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Lamarre J, Cheema SK, Robertson GJ, Wilson DR. Omega-3 fatty acids accelerate fledging in an avian marine predator: a potential role of cognition. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:jeb.235929. [PMID: 33462136 PMCID: PMC7929930 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.235929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Consuming omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFAs) during development improves cognition in mammals, but the effect remains untested in other taxa. In aquatic ecosystems, n-3 LCPUFAs are produced by phytoplankton and bioaccumulate in the food web. Alarmingly, the warming and acidification of aquatic systems caused by climate change impair n-3 LCPUFA production, with an anticipated decrease of 80% by the year 2100. We tested whether n-3 LCPUFA consumption affects the physiology, morphology, behaviour and cognition of the chicks of a top marine predator, the ring-billed gull. Using a colony with little access to n-3 LCPUFAs, we supplemented siblings from 22 fenced nests with contrasting treatments from hatching until fledging; one sibling received n-3 LCPUFA-rich fish oil and the other, a control sucrose solution without n-3 LCPUFAs. Halfway through the nestling period, half the chicks receiving fish oil were switched to the sucrose solution to test whether n-3 LCPUFA intake remains crucial past the main growth phase (chronic versus transient treatments). Upon fledging, n-3 LCPUFAs were elevated in the blood and brains of chicks receiving the chronic treatment, but were comparable to control levels among those receiving the transient treatment. Across the entire sample, chicks with elevated n-3 LCPUFAs in their tissues fledged earlier despite their morphology and activity levels being unrelated to fledging age. Fledging required chicks to escape fences encircling their nest. We therefore interpret fledging age as a possible indicator of cognition, with chicks with improved cognition fledging earlier. These results provide insight into whether declining dietary n-3 LCPUFAs will compromise top predators' problem-solving skills, and thus their ability to survive in a rapidly changing world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessika Lamarre
- Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John's, NL, Canada, A1B 3X9
| | - Sukhinder Kaur Cheema
- Department of Biochemistry, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John's, NL, Canada, A1B 3X9
| | - Gregory J Robertson
- Wildlife Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Mount Pearl, NL, Canada, A1N 4T3
| | - David R Wilson
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John's, NL, Canada, A1B 3X9
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2
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Kappeler PM. Parental Care. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-82879-0_11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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3
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Yi Y, Kim Y, Hikmat A, Choe JC. Information transfer through food from parents to offspring in wild Javan gibbons. Sci Rep 2020; 10:714. [PMID: 31959761 PMCID: PMC6971262 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-57021-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The adaptive functions of food transfer from parents to their offspring have been explained mainly by two mutually non-exclusive hypotheses: the nutritional and informational hypotheses. In this study, we examined the functions of food transfer in wild Javan gibbons (Hylobates moloch) by testing these hypotheses from both infants’ and mothers’ perspectives. We observed 83 cases of food solicitations that resulted in 54 occasions of food transfers in three groups over a 19-month period in Gunung Halimun-Salak National Park, Indonesia. Infants initiated all solicitations directed at their mothers with one solicitation towards a father. Food solicitation rate decreased as infant age increased and ceased before weaning. As predicted by the informational hypothesis, infants solicited more food items difficult to obtain and preferred by their parents. On the contrary to the nutritional hypothesis, infants solicited low-quality items more often than high-quality items. Mothers did not change probability of food transfer according to the food characteristics or infant age. Hence, our results suggest that the primary function of food transfer from mother to infant Javan gibbons seems to be information transfer rather than nutritional aids, similarly to great apes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoonjung Yi
- Laboratory of Behavioral Ecology, Interdisciplinary Program of EcoCreative, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760, Republic of Korea
| | - Yena Kim
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, 2333 AK, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Agus Hikmat
- Department of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecotourism, Faculty of Forestry, Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, 16680, West Java, Indonesia
| | - Jae C Choe
- Laboratory of Behavioral Ecology, Department of Life Sciences and Division of EcoScience, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760, Republic of Korea.
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Perez EC, Mariette MM, Cochard P, Soulage CO, Griffith SC, Vignal C. Corticosterone triggers high-pitched nestlings’ begging calls and affects parental behavior in the wild zebra finch. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
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Reed P. A transactional analysis of changes in parent and chick behaviour prior to separation of Herring Gulls (Larus Argentatus): A three-term contingency model. Behav Processes 2015; 118:21-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2015.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2014] [Revised: 05/18/2015] [Accepted: 05/18/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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7
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Evans JC, Votier SC, Dall SRX. Information use in colonial living. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2015; 91:658-72. [PMID: 25882618 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2014] [Revised: 03/18/2015] [Accepted: 03/24/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Despite the fact that many animals live in groups, there is still no clear consensus about the ecological or evolutionary mechanisms underlying colonial living. Recently, research has suggested that colonies may be important as sources of social information. The ready availability of information from conspecifics allows animals to make better decisions about avoiding predators, reducing brood parasitism, migratory phenology, mate choice, habitat choice and foraging. These choices can play a large part in the development and maintenance of colonies. Here we review the types of information provided by colonial animals and examine the different ways in which decision-making in colonies can be enhanced by social information. We discuss what roles information might take in the evolution, formation and maintenance of colonies. In the process, we illustrate that information use permeates all aspects of colonial living.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian C Evans
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter-Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9EZ, U.K
| | - Stephen C Votier
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter-Penryn Campus, Penryn, TR10 9EZ, U.K
| | - Sasha R X Dall
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter-Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9EZ, U.K
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8
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Ogawa M, Shiozaki T, Shirai M, Müller MS, Yamamoto M, Yoda K. How do biparental species optimally provision young when begging is honest? Behav Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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9
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Racine F, Giraldeau LA, Patenaude-Monette M, Giroux JF. Evidence of social information on food location in a ring-billed gull colony, but the birds do not use it. Anim Behav 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.04.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Martín-Gálvez D, Pérez-Contreras T, Soler M, Soler JJ. Benefits associated with escalated begging behaviour of black-billed magpie nestlings overcompensate the associated energetic costs. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011; 214:1463-72. [PMID: 21490255 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.050153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Several experimental results support the existence of costs associated with exaggerated begging behaviour, which are assumed by some theoretical models of honest signalling in parent-offspring communication. However, to understand how honest begging behaviour is evolutionarily maintained in nature, the long-term cost-benefit output associated with exaggerated signals should also be estimated. As far as we know, the net cost-benefit balance of begging display has not previously been explored. Here, we used an appetite stimulant, cyproheptadine hydrochloride, to increase the feeling of hunger in some magpie nestlings. Supporting the use of cyproheptadine to manipulate hunger level and thereby begging behaviour, we found that experimental nestlings increased the frequency of begging and received more food than their control nestmates. Contrary to the expectation that physiological costs per se counteract the associated benefits of escalated begging signals, we found that near-fledging experimental magpies showed a better physical condition than control nestlings. These findings stress the interesting question of why magpie nestlings do not show to adults an escalated level of hunger if it implies an advantage. We discuss the responsibility of inclusive fitness costs and indirect genetic effects for the maintenance of honesty in parent-offspring communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Martín-Gálvez
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva y Funcional, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (CSIC), 04120 Almería, Spain.
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Reers H, Jacot A. The effect of hunger on the acoustic individuality in begging calls of a colonially breeding weaver bird. BMC Ecol 2011; 11:3. [PMID: 21269465 PMCID: PMC3038888 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6785-11-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2010] [Accepted: 01/26/2011] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In colonially breeding birds, the ability to discriminate between individuals is often essential. During post-fledging care, parents have to recognize their own offspring among many other unrelated chicks in the breeding colony. It is well known that fledglings and food-provisioning parents of many bird species use contact calls to convey their identity. These calls are also often used as hunger-related signals of need in young birds. Here, we investigate how such calls incorporate signals of need and at the same time act as reliable indicators of each chick's identity. RESULTS In a field study, we experimentally manipulated the hunger level of colonially breeding Jackson's golden-backed weaver (Ploceus jacksoni) nestlings close to fledging and investigated its effects on acoustic call parameters. Some acoustic parameters that were related to the time-frequency pattern showed high individuality and were largely unaffected by a nestling's state of hunger. However, the majority of call parameters were significantly affected by hunger. Interestingly, most of these acoustic parameters showed both consistent changes with hunger and high between-individual differences, i.e. potential for individual recognition. CONCLUSION The results indicate that individual recognition processes can be based on static, hunger-independent call parameters, but also on dynamic hunger-related parameters that show high individuality. Furthermore, these signal properties suggest that the assessment of signals of need can be improved if the signal value is referenced to a chick's vocal spectrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hendrik Reers
- Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, D 82319, Germany.
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Noguera JC, Morales J, Pérez C, Velando A. On the oxidative cost of begging: antioxidants enhance vocalizations in gull chicks. Behav Ecol 2010. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arq005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
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14
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Beaulieu M, Raclot T, Dervaux A, Le Maho Y, Ropert-Coudert Y, Ancel A. Can a handicapped parent rely on its partner? An experimental study within Adélie penguin pairs. Anim Behav 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Spencer KA, Verhulst S. Post-natal exposure to corticosterone affects standard metabolic rate in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). Gen Comp Endocrinol 2008; 159:250-6. [PMID: 18854187 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2008.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2007] [Revised: 08/27/2008] [Accepted: 09/16/2008] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Post-natal stress has been shown to have important short and long term effects on many adult traits in birds. During stress, metabolic alterations often result in the mobilization of energy away from energy-sensitive functions such as growth, which could have significant implications for developing animals. However, little is known about the implications of stress hormones for energy consumption in growing individuals. We experimentally increased corticosterone (CORT) levels in nestling zebra finches via oral administration, between the ages of 7 and 18 days. The standard metabolic rate (SMR) of birds was measured twice overnight when birds were between 11-13 and 55-65 days of age. Developmental CORT administration significantly elevated overnight variability in SMR (sd) in nestling birds (during the treatment period), but not at 55-65 days (5-6 weeks after the treatment period). The effect on variability was seen more prominently in birds from larger brood sizes and in females. We found no effects of our treatments on mean SMR overnight. However, brood size and sex had interactive effects, with males from larger brood sizes having higher SMR at 55-65 days of age. These results suggest that stress hormones can have significant effects on energy metabolism and possibly nocturnal arousal and sleep fragmentation. However, there were no detectable long term effects of our treatments on SMR, suggesting that these effects are only short-lived, in order to maintain homeostasis in the short term.
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Affiliation(s)
- K A Spencer
- Division of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Graham Kerr Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK.
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16
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Acoustic parameters of begging calls indicate chick body condition in Wilson’s storm-petrels Oceanites oceanicus. J ETHOL 2008. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-008-0115-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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17
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Grodzinski U, Lotem A. The adaptive value of parental responsiveness to nestling begging. Proc Biol Sci 2007; 274:2449-56. [PMID: 17650473 PMCID: PMC2274972 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2007.0658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite extensive theoretical and empirical research into offspring food solicitation behaviour as a model for parent-offspring conflict and communication, the adaptive value of parental responsiveness to begging has never been tested experimentally. Game theory models, as well as empirical studies, suggest that begging conveys information on offspring state, which implies that parental investment can be better translated to fitness by responding to begging when allocating resources rather than by ignoring it. However, this assumption and its underlying mechanisms have received little or no attention. Here we show by experiments with hand-raised house sparrow (Passer domesticus) nestlings that a 'responsive parent' will do better than a hypothetical 'non-responsive' mutant (that provides similar food amounts, but irrespective of begging). This is neither because food-deprived nestlings convert food to mass more efficiently, however, nor because responsiveness reduces costly begging. Rather, responsiveness to begging is adaptive because it reduces two opposing risks: one is wasting time when returning too soon to feed already satiated nestlings and the other is repeatedly overlooking some nestlings as a result of the stochastic nature of a random, non-responsive strategy. This study provides the first experimental evidence for the adaptive value of parental responsiveness to offspring begging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uri Grodzinski
- Department of Zoology, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
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18
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Spencer KA, Verhulst S. Delayed behavioral effects of postnatal exposure to corticosterone in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). Horm Behav 2007; 51:273-80. [PMID: 17196201 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2006.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2006] [Revised: 11/05/2006] [Accepted: 11/07/2006] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Early developmental conditions can significantly influence the growth and survival of many animal species. We studied the consequences of exposure to corticosterone (CORT), a stress hormone, during the nestling stage on two behavioral traits (neophobia, social dominance) measured when the birds had reached independence. Nestling zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) were exposed twice daily to exogenous CORT via oral administration for a 12-day period up until fledging. Experimental CORT administration depressed nestling growth rates, confirming results previously obtained in this species. Our data on neophobic behavior revealed a significant interaction between sex and treatment, with CORT-dosed males showing reduced latencies to approach a novel object, while there was little effect of corticosterone treatment on female neophobia. There was no significant effect of age (30 or 50 days), however, there was a non-significant trend towards an interaction between treatment and age, with neophobia increasing with age in the CORT-dosed birds, but decreasing in controls. At 50 days of age previous exposure to corticosterone resulted in reduced success in competitions for a non-food-based resource (a perch) in both sexes. There were no effects of brood size on any behavioral traits measured here, but this may be due to the small range in brood size used. Our results show that elevated levels of stress hormones during postnatal development can have significant effects on important behavioral traits, i.e., neophobia and dominance. Moreover, they confirm the importance of rearing conditions in shaping adult phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- K A Spencer
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, UK.
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Villaseñor E, Drummond H. Honest begging in the blue-footed booby: signaling food deprivation and body condition. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2007. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-006-0346-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Boncoraglio G, Rubolini D, Romano M, Martinelli R, Saino N. Effects of elevated yolk androgens on perinatal begging behavior in yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) chicks. Horm Behav 2006; 50:442-7. [PMID: 16842788 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2006.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2006] [Revised: 04/24/2006] [Accepted: 05/25/2006] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Maternal hormones may represent an important pathway by which mothers can adaptively adjust offspring traits and performance to suit the prevailing environmental conditions. Earlier studies of birds have shown that egg androgens of maternal origin may enhance post-natal offspring 'begging' displays, functioning to solicit parental care. Here we investigate the effects of elevated egg androgen levels on the prenatal begging behavior of yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) chicks. At laying, we experimentally increased the concentration of yolk testosterone (T) within the natural range of variation, and, shortly before hatching, we compared the structural properties, rate, and loudness of vocalizations of embryos developing in T- and oil-injected (control) eggs. In addition, we compared the early post-hatch begging rate (measured as the pecking rate towards a dummy gull head) in chicks of the two experimental groups. We found that T embryos produced louder embryonic vocalizations than controls, whereas structural properties and the calling rate did not differ between T and control embryos. The post-hatch begging rate was unaffected by T treatment, but strongly decreased with increasing chick body mass, suggesting that intensity of the begging display was sensitive to chick state and may therefore reliably indicate the need of food in this species. Therefore, the results of this study show for the first time that prenatal T exposure modulates the quality of embryonic vocalizations, but are not in accordance with previous findings reporting increased post-hatching begging intensity following increased prenatal exposure to androgens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Boncoraglio
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 26, I-20133 Milano, Italy
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21
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Johnstone RA, Hinde CA. Negotiation over offspring care—how should parents respond to each other's efforts? Behav Ecol 2006. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arl009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 183] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Smith TE, Leonard ML, Smith BD. Provisioning rules and chick competition in asynchronously hatching common terns (Sterna hirundo). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2005. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-005-0956-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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23
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Yolk androgens and begging behaviour in black-headed gull chicks: an experimental field study. Anim Behav 2003. [DOI: 10.1006/anbe.2003.2287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 151] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Wells JC. Parent-offspring conflict theory, signaling of need, and weight gain in early life. THE QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY 2003; 78:169-202. [PMID: 12825417 DOI: 10.1086/374952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Human growth in early life has major implications for fitness. During this period, the mother regulates the growth of her offspring through placental nutrition and lactation. However, parent-offspring conflict theory predicts that offspring are selected to demand more resources than the mother is selected to provide. This general issue has prompted the development of begging theory, which attempts to find the optimal levels of offspring demand and parental provisioning. Several models have been proposed to account for begging behavior, whether by biochemical or behavioral pathways, including: (1) blackmail of parents; (2) scramble competition between multiple offspring; (3) honest signaling of nutritional need; and (4) honest signaling of offspring worth. These models are all supported by data from nonhuman animals, with species varying according to which model is relevant. This paper examines the evidence that human suckling and crying signal nutritional demand, need, and worth to the mother. While suckling provides hormonal stimulation of breast milk production and signals hunger, crying fulfills a different role, with evidence suggesting that it signals both worth and need for resources (nutrition and thermoregulation). The role of signaling in nutritional demand is examined in the context of three common health problems that have traditionally been assumed to have physiological rather than behavioral causes: excess weight gain, failure to thrive, and colic. The value of such an evolutionary approach lies in its potential to enhance behavioral management of these conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan C Wells
- MRC Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, United Kingdom
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25
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Quillfeldt P. Begging in the absence of sibling competition in Wilson’s storm-petrels, Oceanites oceanicus. Anim Behav 2002. [DOI: 10.1006/anbe.2002.3090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Brilot BO, Johnstone RA. Cost, Competition and Information in Communication between Relatives. J Theor Biol 2002; 217:331-40. [PMID: 12270277 DOI: 10.1006/jtbi.2002.3035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Recent signalling models have shown that honest, cost-free communication between relatives can be stable. Moreover, cost-free signalling equilibria are in some cases more efficient than costly equilibria. However, we show that they are also relatively uninformative, particularly when relatedness between signaller and receiver is low. We explore the trade-off between signal cost and information, and further demonstrate that incorporating competition among signallers into a model of communication between relatives can reduce the propensity of any one signaller to display. As a result, there is a general increase in the amount of broadcast information in a non-costly signal with increasing competitor number.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben O Brilot
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK.
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Charrier I, Mathevon N, Hassnaoui M, Carraro L, Jouventin P. The subantarctic fur seal pup switches its begging behaviour during maternal absence. CAN J ZOOL 2002. [DOI: 10.1139/z02-109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Begging signals from the young are used to elicit parental care. Although honest and parent-directed signalling seems to be widely shared characteristic of begging behaviour, offspring might modify their strategy under some ecological or environmental constraints. In the subantarctic fur seal, Arctocephalus tropicalis, mothers forage at sea for 23 weeks at a time throughout the lactation period, resulting in regular separations of mothers and pups. Using playback experiments we investigated modifications of pups' begging behaviour during their mother's absence. From the 1st to the 5th day of maternal absence, pups rarely begged in response to other adult females' vocalizations (17.646.7% of tested pups), but always responded specifically to their mother's. After its mother had been absent for 510 days, the pup's response to playback of strange females' calls was stronger (4669% of tested pups), but the specificity of the response to the mother remained. However, after the 11th day of maternal absence, pups become highly responsive to calls made by any adult female (up to 37% of tested pups). The variation in responsiveness of fur seal pups during their mother's absence may be explained by changes in their motivational state that were linked to their internal nutritional balance.
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Leonard ML, Horn AG. Acoustic signalling of hunger and thermal state by nestling tree swallows. Anim Behav 2001; 61:87-93. [PMID: 11170699 DOI: 10.1006/anbe.2000.1575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The begging displays used by altricial nestling birds to solicit care from parents include vigorous movements and loud calling. These begging signals have attracted considerable interest, mainly because their intensity seems excessive for the function of transmitting information about nestling need to parents. However, how information on need is encoded in the various components of the signal, especially its acoustic components, is poorly understood. We examined how begging calls of large and small nestling tree swallows, Tachycineta bicolor, changed during a short period of food deprivation and cooling, as a first step in determining the role that various call characteristics played in advertising nestling need. In contrast to previous studies, we examined several call variables, and related them not only to need for food but also need for warmth. When nestlings were deprived of food, their calls increased in rate and length. Large nestlings also increased the amplitude of their calls. When nestlings were cooled during food deprivation, they decreased the frequency of their calls and their call rate. The latter trend was especially evident in small nestlings. Our results suggest that begging calls carry information not only on the overall hunger level of broods, as emphasized in previous studies, but also on the size, hunger and thermal need of individual nestlings. Further tests are needed to determine whether parents use this information and whether begging calls are optimally designed to convey it. Copyright 2001 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
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Godfray HC, Johnstone RA. Begging and bleating: the evolution of parent-offspring signalling. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2000; 355:1581-91. [PMID: 11127903 PMCID: PMC1692894 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2000.0719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolution of biological signalling in the face of evolutionary conflicts of interest is an active area of evolutionary ecology, and one to which Maynard Smith has made important contributions. We explore the major theoretical challenges in the field, concentrating largely on how offspring signal to their parents when there is the potential for parent-offspring conflict. Costly offspring solicitation (begging etc.) has been interpreted in terms of a Zahavi Grafen honest handicap signal, but this has been challenged on the grounds of' the costs of signalling. We review this controversy and also explore the issue of pooling versus separating signalling equilibrium. An alternative explanation for costly begging is that it is due to sibling competition, and we discuss the relationship between these ideas and signalling models in families with more than one offspring. Finally we consider signal uncertainty, how signalling models can be made dynamic, and briefly how they may be tested experimentally.
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Affiliation(s)
- H C Godfray
- NERC Centre for Population Biology, Department of Biology, Imperial College at Silwood Park, Ascot, Berkshire, UK.
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Granadeiro JP, Bolton M, Silva MC, Nunes M, Furness RW. Responses of breeding Cory's shearwater Calonectris diomedea to experimental manipulation of chick condition. Behav Ecol 2000. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/11.3.274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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