
| | - K Mathias Wegner
- Coastal Ecology Section Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar-und Meeresforschung Wadden Sea Station Sylt Germany
| |
Collapse
|
98
|
Bell AM, McGhee KE, Stein L. Effects of mothers' and fathers' experience with predation risk on the behavioral development of their offspring in threespined sticklebacks. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2016; 7:28-32. [PMID: 26858970 DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Stressors experienced by parents can influence the behavioral development of their offspring. Here, we review recent studies in threespined sticklebacks (a species in which males are the sole providers of parental care) showing that when parents are exposed to an ecologically relevant stressor (predation risk), there are consequences for offspring. For example, female sticklebacks exposed to predation risk produce eggs with higher concentrations of cortisol, a stress hormone, and offspring with altered behavior and physiology. Male sticklebacks exposed to predation risk produce offspring that are less active, smaller, and in poorer condition. The precise mechanisms by which maternal and paternal experiences with predators affect offspring phenotypes are under investigation, and could include steroid hormones, olfactory cues and/or parental behavior. As in other species, some of the consequences of parental exposure to predation risk for offspring in sticklebacks might be adaptive, but depend on the stressor, the reliability of the parental and offspring environments and the evolutionary history of the population.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alison M Bell
- Department of Animal Biology, School of Integrative Biology, 505 S. Goodwin Ave, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801, U.S.A
| | - Katie E McGhee
- Department of Animal Biology, School of Integrative Biology, 505 S. Goodwin Ave, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801, U.S.A
| | - Laura Stein
- Department of Animal Biology, School of Integrative Biology, 505 S. Goodwin Ave, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801, U.S.A
| |
Collapse
|
99
|
Weigel EG, Tinghitella RM, Boughman JW. No evidence for adjustment of maternal investment under alternative mate availability regimes. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2016; 88:508-522. [PMID: 26508506 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.12793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2015] [Accepted: 09/07/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Using treatments that mimic high and low availability of reproductive males, it was found that female three-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus, previously shown to adjust their mate choices when male mates were rare, did not alter their reproductive investment strategies. These results suggest that plasticity in investment is perhaps limited by physiological requirements or dependent on relatively extreme mate availability regimes. The probability of becoming reproductive, number of clutches per season (per female), initial clutch size and mass and the timing of reproduction were all independent of the experience a female had with mate availability. This suggests that pre-copulatory plasticity in reproductive strategies may contribute more to variation in the strength and direction of sexual selection than reproductive investment in offspring.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- E G Weigel
- Department of Zoology, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane Road RM 203, East Lansing, MI 48824, U.S.A
- BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, Biomedical and Physical Sciences Building, 567 Wilson Road Room 1441, East Lansing, MI 48824, U.S.A
| | - R M Tinghitella
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Denver, F. W. Olin Hall, Room 102, 2190 E. Iliff Ave, Denver, CO 80208-9010, U.S.A
| | - J W Boughman
- Department of Zoology, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane Road RM 203, East Lansing, MI 48824, U.S.A
- BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, Biomedical and Physical Sciences Building, 567 Wilson Road Room 1441, East Lansing, MI 48824, U.S.A
| |
Collapse
|
100
|
Faught E, Best C, Vijayan MM. Maternal stress-associated cortisol stimulation may protect embryos from cortisol excess in zebrafish. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2016; 3:160032. [PMID: 26998341 PMCID: PMC4785992 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2016] [Accepted: 01/28/2016] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Abnormal embryo cortisol level causes developmental defects and poor survival in zebrafish (Danio rerio). However, no study has demonstrated that maternal stress leads to higher embryo cortisol content in zebrafish. We tested the hypothesis that maternal stress-associated elevation in cortisol levels increases embryo cortisol content in this asynchronous breeder. Zebrafish mothers were fed cortisol-spiked food for 5 days, to mimic maternal stress, followed by daily breeding for 10 days to monitor temporal embryo cortisol content. Cortisol treatment increased mean embryo yield, but the daily fecundity was variable among the groups. Embryo cortisol content was variable in both groups over a 10-day period. A transient elevation in cortisol levels was observed in the embryos from cortisol-fed mothers only on day 3, but not on subsequent days. We tested whether excess cortisol stimulates 11βHSD2 expression in ovarian follicles as a means to regulate embryo cortisol deposition. Cortisol treatment in vitro increased 11β HSD2 levels sevenfold, and this expression was regulated by actinomycin D and cycloheximide suggesting tight regulation of cortisol levels in the ovarian follicles. We hypothesize that cortisol-induced upregulation of 11βHSD2 activity in the ovarian follicles is a mechanism restricting excess cortisol incorporation into the eggs during maternal stress.
Collapse
|