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García-Fernández L, Chavira DR, Hoffman K, González-Mariscal G. Effects of intrauterine position during gestation on specific endocrine and behavioral parameters that impact reproduction in domestic rabbits. Horm Behav 2024; 160:105503. [PMID: 38342021 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/13/2024]
Abstract
Prior studies from others, performed in a different breed, reported that doe rabbits developing between two male siblings (2 M) during gestation display characteristics indicative of masculinization: larger anogenital distance (AGD), larger submandibular glands, and higher chinning frequency than females with zero (0 M) or one (1 M) contiguous brothers. Similar effects are provoked by injecting androgens to the pregnant doe suggesting that prenatal androgen exposure masculinizes female embryos. To further understand the scope of such masculinization we compared 0 M, 1 M, and 2 M females regarding behavioral, neuroendocrine, and somatic parameters, related or not to reproduction. IUP did not impact: body weight, sexual receptivity, mating-induced LH secretion, maternal nest-building, litter size, or milk output. At puberty: a) chinning frequency was: 0 M and males>1 M and 2 M; b) ambulation in open field was lowest in 1 M females and males. IUP effects on AGD were significant only on postnatal day 1: 0 M, 1 M, and males>2 M, in contrast to earlier study. Willingness to nurse at delivery was less frequent in 2 M than in 1 M and 0 M does and correlated with nursing occurrence across lactation. Does that did not nurse at parturition delivered fewer kits/min than those that nursed then, regardless of IUP. The duration of nursing bouts across lactation was significantly longer in the1 M and 2 M does that showed this behavior on postpartum days 1-20. Our findings indicate that IUP is associated with alterations in specific aspects of postpartum maternal behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lizet García-Fernández
- Centro de Investigación en Reproducción Animal, CINVESTAV-Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Mexico
| | - David R Chavira
- Departamento de Biología de la Reproducción, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición "Salvador Zubirán", Mexico
| | - Kurt Hoffman
- Centro de Investigación en Reproducción Animal, CINVESTAV-Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Mexico
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Oliveira ACF, Bernardi LM, Monteiro ALB, Silva KG, Weber SH, Borges TD, Dalmau A, Costa LB. Induced Stress and Tactile Stimulation Applied to Primiparous does and their Consequences on Maternal Behavior, Human-Animal Relationships, and Future Offspring's Sexual Disorders. Vet Res Commun 2022; 46:925-938. [PMID: 35353323 DOI: 10.1007/s11259-022-09920-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate whether tactile stimulation in rabbits during the gestation phase improve the maternal behavior and human-animal relationships as well as the effects on reproductive behavior of male kits when reached maturity compared to induced stress. A total of 33 primiparous New Zealand does were selected after pregnancy confirmation and allocated in a randomized complete block design. The treatments applied were as follows: (C) animals not stimulated during the experimental period; (TS) animals that received tactile stimulation; and (SS) does which were immobilized. The nest building behavior as well as the weight, sexual behavior, mortality, and semen analysis of the offspring was recorded. In addition, the novel object, flight distance, social isolation, and human-approach tests were conducted. Under the conditions of the present trial, TS animals showed more trust in the unfamiliar observer when compared to the other two treatments. The treatments applied to the females (TS and SS) were sufficient to confirm that the control group presented better values for the number of stillbirths and the proportion of deaths in the first week. Finally, the handling of does reduce the males' ejaculation and sperm presence but not inhibited sexual behavior or impaired semen quality. It is possible to conclude that TS did not impair does welfare or maternal behavior and it improved the human-animal relationship, however there was a negative impact on the litter. More studies that directly assess impact on the future reproductive capacity of the offspring are necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela C F Oliveira
- Graduate Program of Animal Science - PPGCA, School of Medicine and Life Sciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná - PUCPR, Imaculada Conceição, 1155 - Prado Velho, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
| | - Luiza M Bernardi
- Graduate Program of Animal Science - PPGCA, School of Medicine and Life Sciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná - PUCPR, Imaculada Conceição, 1155 - Prado Velho, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
| | - Ana Larissa B Monteiro
- Graduate Program of Animal Science - PPGCA, School of Medicine and Life Sciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná - PUCPR, Imaculada Conceição, 1155 - Prado Velho, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
| | - Kassy G Silva
- Graduate Program of Animal Science - PPGCA, School of Medicine and Life Sciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná - PUCPR, Imaculada Conceição, 1155 - Prado Velho, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
| | - Saulo H Weber
- Graduate Program of Animal Science - PPGCA, School of Medicine and Life Sciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná - PUCPR, Imaculada Conceição, 1155 - Prado Velho, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
| | - Tâmara D Borges
- Graduate Program of Animal Science - PPGCA, School of Medicine and Life Sciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná - PUCPR, Imaculada Conceição, 1155 - Prado Velho, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
| | - Antoni Dalmau
- Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries - IRTA, Monells, Spain
| | - Leandro B Costa
- Graduate Program of Animal Science - PPGCA, School of Medicine and Life Sciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná - PUCPR, Imaculada Conceição, 1155 - Prado Velho, Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
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Perret M. Litter sex composition affects first reproduction in female grey mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus). Physiol Behav 2019; 208:112575. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.112575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2019] [Revised: 06/05/2019] [Accepted: 06/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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Correa LA, León C, Ramírez-Estrada J, Ly-Prieto Á, Abades S, Hayes LD, Soto-Gamboa M, Ebensperger LA. Highly masculinized and younger males attain higher reproductive success in a social rodent. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Loreto A Correa
- Núcleo Interdisciplinario, Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria, Facultad de Ciencias. Universidad Mayor, Camino la Pirámide, Huechuraba, Santiago, Chile
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla, Santiago, Chile
| | - Cecilia León
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla, Santiago, Chile
| | - Juan Ramírez-Estrada
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla, Santiago, Chile
| | - Álvaro Ly-Prieto
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla, Santiago, Chile
| | - Sebastián Abades
- GEMA Center for Genomics, Ecology & Environment, Universidad Mayor, Camino La Pirámide, Huechuraba, Santiago, Chile
| | - Loren D Hayes
- Department of Biology, Geology and Environmental Sciences, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN, USA
| | - Mauricio Soto-Gamboa
- Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Casilla, Valdivia, Chile
| | - Luis A Ebensperger
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla, Santiago, Chile
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