1
|
Tetzlaff SJ, Vizentin‐Bugoni J, Sperry JH, Davis MA, Clark RW, Repp RA, Schuett GW. Fission-fusion dynamics in the social networks of a North American pitviper. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10339. [PMID: 37554395 PMCID: PMC10405236 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Many animal species exist in fission-fusion societies, where the size and composition of conspecific groups change spatially and temporally. To help investigate such phenomena, social network analysis (SNA) has emerged as a powerful conceptual and analytical framework for assessing patterns of interconnectedness and quantifying group-level interactions. We leveraged behavioral observations via radiotelemetry and genotypic data from a long-term (>10 years) study on the pitviper Crotalus atrox (western diamondback rattlesnake) and used SNA to quantify the first robust demonstration of social network structures for any free-living snake. Group-level interactions among adults in this population resulted in structurally modular networks (i.e., distinct clusters of interacting individuals) for fidelis use of communal winter dens (denning network), mating behaviors (pairing network), and offspring production (parentage network). Although the structure of each network was similar, the size and composition of groups varied among them. Specifically, adults associated with moderately sized social groups at winter dens but often engaged in reproductive behaviors-both at and away from dens-with different and fewer partners. Additionally, modules formed by individuals in the pairing network were frequently different from those in the parentage network, likely due to multiple mating, long-term sperm storage by females, and resultant multiple paternity. Further evidence for fission-fusion dynamics exhibited by this population-interactions were rare when snakes were dispersing to and traversing their spring-summer home ranges (to which individuals show high fidelity), despite ample opportunities to associate with numerous conspecifics that had highly overlapping ranges. Taken together, we show that long-term datasets incorporating SNA with spatial and genetic information provide robust and unique insights to understanding the social structure of cryptic taxa that are understudied.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sasha J. Tetzlaff
- U.S. Army ERDC‐CERLChampaignIllinoisUSA
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research InstituteUniversity of Illinois Urbana‐ChampaignChampaignIllinoisUSA
| | - Jeferson Vizentin‐Bugoni
- Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Biologia Animal, Instituto de BiologiaUniversidade Federal de PelotasPelotasBrazil
| | - Jinelle H. Sperry
- U.S. Army ERDC‐CERLChampaignIllinoisUSA
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental SciencesUniversity of Illinois at Urbana‐ChampaignUrbanaIllinoisUSA
| | - Mark A. Davis
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research InstituteUniversity of Illinois Urbana‐ChampaignChampaignIllinoisUSA
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental SciencesUniversity of Illinois at Urbana‐ChampaignUrbanaIllinoisUSA
| | - Rulon W. Clark
- Chiricahua Desert MuseumRodeoNew MexicoUSA
- Department of BiologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | | | - Gordon W. Schuett
- Chiricahua Desert MuseumRodeoNew MexicoUSA
- Department of Biology, Neuroscience InstituteGeorgia State UniversityAtlantaGeorgiaUSA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Dafreville M, Hobaiter C, Guidetti M, Sillam-Dussès D, Bourjade M. Sensitivity to the communicative partner's attentional state: A developmental study on mother-infant dyads in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii). Am J Primatol 2021; 83:e23339. [PMID: 34633101 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Revised: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Gestural communication permeates all domains of chimpanzees' social life and is intentional in use. However, we still have only limited information on how young apes develop the sociocognitive skills needed for intentional communication. In this cross-sectional study, we document the development of behavioral adjustment to the recipient's visual attention-considered a hallmark of intentional communication-in wild immature chimpanzees' gestural communication. We studied 11 immature chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii): three infants, four juveniles, and four adolescents gesturing towards their mother. We quantified silent-visual, audible, and contact gestures indexed to maternal visual attention and inattention. We investigated unimodal adjustment, defined by the capacity of young chimpanzees to deploy fewer silent-visual signals when their mothers did not show full visual attention towards them as compared with when they did. We then examined cross-modal adjustment, defined as the capacity of chimpanzees to deploy more audible-or-contact gestures than silent-visual gestures in the condition where their mothers did not show full visual attention as compared to when they did. Our results show a gradual decline in the use of silent-visual gestures when the mother is not visually attentive with increasing age. The absence of silent-visual gesture production toward a visually inattentive recipient (complete unimodal adjustment) was not fully in place until adolescence. Immature chimpanzees used more audible-or-contact gestures than silent-visual ones when their mothers did not show visual attention and vice-versa when they did. This cross-modal adjustment was expressed in juveniles and adolescents but not in infants. Overall, this study shows that infant chimpanzees were limited in their sensitivity to maternal attention when gesturing, whereas adolescent chimpanzees adjusted their communication appropriately. Juveniles present an intermediate pattern with cross-modal adjustment preceding unimodal adjustment and with variability in the age of onset.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Catherine Hobaiter
- Origins of Mind, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland
| | | | - David Sillam-Dussès
- Laboratoire d'Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée UR 4443, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Villetaneuse, France
| | - Marie Bourjade
- CLLE, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse, France.,Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Problem Solving in Animals: Proposal for an Ontogenetic Perspective. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11030866. [PMID: 33803609 PMCID: PMC8002912 DOI: 10.3390/ani11030866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Revised: 03/15/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Animals must be able to solve problems to access food and avoid predators. Problem solving is not a complicated process, often relying only on animals exploring their surroundings, and being able to learn and remember information. However, not all species, populations, or even individuals, can solve problems, or can solve problems in the same way. Differences in problem-solving ability could be due to differences in how animals develop and grow, including differences in their genetics, hormones, age, and/or environmental conditions. Here, we consider how an animal’s problem-solving ability could be impacted by its development, and what future work needs to be done to understand the development of problem solving. We argue that, considering how many different factors are involved, focusing on individual animals, and individual variation, is the best way to study the development of problem solving. Abstract Problem solving, the act of overcoming an obstacle to obtain an incentive, has been studied in a wide variety of taxa, and is often based on simple strategies such as trial-and-error learning, instead of higher-order cognitive processes, such as insight. There are large variations in problem solving abilities between species, populations and individuals, and this variation could arise due to differences in development, and other intrinsic (genetic, neuroendocrine and aging) and extrinsic (environmental) factors. However, experimental studies investigating the ontogeny of problem solving are lacking. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of problem solving from an ontogenetic perspective. The focus is to highlight aspects of problem solving that have been overlooked in the current literature, and highlight why developmental influences of problem-solving ability are particularly important avenues for future investigation. We argue that the ultimate outcome of solving a problem is underpinned by interacting cognitive, physiological and behavioural components, all of which are affected by ontogenetic factors. We emphasise that, due to the large number of confounding ontogenetic influences, an individual-centric approach is important for a full understanding of the development of problem solving.
Collapse
|
4
|
Trait social anxiety as a conditional adaptation: A developmental and evolutionary framework. DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2019.100886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
|
5
|
Solomon-Lane TK, Hofmann HA. Early-life social environment alters juvenile behavior and neuroendocrine function in a highly social cichlid fish. Horm Behav 2019; 115:104552. [PMID: 31276665 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.06.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2018] [Revised: 04/26/2019] [Accepted: 06/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Early-life experiences can shape adult behavior, with consequences for fitness and health, yet fundamental questions remain unanswered about how early-life social experiences are translated into variation in brain and behavior. The African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni, a model system in social neuroscience, is well known for its highly plastic social phenotypes in adulthood. Here, we rear juveniles in either social groups or pairs to investigate the effects of early-life social environments on behavior and neuroendocrine gene expression. We find that both juvenile behavior and neuroendocrine function are sensitive to early-life effects. Behavior robustly co-varies across multiple contexts (open field, social cue investigation, and dominance behavior assays) to form a behavioral syndrome, with pair-reared juveniles towards the end of syndrome that is less active and socially interactive. Pair-reared juveniles also submit more readily as subordinates. In a separate cohort, we measured whole brain expression of stress and sex hormone genes. Expression of glucocorticoid receptor 1a was elevated in group-reared juveniles, supporting a highly-conserved role for the stress axis mediating early-life effects. The effect of rearing environment on androgen receptor α and estrogen receptor α expression was mediated by treatment duration (1 vs. 5 weeks). Finally, expression of corticotropin-releasing factor and glucocorticoid receptor 2 decreased significantly over time. Rearing environment also caused striking differences in gene co-expression, such that expression was tightly integrated in pair-reared juveniles but not group-reared or isolates. Together, this research demonstrates the important developmental origins of behavioral phenotypes and identifies potential behavioral and neuroendocrine mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tessa K Solomon-Lane
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America; Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America; Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America.
| | - Hans A Hofmann
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America; Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America; Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Safryghin A, Hebesberger DV, Wascher CAF. Testing for Behavioral and Physiological Responses of Domestic Horses ( Equus caballus) Across Different Contexts - Consistency Over Time and Effects of Context. Front Psychol 2019; 10:849. [PMID: 31057468 PMCID: PMC6482254 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2018] [Accepted: 04/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In a number of species, consistent behavioral differences between individuals have been described in standardized tests, e.g., novel object, open field test. Different behavioral expressions are reflective of different coping strategies of individuals in stressful situations. A causal link between behavioral responses and the activation of the physiological stress response is assumed but not thoroughly studied. Also, most standard paradigms investigating individual behavioral differences are framed in a fearful context, therefore the present study aimed to add a test in a more positive context, the feeding context. We assessed individual differences in physiological [heart rate (HR)] and behavioral responses (presence or absence of pawing, startle response, defecation, snorting) of 20 domestic horses (Equus caballus) in two behavioral experiments, a novel object presentation and a pre-feeding excitement test. Experiments were conducted twice, once between July and August, and once between September and October. Both experiments caused higher mean HR in the first 10 s after stimulus presentation compared to a control condition, but mean HR did not differ between the experimental conditions. In the novel object experiment, horses displaying stress-related behaviors during the experiments also showed a significantly higher HR increase compared to horses which did not display any stress-related behaviors, reflecting a correlation between behavioral and physiological responses to the novel object. On the contrary, in the pre-feeding experiments, horses that showed fewer behavioral responses had a greater HR increase, indicating the physiological response being due to emotional arousal and not behavioral activity. Moreover, HR response to experimental situations varied significantly between individuals. Individual average HR was significantly repeatable across both experiments, whereas HR increase was only significantly repeatable during the novel object and not the pre-feeding experiment. Conversely, behavioral response was not repeatable. In conclusion, our findings show that horses' behavioral and physiological responses differed between test situations and that emotional reactivity, shown via mean HR and HR increase, is not always displayed behaviorally, suggesting that behavioral and physiological responses may be regulated independently according to context.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Safryghin
- Behavioural Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Denise V Hebesberger
- Behavioural Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Claudia A F Wascher
- Behavioural Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Hardt BM, Ardia DR, Bashaw MJ, Rivers JW. Experimental brood enlargement differentially influences the magnitude of the corticosterone stress response in closely related, co‐occurring songbirds. Funct Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Braelei M. Hardt
- Department of Fisheries and WildlifeOregon State University Corvallis Oregon
| | - Daniel R. Ardia
- Department of BiologyFranklin & Marshall College Lancaster Pennsylvania
| | - Meredith J. Bashaw
- Department of PsychologyFranklin & Marshall College Lancaster Pennsylvania
| | - James W. Rivers
- Department of Forest Ecosystems and SocietyOregon State University Corvallis Oregon
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
|
9
|
Genomic tools for behavioural ecologists to understand repeatable individual differences in behaviour. Nat Ecol Evol 2018; 2:944-955. [PMID: 29434349 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0411-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2017] [Accepted: 11/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Behaviour is a key interface between an animal's genome and its environment. Repeatable individual differences in behaviour have been extensively documented in animals, but the molecular underpinnings of behavioural variation among individuals within natural populations remain largely unknown. Here, we offer a critical review of when molecular techniques may yield new insights, and we provide specific guidance on how and whether the latest tools available are appropriate given different resources, system and organismal constraints, and experimental designs. Integrating molecular genetic techniques with other strategies to study the proximal causes of behaviour provides opportunities to expand rapidly into new avenues of exploration. Such endeavours will enable us to better understand how repeatable individual differences in behaviour have evolved, how they are expressed and how they can be maintained within natural populations of animals.
Collapse
|
10
|
Oudman T, Bijleveld AI, Kavelaars MM, Dekinga A, Cluderay J, Piersma T, van Gils JA. Diet preferences as the cause of individual differences rather than the consequence. J Anim Ecol 2016; 85:1378-88. [PMID: 27306138 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12549] [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] [Received: 11/05/2015] [Accepted: 05/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Behavioural variation within a species is usually explained as the consequence of individual variation in physiology. However, new evidence suggests that the arrow of causality may well be in the reverse direction: behaviours such as diet preferences cause the differences in physiological and morphological traits. Recently, diet preferences were proposed to underlie consistent differences in digestive organ mass and movement patterns (patch residence times) in red knots (Calidris canutus islandica). Red knots are molluscivorous and migrant shorebirds for which the size of the muscular stomach (gizzard) is critical for the food processing rate. In this study, red knots (C. c. canutus, n = 46) were caught at Banc d'Arguin, an intertidal flat ecosystem in Mauritania, and released with radio-tags after the measurement of gizzard mass. Using a novel tracking system (time-of-arrival), patch residence times were measured over a period of three weeks. Whether or not gizzard mass determined patch residence times was tested experimentally by offering 12 of the 46 tagged red knots soft diets prior to release; this reduced an individual's gizzard mass by 20-60%. To validate whether the observed range of patch residence times would be expected from individual diet preferences, we simulated patch residence times as a function of diet preferences via a simple departure rule. Consistent with previous empirical studies, patch residence times in the field were positively correlated with gizzard mass. The slope of this correlation, as well as the observed range of patch residence times, was in accordance with the simulated values. The 12 birds with reduced gizzard masses did not decrease patch residence times in response to the reduction in gizzard mass. These findings suggest that diet preferences can indeed cause the observed among-individual variation in gizzard mass and patch residence times. We discuss how early diet experiences can have cascading effects on the individual expression of both behavioural and physiomorphic traits. This emphasizes that to understand the ecological consequences of individual differences, knowledge of the environment during development is required.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Oudman
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems and Utrecht University, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - Allert I Bijleveld
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems and Utrecht University, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - Marwa M Kavelaars
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems and Utrecht University, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - Anne Dekinga
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems and Utrecht University, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - John Cluderay
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, National Marine Facilities and Utrecht University, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - Theunis Piersma
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems and Utrecht University, Texel, The Netherlands.,Chair in Global Flyway Ecology, Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jan A van Gils
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems and Utrecht University, Texel, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Stöckle-Schobel R. Arguments from Developmental Order. Front Psychol 2016; 7:751. [PMID: 27242648 PMCID: PMC4874311 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2016] [Accepted: 05/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In this article, I investigate a special type of argument regarding the role of development in theorizing about psychological processes and cognitive capacities. Among the issues that developmental psychologists study, discovering the ontogenetic trajectory of mechanisms or capacities underpinning our cognitive functions ranks highly. The order in which functions are developed or capacities are acquired is a matter of debate between competing psychological theories, and also philosophical conceptions of the mind - getting the role and the significance of the different steps in this order right could be seen as an important virtue of such theories. Thus, a special kind of strategy in arguments between competing philosophical or psychological theories is using developmental order in arguing for or against a given psychological claim. In this article, I will introduce an analysis of arguments from developmental order, which come in two general types: arguments emphasizing the importance of the early cognitive processes and arguments emphasizing the late cognitive processes. I will discuss their role in one of the central tools for evaluating scientific theories, namely in making inferences to the best explanation. I will argue that appeal to developmental order is, by itself, an insufficient criterion for theory choice and has to be part of an argument based on other core explanatory or empirical virtues. I will end by proposing a more concerted study of philosophical issues concerning (cognitive) development, and I will present some topics that also pertain to a full-fledged 'philosophy of development.'
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Richard Stöckle-Schobel
- Chair of Philosophy of Language and Cognition, Department of Philosophy II, Ruhr University of BochumBochum, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Brancato A, Plescia F, Lavanco G, Cavallaro A, Cannizzaro C. Continuous and Intermittent Alcohol Free-Choice from Pre-gestational Time to Lactation: Focus on Drinking Trajectories and Maternal Behavior. Front Behav Neurosci 2016; 10:31. [PMID: 26973480 PMCID: PMC4776246 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2015] [Accepted: 02/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alcohol consumption during pregnancy and lactation induces detrimental consequences, that are not limited to the direct in utero effects of the drug on fetuses, but extend to maternal care. However, the occurrence and severity of alcohol toxicity are related to the drinking pattern and the time of exposure. The present study investigated in female rats long-term alcohol drinking trajectories, by a continuous and intermittent free-choice paradigm, during pre-gestational time, pregnancy, and lactation; moreover, the consequences of long-term alcohol consumption on the response to natural reward and maternal behavior were evaluated. METHODS Virgin female rats were exposed to home-cage two-bottle continuous- or intermittent "alcohol (20% v/v) vs. water" choice regimen along 12 weeks and throughout pregnancy and lactation. Animals were tested for saccharin preference, and maternal behavior was assessed by recording dams' undisturbed spontaneous home-cage behavior in the presence of their offspring. RESULTS Our results show that the intermittent alcohol drinking-pattern induced an escalation in alcohol intake during pre-gestational time and lactation more than the continuous access, while a reduction in alcohol consumption was observed during pregnancy, contrarily to the drinking trajectories of the continuous access-exposed rats. Long-term voluntary alcohol intake induced a decreased saccharin preference in virgin female rats and a significant reduction in maternal care, with respect to control dams, although the intermittent drinking produced a greater impairment than the continuous-access paradigm. CONCLUSION The present data indicate that both alcohol-drinking patterns are associated to modifications in the drinking trajectories of female rats, in pre-gestational time, during pregnancy and lactation. Moreover, long-lasting alcohol intake can affect sensitivity to natural rewarding stimuli and maternal behavior and sensitivity to natural rewarding stimuli in a pattern-related manner. This study underlies the importance of modeling human alcohol habit and its consequences on the mother-infant dyad, in order to prevent detrimental effects on offspring development and maturation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anna Brancato
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of PalermoPalermo, Italy; Department BioNeC, University of PalermoPalermo, Italy
| | - Fulvio Plescia
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo Palermo, Italy
| | - Gianluca Lavanco
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo Palermo, Italy
| | - Angela Cavallaro
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo Palermo, Italy
| | - Carla Cannizzaro
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo Palermo, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Postnatal development of subterranean habits in tuco-tucos Ctenomys talarum (Rodentia, Caviomorpha, Ctenomyidae). J ETHOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-015-0453-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
|
14
|
Crino OL, Prather CT, Driscoll SC, Good JM, Breuner CW. Developmental stress increases reproductive success in male zebra finches. Proc Biol Sci 2015; 281:rspb.2014.1266. [PMID: 25297860 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.1266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
There is increasing evidence that exposure to stress during development can have sustained effects on animal phenotype and performance across life-history stages. For example, developmental stress has been shown to decrease the quality of sexually selected traits (e.g. bird song), and therefore is thought to decrease reproductive success. However, animals exposed to developmental stress may compensate for poor quality sexually selected traits by pursuing alternative reproductive tactics. Here, we examine the effects of developmental stress on adult male reproductive investment and success in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). We tested the hypothesis that males exposed to developmental stress sire fewer offspring through extra-pair copulations (EPCs), but invest more in parental care. To test this hypothesis, we fed nestlings corticosterone (CORT; the dominant avian stress hormone) during the nestling period and measured their adult reproductive success using common garden breeding experiments. We found that nestlings reared by CORT-fed fathers received more parental care compared with nestlings reared by control fathers. Consequently, males fed CORT during development reared nestlings in better condition compared with control males. Contrary to the prediction that developmental stress decreases male reproductive success, we found that CORT-fed males also sired more offspring and were less likely to rear non-genetic offspring compared with control males, and thus had greater overall reproductive success. These data are the first to demonstrate that developmental stress can have a positive effect on fitness via changes in reproductive success and provide support for an adaptive role of developmental stress in shaping animal phenotype.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ondi L Crino
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Marsfield, New South Wales 2122, Australia Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - Colin T Prather
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | | | - Jeffrey M Good
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - Creagh W Breuner
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Ma Z(S. Towards computational models of animal cognition, an introduction for computer scientists. COGN SYST RES 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogsys.2014.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
|
16
|
Abstract
Behavioral, hormonal, and genetic processes interact reciprocally, and differentially affect behavior depending on ecological and social contexts. When individual differences are favored either between or within environments, developmental plasticity would be expected. Parental effects provide a rich source for phenotypic plasticity, including anatomical, physiological, and behavioral traits, because parents respond to dynamic cues in their environment and can, in turn, influence offspring accordingly. Because these inter-generational changes are plastic, parents can respond rapidly to changing environments and produce offspring whose phenotypes are well suited for current conditions more quickly than occurs with changes based on evolution through natural selection. I review studies on developmental plasticity and resulting phenotypes in Belding's ground squirrels (Urocitellus beldingi), an ideal species, given the competing demands to avoid predation while gaining sufficient weight to survive an upcoming hibernation, and the need for young to learn their survival behaviors. I will show how local environments and perceived risk of predation influence not only foraging, vigilance, and anti-predator behaviors, but also adrenal functioning, which may be especially important for obligate hibernators that face competing demands on the storage and mobilization of glucose. Mammalian behavioral development is sensitive to the social and physical environments provided by mothers during gestation and lactation. Therefore, maternal effects on offspring's phenotypes, both positive and negative, can be particularly strong.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jill M Mateo
- Department of Comparative Human Development, 5730 South Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Lavara R, Baselga M, Marco-Jiménez F, Vicente JS. Long-term and transgenerational effects of cryopreservation on rabbit embryos. Theriogenology 2014; 81:988-92. [PMID: 24581589 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2014.01.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2013] [Revised: 01/15/2014] [Accepted: 01/21/2014] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The short-term effects of cryopreservation and embryo transfer are well documented (reduced embryo viability, changes in pattern expression), but little is known about their long-term effects. We examined the possibility that embryo vitrification and transfer in rabbit could have an impact on the long-term reproductive physiology of the offspring and whether these phenotypes could be transferred to the progeny. Vitrified rabbit embryos were warmed and transferred to recipient females (F0). The offspring of the F0 generation were the F1 generation (cryopreserved animals). Females from F1 generation offspring were bred to F1 males to generate an F2 generation. In addition, two counterpart groups of noncryopreserved animals were bred and housed simultaneously to F1 and F2 generations (CF1 and CF2, respectively). The reproductive traits studied in all studied groups were litter size (LS), number born alive at birth (BA), and postnatal survival at Day 28 (number of weaned/number born alive expressed as percentage). The reproductive traits were analyzed using Bayesian methodology. Features of the estimated marginal posterior distributions of the differences between F1 and their counterparts (F1 - CF1) and between F2 and their counterparts (F2 - CF2) in reproductive characters found that vitrification and transfer procedures cause a consistent increase in LS and BA between F1 and CF1 females (more than 1.4 kits in LS and more than 1.3 BA) and also between F2 and CF2 females (0.96 kits in LS and 0.94 BA). We concluded that embryo cryopreservation and transfer procedures have long-term effects on derived female reproduction (F1 females) and transgenerational effects on female F1 offspring (F2 females).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- R Lavara
- Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología Animal, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46071-Valencia, Spain; Departamento de Producción Animal, Sanidad Animal, Salud Pública Veterinaria y Ciência y Tecnología de los Alimentos, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad CEU-Cardenal Herrera, Alfara del Patriarca, Valencia, Spain.
| | - M Baselga
- Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología Animal, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46071-Valencia, Spain
| | - F Marco-Jiménez
- Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología Animal, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46071-Valencia, Spain
| | - J S Vicente
- Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología Animal, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46071-Valencia, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Class B, Kluen E, Brommer JE. Evolutionary quantitative genetics of behavioral responses to handling in a wild passerine. Ecol Evol 2014; 4:427-40. [PMID: 24634727 PMCID: PMC3936389 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2013] [Revised: 12/04/2013] [Accepted: 12/05/2013] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral differences between individuals that are consistent over time characterize animal personality. The existence of such consistency contrasts to the expectation based on classical behavioral theory that facultative behavior maximizes individual fitness. Here, we study two personality traits (aggression and breath rate during handling) in a wild population of blue tits during 2007–2012. Handling aggression and breath rate were moderately heritable (h2 = 0.35 and 0.20, respectively) and not genetically correlated (rA = 0.06) in adult blue tits, which permits them to evolve independently. Reciprocal cross-fostering (2007–2010) showed that offspring reared by more aggressive males have a higher probability to recruit. In addition, offspring reared by pairs mated assortatively for handling aggression had a higher recruitment probability, which is the first evidence that both parents' personalities influence their reproductive success in the wild in a manner independent of their genetic effects. Handling aggression was not subjected to survival selection in either sex, but slow-breathing females had a higher annual probability of survival as revealed by capture–mark–recapture analysis. We find no evidence for temporal fluctuations in selection, and thus conclude that directional selection (via different fitness components) acts on these two heritable personality traits. Our findings show that blue tit personality has predictable fitness consequences, but that facultative adjustment of an individual's personality to match the fitness maximum is likely constrained by the genetic architecture of personality. In the face of directional selection, the presence of heritable variation in personality suggests the existence of a trade-off that we have not identified yet.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Class
- Department of Biology, University of Turku Turku, Finland
| | - Edward Kluen
- Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jon E Brommer
- Department of Biology, University of Turku Turku, Finland ; Aronia Research and Development Institute, Åbo Akademi and Novia University of Applied Sciences Ekenäs, 10600, Finland
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
De Gasperin O, Macías Garcia C. Congenital predispositions and early social experience determine the courtship patterns of males of the Amarillo fish. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-013-1678-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
|
20
|
Lickliter R. The origins of variation: evolutionary insights from developmental science. ADVANCES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR 2013; 44:193-223. [PMID: 23834006 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-397947-6.00007-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Evidence from contemporary epigenetic research indicates that it is not biologically meaningful to discuss genes without reference to the molecular, cellular, organismal, and environmental context within which they are activated and expressed. Genetic and nongenetic factors, including those beyond the organism, constitute a dynamic relational developmental system. This insight highlights the importance of bringing together genetics, development, and ecology into one explanatory framework for a more complete understanding of the emergence and maintenance of phenotypic stability and variability. In this Chapter, I review some examples of this integrative effort and explore its implications for developmental and evolutionary science, with a particular emphasis on the origins of phenotypic novelty. I argue that developmental science is critical to this integrative effort, in that evolutionary explanation cannot be complete without developmental explanation. This is the case because the process of development generates the phenotypic variation on which natural selection can act.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robert Lickliter
- Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Kohn GM, King AP, Dohme R, Meredith GR, West MJ. Robust autumn social attributes predict spring courtship skills in juvenile female brown-headed cowbirds, Molothrus ater. Anim Behav 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
|
22
|
|
23
|
Flynn EG, Laland KN, Kendal RL, Kendal JR. Target Article with Commentaries: Developmental niche construction. Dev Sci 2013; 16:296-313. [DOI: 10.1111/desc.12030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2012] [Accepted: 07/31/2012] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Emma G. Flynn
- Centre for the Coevolution of Biology and Culture, Department of Psychology; Durham University; UK
| | | | - Rachel L. Kendal
- Centre for the Coevolution of Biology and Culture, Department of Anthropology; Durham University; UK
| | - Jeremy R. Kendal
- Centre for the Coevolution of Biology and Culture, Department of Anthropology; Durham University; UK
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Abstract
Personality, or consistent individual differences in behavior, is well established in studies of dogs. Such consistency implies predictability of behavior, but some recent research suggests that predictability cannot be assumed. In addition, anecdotally, many dog experts believe that ‘puppy tests’ measuring behavior during the first year of a dog's life are not accurate indicators of subsequent adult behavior. Personality consistency in dogs is an important aspect of human-dog relationships (e.g., when selecting dogs suitable for substance-detection work or placement in a family). Here we perform the first comprehensive meta-analysis of studies reporting estimates of temporal consistency of dog personality. A thorough literature search identified 31 studies suitable for inclusion in our meta-analysis. Overall, we found evidence to suggest substantial consistency (r = 0.43). Furthermore, personality consistency was higher in older dogs, when behavioral assessment intervals were shorter, and when the measurement tool was exactly the same in both assessments. In puppies, aggression and submissiveness were the most consistent dimensions, while responsiveness to training, fearfulness, and sociability were the least consistent dimensions. In adult dogs, there were no dimension-based differences in consistency. There was no difference in personality consistency in dogs tested first as puppies and later as adults (e.g., ‘puppy tests’) versus dogs tested first as puppies and later again as puppies. Finally, there were no differences in consistency between working versus non-working dogs, between behavioral codings versus behavioral ratings, and between aggregate versus single measures. Implications for theory, practice, and future research are discussed.
Collapse
|
25
|
McCarthy MS, Jensvold MLA, Fouts DH. Use of gesture sequences in captive chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) play. Anim Cogn 2012; 16:471-81. [DOI: 10.1007/s10071-012-0587-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2011] [Revised: 12/04/2012] [Accepted: 12/10/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
|
26
|
Fawcett TW, Hamblin S, Giraldeau LA. Exposing the behavioral gambit: the evolution of learning and decision rules. Behav Ecol 2012. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ars085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 137] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
|
27
|
|
28
|
Variation in the Social Systems of Extant Hominoids: Comparative Insight into the Social Behavior of Early Hominins. INT J PRIMATOL 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-012-9617-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
|
29
|
|
30
|
|
31
|
How to Measure Animal Personality and Why Does It Matter? Integrating the Psychological and Biological Approaches to Animal Personality. FROM GENES TO ANIMAL BEHAVIOR 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/978-4-431-53892-9_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
|
32
|
Stamps J, Groothuis TGG. The development of animal personality: relevance, concepts and perspectives. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2010; 85:301-25. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-185x.2009.00103.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 631] [Impact Index Per Article: 45.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
|
33
|
Schürch R, Heg D. Life history and behavioral type in the highly social cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher. Behav Ecol 2010. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arq024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
|
34
|
Chapman BB, Morrell LJ, Krause J. Unpredictability in food supply during early life influences boldness in fish. Behav Ecol 2010. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arq003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
|
35
|
Hultgren KM, Stachowicz JJ. Size-related habitat shifts facilitated by positive preference induction in a marine kelp crab. Behav Ecol 2010. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arp192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
|
36
|
Oosten JE, Magnhagen C, Hemelrijk CK. Boldness by habituation and social interactions: a model. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2010; 64:793-802. [PMID: 20351762 PMCID: PMC2839493 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-009-0896-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2009] [Revised: 12/03/2009] [Accepted: 12/05/2009] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Most studies of animal personality attribute personality to genetic traits. But a recent study by Magnhagen and Staffan (Behav Ecol Sociobiol 57:295–303, 2005) on young perch in small groups showed that boldness, a central personality trait, is also shaped by social interactions and by previous experience. The authors measured boldness by recording the duration that an individual spent near a predator and the speed with which it fed there. They found that duration near the predator increased over time and was higher the higher the average boldness of other group members. In addition, the feeding rate of shy individuals was reduced if other members of the same group were bold. The authors supposed that these behavioral dynamics were caused by genetic differences, social interactions, and habituation to the predator. However, they did not quantify exactly how this could happen. In the present study, we therefore use an agent-based model to investigate whether these three factors may explain the empirical findings. We choose an agent-based model because this type of model is especially suited to study the relation between behavior at an individual level and behavioral dynamics at a group level. In our model, individuals were either hiding in vegetation or feeding near a predator, whereby their behavior was affected by habituation and by two social mechanisms: social facilitation to approach the predator and competition over food. We show that even if we start the model with identical individuals, these three mechanisms were sufficient to reproduce the behavioral dynamics of the empirical study, including the consistent differences among individuals. Moreover, if we start the model with individuals that already differ in boldness, the behavioral dynamics produced remained the same. Our results indicate the importance of previous experience and social interactions when studying animal personality empirically.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Johanneke E. Oosten
- Theoretical Biology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 14, 9750 AA Haren, The Netherlands
| | - Carin Magnhagen
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 901 83 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Charlotte K. Hemelrijk
- Theoretical Biology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 14, 9750 AA Haren, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Individualistic herds: Individual variation in herbivore foraging behavior and application to rangeland management. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2009.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
38
|
Dingemanse NJ, Kazem AJN, Réale D, Wright J. Behavioural reaction norms: animal personality meets individual plasticity. Trends Ecol Evol 2009; 25:81-9. [PMID: 19748700 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2009.07.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 924] [Impact Index Per Article: 61.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2009] [Revised: 07/20/2009] [Accepted: 07/22/2009] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies in the field of behavioural ecology have revealed intriguing variation in behaviour within single populations. Increasing evidence suggests that individual animals differ in their average level of behaviour displayed across a range of contexts (animal 'personality'), and in their responsiveness to environmental variation (plasticity), and that these phenomena can be considered complementary aspects of the individual phenotype. How should this complex variation be studied? Here, we outline how central ideas in behavioural ecology and quantitative genetics can be combined within a single framework based on the concept of 'behavioural reaction norms'. This integrative approach facilitates analysis of phenomena usually studied separately in terms of personality and plasticity, thereby enhancing understanding of their adaptive nature.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Niels J Dingemanse
- Animal Ecology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies & Department of Behavioural Biology, Centre for Behaviour and Neurosciences, University of Groningen, PO Box 14, 9750 AA Haren, The Netherlands.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
39
|
Abstract
Human aggression is viewed from four explanatory perspectives, derived from the ethological tradition. The first consists of its adaptive value, which can be seen throughout the animal kingdom, involving resource competition and protection of the self and offspring, which has been viewed from a cost-benefit perspective. The second concerns the phylogenetic origin of aggression, which in humans involves brain mechanisms that are associated with anger and inhibition, the emotional expression of anger, and how aggressive actions are manifest. The third concerns the origin of aggression in development and its subsequent modification through experience. An evolutionary approach to development yields conclusions that are contrary to the influential social learning perspective, notably that physical aggression occurs early in life, and its subsequent development is characterized by learned inhibition. The fourth explanation concerns the motivational mechanisms controlling aggression: approached from an evolutionary background, these mechanisms range from the inflexible reflex-like responses to those incorporating rational decision-making.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- John Archer
- School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 3TQ, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Hinde CA, Buchanan KL, Kilner RM. Prenatal environmental effects match offspring begging to parental provisioning. Proc Biol Sci 2009; 276:2787-94. [PMID: 19419982 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.0375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The solicitation behaviours performed by dependent young are under selection from the environment created by their parents, as well as wider ecological conditions. Here we show how mechanisms acting before hatching enable canary offspring to adapt their begging behaviour to a variable post-hatching world. Cross-fostering experiments revealed that canary nestling begging intensity is positively correlated with the provisioning level of their own parents (to foster chicks). When we experimentally increased food quality before and during egg laying, mothers showed higher faecal androgen levels and so did their nestlings, even when they were cross-fostered before hatching to be reared by foster mothers that had been exposed to a standard regime of food quality. Higher parental androgen levels were correlated with greater levels of post-hatching parental provisioning and (we have previously shown) increased faecal androgens in chicks were associated with greater begging intensity. We conclude that androgens mediate environmentally induced plasticity in the expression of both parental and offspring traits, which remain correlated as a result of prenatal effects, probably acting within the egg. Offspring can thus adapt their begging intensity to variable family and ecological environments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Camilla A Hinde
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
41
|
Partecke J, Schwabl H. Organizational effects of maternal testosterone on reproductive behavior of adult house sparrows. Dev Neurobiol 2009; 68:1538-48. [PMID: 18814315 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.20676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Despite the well-known, long-term, organizational actions of sex steroids on phenotypic differences between the sexes, studies of maternal steroids in the vertebrate egg have mainly focused on effects seen in early life. Long-term organizational effects of yolk hormones on adult behavior and the underlying mechanisms that generate them have been largely ignored. Using an experiment in which hand-reared house sparrows (Passer domesticus) from testosterone- or control-treated eggs were kept under identical conditions, we show that testosterone treatment in the egg increased the frequency of aggressive, dominance, and sexual behavior of 1-year-old, reproductively competent house sparrows. We also show that circulating plasma levels of progesterone, testosterone, 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone, and 17beta-estradiol did not differ between treatment groups. Thus, a simple change in adult gonadal hormone secretion is not the primary physiological cause of long-term effects of maternal steroids on adult behavior. Rather, differences in adult behavior caused by exposure to yolk testosterone during embryonic development are likely generated by organizational modifications of brain function. Furthermore, our data provide evidence that hormone-mediated maternal effects are an epigenetic mechanism causing intra-sexual variation in adult behavioral phenotype.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jesko Partecke
- Center for Reproductive Biology, School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164-4236, USA.
| | | |
Collapse
|
42
|
|
43
|
Odling-Smee LC, Boughman JW, Braithwaite VA. Sympatric species of threespine stickleback differ in their performance in a spatial learning task. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2008. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-008-0625-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
|
44
|
Sinn DL, Gosling SD, Moltschaniwskyj NA. Development of shy/bold behaviour in squid: context-specific phenotypes associated with developmental plasticity. Anim Behav 2008. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 137] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
|
45
|
Pellegrini AD. The Role of Development on Evolutionary Psychology: Tinbergen Revisited. PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY 2008. [DOI: 10.1080/10478400701774121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
|
46
|
Guadarrama‐Maillot V, Waas JR. New Zealand trends in animal behaviour research. NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY 2008. [DOI: 10.1080/03014220809510128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
|
47
|
Behavioural syndromes in brook charr, Salvelinus fontinalis: prey-search in the field corresponds with space use in novel laboratory situations. Anim Behav 2007. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
|
48
|
Bell AM, Sih A. Exposure to predation generates personality in threespined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Ecol Lett 2007; 10:828-34. [PMID: 17663716 DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01081.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 517] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
A perplexing new question that has emerged from the recent surge of interest in behavioural syndromes or animal personalities is--why do individual animals behave consistently when behavioural flexibility is advantageous? If individuals have a tendency to be generally aggressive, then a relatively aggressive individual might be overly aggressive towards offspring, mates or even predators. Despite these costs, studies in several taxa have shown that individuals that are more aggressive are also relatively bold. However, the behavioural correlation is not universal; even within a species, population comparisons have shown that boldness and aggressiveness are correlated in populations of sticklebacks that are under strong predation pressure, but not in low predation populations. Here, we provide the first demonstration that an environmental factor can induce a correlation between boldness and aggressiveness. Boldness under predation risk and aggressiveness towards a conspecific were measured before and after sticklebacks were exposed to predation by trout, which predated half the sticklebacks. Exposure to predation generated the boldness-aggressiveness behavioural correlation. The behavioural correlation was produced by both selection by predators and behavioural plasticity. These results support the hypothesis that certain correlations between behaviours might be adaptive in some environments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alison M Bell
- School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
| | | |
Collapse
|
49
|
Signs of culture. Behav Brain Sci 2007. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x07002415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
AbstractRamsey et al. present an ingenious method to study behavioral novelty under field conditions within relatively narrow time constraints. This evokes discussion of lateral spread of innovation from individual to individual versus vertical spread from generation to generation. This discussion of incipient culture helps to place the traditional biological tool of cross-fostering into philosophical and anthropological context.
Collapse
|
50
|
|