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Iglesias-Carrasco M, Zhang J, Noble DWA. Maternal investment and early thermal conditions affect performance and antipredator responses. Behav Ecol 2024; 35:arae035. [PMID: 38779594 PMCID: PMC11107847 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arae035] [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: 09/21/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Exposure to increased temperatures during early development can lead to phenotypic plasticity in morphology, physiology, and behavior across a range of ectothermic animals. In addition, maternal effects are known to be important contributors to phenotypic variation in offspring. Whether the 2 factors interact to shape offspring morphology and behavior is rarely explored. This is critical because climate change is expected to impact both incubation temperature and maternal stress and resource allocation. Using a fully factorial design, and Bayesian multivariate mixed models, we explored how the manipulation of early thermal environment and yolk-quantity in eggs affected the morphology, performance, and antipredator behavior of 2 sympatric Australian skink species (Lampropholis delicata and L. guichenoti). We found that juveniles from the hot treatment were larger than those on the cold treatment in L. guichenoti but not L. delicata. Using repeated behavioral measures for individual lizards, we found an interaction between incubation temperature and maternal investment in performance, with running speed being affected in a species-specific way by the treatment. We predicted that changes in performance should influence antipredator responses. In support of this prediction, we found that maternal investment impacted antipredator behavior, with animals from the yolk-reduced and cold treatment resuming activity faster after a simulated predatory attack in L. delicata. However, the prediction was not supported in L. guichenoti. Our results highlight the importance of exploring the multifaceted role that environments play across generations to understand how different anthropogenic factors will impact wildlife in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maider Iglesias-Carrasco
- Evolution and Ecology of Sexual Interactions Group, Doñana Biological Station-CSIC, Seville, 41092, Spain
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Jiayu Zhang
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Daniel W A Noble
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
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Raynal RS, Schwanz LE, Riley JL, Umbers KDL. Genetic and environmental drivers of colour and pattern in the Australian jacky dragon (Amphibolurus muricatus). J Evol Biol 2022; 35:1229-1239. [PMID: 35861703 PMCID: PMC9544122 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Revised: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The underlying drivers of variation in the colouration (colour and pattern) of animals can be genetic, non‐genetic, or more likely, a combination of both. Understanding the role of heritable genetic elements, as well as non‐genetic factors such as age, habitat or temperature, in shaping colouration can provide insight into the evolution and function of these traits, as well as the speed of response to changing environments. This project examined the genetic and non‐genetic drivers of continuous variation in colouration in a lizard, the jacky dragon (Amphibolurus muricatus). We leveraged a large captive experiment that manipulated parental and offspring thermal environment to simultaneously estimate the genetic and non‐genetic drivers of variation in colouration. We found that the overall brightness, the elongation of the longitudinal stripes on the dorsum and the contrast between light and dark patches of the pattern were all heritable. Colouration varied according to the age of the hatchling; however, the thermal environment of neither the parents nor offspring contributed significantly to colouration. It appears that developmental plasticity and maternal effects associated with temperature are not important drivers of variation in our measures of colouration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca S Raynal
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Lisa E Schwanz
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Julia L Riley
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,Department of Biology, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada
| | - Kate D L Umbers
- School of Science, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia.,Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
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Harrison LM, Noble DWA, Jennions MD. A meta-analysis of sex differences in animal personality: no evidence for the greater male variability hypothesis. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 97:679-707. [PMID: 34908228 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 11/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The notion that men are more variable than women has become embedded into scientific thinking. For mental traits like personality, greater male variability has been partly attributed to biology, underpinned by claims that there is generally greater variation among males than females in non-human animals due to stronger sexual selection on males. However, evidence for greater male variability is limited to morphological traits, and there is little information regarding sex differences in personality-like behaviours for non-human animals. Here, we meta-analysed sex differences in means and variances for over 2100 effects (204 studies) from 220 species (covering five broad taxonomic groups) across five personality traits: boldness, aggression, activity, sociality and exploration. We also tested if sexual size dimorphism, a proxy for sex-specific sexual selection, explains variation in the magnitude of sex differences in personality. We found no significant differences in personality between the sexes. In addition, sexual size dimorphism did not explain variation in the magnitude of the observed sex differences in the mean or variance in personality for any taxonomic group. In sum, we find no evidence for widespread sex differences in variability in non-human animal personality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren M Harrison
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, 46 Sullivans Creek Road, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia
| | - Daniel W A Noble
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, 46 Sullivans Creek Road, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia
| | - Michael D Jennions
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, 46 Sullivans Creek Road, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia
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Gangloff EJ, Leos-Barajas V, Demuth G, Zhang H, Kelly CD, Bronikowski AM. Movement modeling and patterns of within- and among-individual behavioral variation across time scales in neonate garter snakes (Thamnophis elegans). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-03099-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Bourne AR, Ridley AR, McKechnie AE, Spottiswoode CN, Cunningham SJ. Dehydration risk is associated with reduced nest attendance and hatching success in a cooperatively breeding bird, the southern pied babbler Turdoides bicolor. CONSERVATION PHYSIOLOGY 2021; 9:coab043. [PMID: 34150211 PMCID: PMC8208672 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coab043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2020] [Revised: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
High air temperatures have measurable negative impacts on reproduction in wild animal populations, including during incubation in birds. Understanding the mechanisms driving these impacts requires comprehensive knowledge of animal physiology and behaviour under natural conditions. We used a novel combination of a non-invasive doubly labelled water (DLW) technique, nest temperature data and field-based behaviour observations to test effects of temperature, rainfall and group size on physiology and behaviour during incubation in southern pied babblers Turdoides bicolor, a cooperatively breeding passerine endemic to the arid savanna regions of southern Africa. The proportion of time that clutches were incubated declined as air temperatures increased, a behavioural pattern traditionally interpreted as a benefit of ambient incubation. However, we show that (i) clutches had a <50% chance of hatching when exposed to daily maximum air temperatures of >35.3°C; (ii) pied babbler groups incubated their nests almost constantly (99% of daylight hours) except on hot days; (iii) operative temperatures in unattended nests frequently exceeded 40.5°C, above which bird embryos are at risk of death; (iv) pied babblers incubating for long periods of time failed to maintain water balance on hot days; and (v) pied babblers from incubating groups lost mass on hot days. These results suggest that pied babblers might leave their nests during hot periods to lower the risk of dehydration associated with prolonged incubation at high operative temperatures. As mean air temperatures increase and extreme heat events become more frequent under climate change, birds will likely incur ever greater thermoregulatory costs of incubation, leading to compromised nest attendance and increased potential for eggs to overheat, with implications for nest success and, ultimately, population persistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda R Bourne
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
- Corresponding author: FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa.
| | - Amanda R Ridley
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley 6009, Australia
| | - Andrew E McKechnie
- South African Research Chair in Conservation Physiology, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria 0184, South Africa
- DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield 0002, South Africa
| | - Claire N Spottiswoode
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Susan J Cunningham
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
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Schwanz LE, Crawford-Ash J, Gale T. Context dependence of transgenerational plasticity: the influence of parental temperature depends on offspring environment and sex. Oecologia 2020; 194:391-401. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-020-04783-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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Alteration in oxytocin levels induced by early social environment affects maternal behavior and estrogen receptor alpha in mandarin voles (Microtus mandarinus). Behav Brain Res 2019; 365:36-47. [PMID: 30802533 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.02.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2018] [Revised: 02/21/2019] [Accepted: 02/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Many studies have shown that the early social environment exerts long-term effects on the brain and also the parental behavior of adults. Oxytocin (OXT) is one of the most important neurotransmitters that regulate social behavior; howerve, whether the early social environment affects parental behavior via OXT remains unclear. Using socially monogamous adult mandarin voles (Microtus mandarinus), the present study found that 1) both paternal deprivation and early social deprivation significantly decreased OXT expression in both the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVN) and the supraoptic nucleus (SON) of F2 generation offspring; 2) systemic neonatal OXT injection in naïve animals promoted maternal but not paternal behavior in adult F2 offspring; 3) systemic neonatal OXT injection significantly increased ERα expression in both the medial preoptic area (MPOA) and the ventro medial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH) in female but not in male mandarin voles; 4) systemic neonatal administration of an OXT antagonist significantly reduced ERα expression in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), VMH, and the arcuate hypothalamic nucleus (Arc) in females and in all examined brain regions in males. In summary, the obtained data demonstrate that the early social environment could affect OXT level, which in turn leads to long-term effects on ERα expression in relevant brain regions, consequently affecting maternal behavior but not paternal behavior.
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