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Mathot KJ, Arteaga-Torres JD, Besson A, Hawkshaw DM, Klappstein N, McKinnon RA, Sridharan S, Nakagawa S. A systematic review and meta-analysis of unimodal and multimodal predation risk assessment in birds. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4240. [PMID: 38762491 PMCID: PMC11102462 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48702-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite a wealth of studies documenting prey responses to perceived predation risk, researchers have only recently begun to consider how prey integrate information from multiple cues in their assessment of risk. We conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that experimentally manipulated perceived predation risk in birds and evaluate support for three alternative models of cue integration: redundancy/equivalence, enhancement, and antagonism. One key insight from our analysis is that the current theory, generally applied to study cue integration in animals, is incomplete. These theories specify the effects of increasing information level on mean, but not variance, in responses. In contrast, we show that providing multiple complementary cues of predation risk simultaneously does not affect mean response. Instead, as information richness increases, populations appear to assess risk more accurately, resulting in lower among-population variance in response to manipulations of perceived predation risk. We show that this may arise via a statistical process called maximum-likelihood estimation (MLE) integration. Our meta-analysis illustrates how explicit consideration of variance in responses can yield important biological insights.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberley J Mathot
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
- Canada Research Chair in Integrative Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
| | | | - Anne Besson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Otago, New Zealand
| | - Deborah M Hawkshaw
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Natasha Klappstein
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
- Department of Statistics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Rebekah A McKinnon
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Sheeraja Sridharan
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Shinichi Nakagawa
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- Theoretical Sciences Visiting Program, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Onna, 904-0495, Japan
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2
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Culbert BM, Border SE, Fialkowski RJ, Bolitho I, Dijkstra PD. Social status influences relationships between hormones and oxidative stress in a cichlid fish. Horm Behav 2023; 152:105365. [PMID: 37119610 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/01/2023]
Abstract
An individual's social environment can have widespread effects on their physiology, including effects on oxidative stress and hormone levels. Many studies have suggested that variation in oxidative stress experienced by individuals of different social statuses might be due to endocrine differences, however, few studies have evaluated this hypothesis. Here, we assessed whether a suite of markers associated with oxidative stress in different tissues (blood/plasma, liver, and gonads) had social status-specific relationships with circulating testosterone or cortisol levels in males of a cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni. Across all fish, blood DNA damage (a global marker of oxidative stress) and gonadal synthesis of reactive oxygen species [as indicated by NADPH-oxidase (NOX) activity] were lower when testosterone was high. However, high DNA damage in both the blood and gonads was associated with high cortisol in subordinates, but low cortisol in dominants. Additionally, high cortisol was associated with greater production of reactive oxygen species (greater NOX activity) in both the gonads (dominants only) and liver (dominants and subordinates). In general, high testosterone was associated with lower oxidative stress across both social statuses, whereas high cortisol was associated with lower oxidative stress in dominants and higher oxidative stress in subordinates. Taken together, our results show that differences in the social environment can lead to contrasting relationships between hormones and oxidative stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett M Culbert
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Shana E Border
- Department of Biology, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI, USA; Illinois State University, School of Biological Sciences, Normal, IL, USA
| | | | - Isobel Bolitho
- University of Manchester, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Manchester, UK
| | - Peter D Dijkstra
- Department of Biology, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI, USA; Neuroscience Program, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI, USA; Institute for Great Lakes Research, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI, USA.
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3
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Andrews CP. On the use of body mass measures in severity assessment in laboratory passerine birds. Anim Welf 2022. [DOI: 10.7120/09627286.31.1.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Criteria for assessing the severity of scientific procedures in laboratory rodents include the loss of body mass. However, guidance is limited for passerine birds and application of criteria developed for mammals risks poor welfare decisions. Here, I ask whether, and how, body mass
criteria could be incorporated into laboratory welfare assessment of passerines. Passerine birds strategically adjust their body mass to minimise combined mortality risk from starvation and predation. A systematic literature review found that strategic mass changes can be sizeable (sometimes
> 10%) even over short timescales. Many aspects of a bird's current or past environment, including husbandry and experimental procedures, may alter perceived starvation or predation risks and thus drive strategic mass change via evolved mechanisms. Therefore, body mass criteria used for
rodents may be too stringent for passerines, potentially leading to over-estimated severity. Strategic mass changes might obscure those stemming from experimental interventions yet could also offer insights into whether birds perceive an intervention or altered husbandry as a threat. Mass
criteria for severity assessment should be species- and context-specific in order to balance needs for refinement and reduction. To guide the development of appropriate criteria, a future research priority is for greater data collection and sharing based on standardised routine monitoring
of mass variation under a representative range of husbandry conditions and procedures.
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Affiliation(s)
- CP Andrews
- University of Stirling, Division of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
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4
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Taborsky B, Kuijper B, Fawcett TW, English S, Leimar O, McNamara JM, Ruuskanen S. An evolutionary perspective on stress responses, damage and repair. Horm Behav 2022; 142:105180. [PMID: 35569424 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2022] [Revised: 04/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Variation in stress responses has been investigated in relation to environmental factors, species ecology, life history and fitness. Moreover, mechanistic studies have unravelled molecular mechanisms of how acute and chronic stress responses cause physiological impacts ('damage'), and how this damage can be repaired. However, it is not yet understood how the fitness effects of damage and repair influence stress response evolution. Here we study the evolution of hormone levels as a function of stressor occurrence, damage and the efficiency of repair. We hypothesise that the evolution of stress responses depends on the fitness consequences of damage and the ability to repair that damage. To obtain some general insights, we model a simplified scenario in which an organism repeatedly encounters a stressor with a certain frequency and predictability (temporal autocorrelation). The organism can defend itself by mounting a stress response (elevated hormone level), but this causes damage that takes time to repair. We identify optimal strategies in this scenario and then investigate how those strategies respond to acute and chronic exposures to the stressor. We find that for higher repair rates, baseline and peak hormone levels are higher. This typically means that the organism experiences higher levels of damage, which it can afford because that damage is repaired more quickly, but for very high repair rates the damage does not build up. With increasing predictability of the stressor, stress responses are sustained for longer, because the animal expects the stressor to persist, and thus damage builds up. This can result in very high (and potentially fatal) levels of damage when organisms are exposed to chronic stressors to which they are not evolutionarily adapted. Overall, our results highlight that at least three factors need to be considered jointly to advance our understanding of how stress physiology has evolved: (i) temporal dynamics of stressor occurrence; (ii) relative mortality risk imposed by the stressor itself versus damage caused by the stress response; and (iii) the efficiency of repair mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Taborsky
- Behavioural Ecology Division, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Bram Kuijper
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, UK; Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, University of Exeter, UK
| | - Tim W Fawcett
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour (CRAB), University of Exeter, UK
| | - Sinead English
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, UK
| | - Olof Leimar
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Sweden
| | | | - Suvi Ruuskanen
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
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5
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Sarraude T, Hsu BY, Groothuis T, Ruuskanen S. Testing the short-and long-term effects of elevated prenatal exposure to different forms of thyroid hormones. PeerJ 2020; 8:e10175. [PMID: 33088630 PMCID: PMC7571413 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Maternal thyroid hormones (THs) are known to be crucial in embryonic development in humans, but their influence on other, especially wild, animals remains poorly understood. So far, the studies that experimentally investigated the consequences of maternal THs focused on short-term effects, while early organisational effects with long-term consequences, as shown for other prenatal hormones, could also be expected. In this study, we aimed at investigating both the short- and long-term effects of prenatal THs in a bird species, the Japanese quail Coturnix japonica. We experimentally elevated yolk TH content (the prohormone T4, and its active metabolite T3, as well as a combination of both hormones). We analysed hatching success, embryonic development, offspring growth and oxidative stress as well as their potential organisational effects on reproduction, moult and oxidative stress in adulthood. We found that eggs injected with T4 had a higher hatching success compared with control eggs, suggesting conversion of T4 into T3 by the embryo. We detected no evidence for other short-term or long-term effects of yolk THs. These results suggest that yolk THs are important in the embryonic stage of precocial birds, but other short- and long-term consequences remain unclear. Research on maternal THs will greatly benefit from studies investigating how embryos use and respond to this maternal signalling. Long-term studies on prenatal THs in other taxa in the wild are needed for a better understanding of this hormone-mediated maternal pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Sarraude
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Bin-Yan Hsu
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Ton Groothuis
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Suvi Ruuskanen
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
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6
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Messina S, Edwards DP, AbdElgawad H, Beemster GTS, Tomassi S, Benedick S, Eens M, Costantini D. Impacts of selective logging on the oxidative status of tropical understorey birds. J Anim Ecol 2020; 89:2222-2234. [PMID: 32535926 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Accepted: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Selective logging is the dominant form of human disturbance in tropical forests, driving changes in the abundance of vertebrate and invertebrate populations relative to undisturbed old-growth forests. A key unresolved question is understanding which physiological mechanisms underlie different responses of species and functional groups to selective logging. Regulation of oxidative status is thought to be one major physiological mechanism underlying the capability of species to cope with environmental changes. Using a correlational cross-sectional approach, we compared a number of oxidative status markers among 15 understorey bird species in unlogged and selectively logged forest in Borneo in relation to their feeding guild. We then tested how variation of markers between forest types was associated with that in population abundance. Birds living in logged forests had a higher activity of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase and a different regulation of the glutathione cycle compared to conspecific birds in unlogged forest. However, neither oxidative damage nor oxidized glutathione differed between forest types. We also found that omnivores and insectivores differed significantly in all markers related to the key cellular antioxidant glutathione irrespective of the forest type. Species with higher levels of certain antioxidant markers in a given type of forest were less abundant in that forest type compared to the other. Our results suggest that there was little long-term effect of logging (last logging rotation occurred ~15 years prior to the study) on the oxidative status of understorey bird species. However, it is unclear if this was owing to plasticity or evolutionary change. Our correlative results also point to a potential negative association between some antioxidants and population abundance irrespective of the forest type.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Messina
- Behavioural Ecology & Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - David P Edwards
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Hamada AbdElgawad
- Integrated Molecular Plant Physiology Research (IMPRES), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,Botany and Microbiology Department, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt
| | - Gerrit T S Beemster
- Integrated Molecular Plant Physiology Research (IMPRES), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Suzanne Tomassi
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Suzan Benedick
- School of Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - Marcel Eens
- Behavioural Ecology & Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - David Costantini
- Unité Physiologie Moléculaire et Adaptation (PhyMA), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Paris, France
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Morosinotto C, Thomson RL, Korpimäki E, Mateo R, Ruuskanen S. Maternal food supplementation and perceived predation risk modify egg composition and eggshell traits but not offspring condition. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 222:jeb.201954. [PMID: 31548290 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.201954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2019] [Accepted: 09/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Mothers may vary resource allocation to eggs and embryos, which may affect offspring fitness and prepare them for future environmental conditions. The effects of food availability and predation risk on reproduction have been extensively studied, yet their simultaneous impacts on reproductive investment and offspring early life conditions are still unclear. We experimentally manipulated these key environmental elements using a 2×2 full factorial design in wild, free-living pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca), and measured egg composition, eggshell traits and offspring condition. Eggs laid in food-supplemented nests had larger yolks and thicker shells independently of predation risk, while eggs laid in nests exposed to predator cues had lower levels of immunoglobulins, independent of food supplementation. In nests without predator cues, shell biliverdin content was higher in eggs laid in food-supplemented nests. Incubation was 1 day shorter in food-supplemented nests and shorter incubation periods were associated with higher hatching success, but there were no direct effects of maternal treatment on hatching success. To investigate the impact of maternal treatment (via egg composition) on the offspring, we performed full brood cross-fostering after hatching to unmanipulated nests. Maternal treatment did not significantly affect body mass and immunoglobulin levels of offspring. Our results suggest that although prenatal maternal cues affected egg composition, these egg-mediated effects may not have detectable consequences for offspring growth or immune capacity. Unpredictable environmental stressors may thus affect parental investment in the eggs, but parental care may level off costs and benefits of differential maternal egg allocation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Morosinotto
- Novia University of Applied Sciences, Bioeconomy Research Team, Raseborgsvägen 9, Ekenäs, 10600, Finland .,Department of Biology, Section of Ecology, University of Turku, Turku 20014, Finland
| | - Robert L Thomson
- Department of Biology, Section of Ecology, University of Turku, Turku 20014, Finland.,FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Erkki Korpimäki
- Department of Biology, Section of Ecology, University of Turku, Turku 20014, Finland
| | - Rafael Mateo
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC), CSIC-UCLM-JCCM, 13005 Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Suvi Ruuskanen
- Department of Biology, Section of Ecology, University of Turku, Turku 20014, Finland
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Arai E, Hasegawa M, Wakamatsu K, Ito S. Males with More Pheomelanin Have a Lower Oxidative Balance in Asian Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica gutturalis). Zoolog Sci 2018; 35:505-513. [DOI: 10.2108/zs170204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emi Arai
- Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, Sokendai (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Hayama, Kanagawa 240-0115, Japan
| | - Masaru Hasegawa
- Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, Sokendai (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Hayama, Kanagawa 240-0115, Japan
| | - Kazumasa Wakamatsu
- Department of Chemistry, Fujita Health University School of Health Sciences, Toyoake, Aichi 470-1192, Japan
| | - Shosuke Ito
- Department of Chemistry, Fujita Health University School of Health Sciences, Toyoake, Aichi 470-1192, Japan
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9
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Morosinotto C, Rainio M, Ruuskanen S, Korpimäki E. Antioxidant Enzyme Activities Vary with Predation Risk and Environmental Conditions in Free-Living Passerine Birds. Physiol Biochem Zool 2018; 91:837-848. [PMID: 29494281 DOI: 10.1086/697087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Prolonged physiological stress response may lead to an excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and ultimately to oxidative stress and severe fitness costs. We investigated whether natural variation in predation risk, induced by pygmy owls (Glaucidium passerinum), modifies the oxidative status of two free-living food-supplemented passerine bird species-the great tit (Parus major) and the willow tit (Poecile montanus)-in March 2012 and 2013. Predation risk significantly affected antioxidant enzyme activities of willow tits. Antioxidant enzyme activities (principal component factor 2 [PC2] representing glutathione-S-transferase and superoxide dismutase activities) were higher in high predation risk areas in 2013 than in low predation risk areas in the same year. Higher enzyme activities may suggest higher ROS production in birds living under high predation risk. In addition, antioxidant enzyme activities (PC2) were also higher in high predation risk areas in 2013 than in high predation risk areas in the previous year, 2012. This may represent variation in the risk represented by pygmy owls, which is probably inversely related to the natural fluctuations in the densities of their main prey, voles. In willow tits, PC1 (representing catalase, total glutathione, the ratio of reduced to oxidized glutathione, and protein carbonylation) was not affected by perceived predation risk, nor were antioxidant levels or enzyme activities in great tits. Higher enzyme activities observed in willow tits suggest that predator presence can modify the antioxidant status of avian prey, but the response also seem to be influenced by other environmental characteristics, like harsh winter conditions.
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