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Pullum K, Hodinka B, Ward Z, Morrissette G, Richter MM, Hunt KE, Ashley NT. Effect of melatonin supplementation upon parental care and nestling growth in arctic-breeding songbirds. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY. PART A, ECOLOGICAL AND INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 39149778 DOI: 10.1002/jez.2863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2024] [Revised: 07/31/2024] [Accepted: 08/02/2024] [Indexed: 08/17/2024]
Abstract
Arctic-breeding birds exhibit around-the-clock activity, and these activity cycles are postulated to maximize reproductive success during the short breeding season characteristic of high-latitude regions. Two closely related species of arctic-breeding songbirds, Lapland longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus; ground-nesting) and snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis; cavity-nesting) exhibit extended activity cycles throughout the polar day (71° N) except for 4-5 h of daily quiescence. Ground-nesting Lapland longspurs experience higher levels of nest predation than cavity-nesting snow buntings, and this difference is reflected in elevated nest vigilance in male longspurs compared with snow buntings. In this study, we examined the effect of melatonin supplementation upon male parental care, corresponding measures of nestling growth, and ability to reduce activity (and increase sleep). A pharmacological dose of melatonin in captive snow buntings dampened the amplitude of activity rhythms over the polar day with no detectable phase-shifting compared with control-implanted birds. Melatonin treatment reduced nest visits and overall time spent on the nest by male snow buntings compared with controls. There was no significant increase in time spent by female snow buntings on the nest to compensate for this, and there was no significant effect on offspring growth rates. There were no effects of melatonin supplementation on longspur adults or offspring, suggesting behavioral insensitivity to exogenous melatonin treatment. These differences in sensitivity underscore the importance of nest defense in ground-nesting longspurs compared with cavity-nesting snow buntings, which participate minimally in nest defense.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keelee Pullum
- Department of Biology, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Brett Hodinka
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Zoe Ward
- Department of Biology, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA
| | - Greta Morrissette
- School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Melanie M Richter
- Department of Biology, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA
- Department of Conservation and Research, Memphis Zoo, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Kathleen E Hunt
- Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation, Front Royal, Virginia, USA
| | - Noah T Ashley
- Department of Biology, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA
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Lesku JA, Libourel PA, Kelly ML, Hemmi JM, Kerr CC, Collin SP, Radford CA. An electrophysiological correlate of sleep in a shark. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY. PART A, ECOLOGICAL AND INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 38957102 DOI: 10.1002/jez.2846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2024] [Revised: 06/11/2024] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024]
Abstract
Sleep is a prominent physiological state observed across the animal kingdom. Yet, for some animals, our ability to identify sleep can be masked by behaviors otherwise associated with being awake, such as for some sharks that must swim continuously to push oxygenated seawater over their gills to breathe. We know that sleep in buccal pumping sharks with clear rest/activity cycles, such as draughtsboard sharks (Cephaloscyllium isabellum, Bonnaterre, 1788), manifests as a behavioral shutdown, postural relaxation, reduced responsiveness, and a lowered metabolic rate. However, these features of sleep do not lend themselves well to animals that swim nonstop. In addition to video and accelerometry recordings, we tried to explore the electrophysiological correlates of sleep in draughtsboard sharks using electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography, and electrooculography, while monitoring brain temperature. The seven channels of EEG activity had a surprising level of (apparent) instability when animals were swimming, but also when sleeping. The amount of stable EEG signals was too low for replication within- and across individuals. Eye movements were not measurable, owing to instability of the reference electrode. Based on an established behavioral characterization of sleep in draughtsboard sharks, we offer the original finding that muscle tone was strongest during active wakefulness, lower in quietly awake sharks, and lowest in sleeping sharks. We also offer several critical suggestions on how to improve techniques for characterizing sleep electrophysiology in future studies on elasmobranchs, particularly for those that swim continuously. Ultimately, these approaches will provide important insights into the evolutionary confluence of behaviors typically associated with wakefulness and sleep.
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Affiliation(s)
- John A Lesku
- School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Paul-Antoine Libourel
- Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, MAD Team, Montpellier, France
- Neuroscience Research Center of Lyon, Sleep Team, Bron, France
| | - Michael L Kelly
- School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jan M Hemmi
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Caroline C Kerr
- School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Shaun P Collin
- School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Craig A Radford
- Institute of Marine Science, Leigh Marine Laboratory, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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Omond SET, Barker RG, Sanislav O, Fisher PR, Annesley SJ, Lesku JA. Oxygen consumption rate of flatworms under the influence of wake- and sleep-promoting neurotransmitters. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY. PART A, ECOLOGICAL AND INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 38801005 DOI: 10.1002/jez.2828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2024] [Revised: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Flatworms are among the best studied animal models for regeneration; however, they also represent an emerging opportunity to investigate other biological processes as well. For instance, flatworms are nocturnal and sleep during the day, a state that is regulated by sleep/wake history and the action of the sleep-promoting neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (or GABA). Sleep is widespread across the animal kingdom, where it serves many nonexclusive functions. Notably, sleep saves energy by reducing metabolic rate and by not doing something more energetically taxing. Whether the conservation of energy is apparent in sleeping flatworms is unclear. We measured the oxygen consumption rate (OCR) of flatworms dosed with either (1) GABA (n = 29) which makes flatworms inactive or (2) dopamine (n = 20) which stimulates flatworms to move, or (3) day and night neurotransmitter-free controls (n = 28 and 27, respectively). While OCR did not differ between the day and night, flatworms treated with GABA used less oxygen than those treated with dopamine, and less than the day-time control. Thus, GABA affected flatworm physiology, ostensibly by enforcing energy-conserving sleep. Evidence that dopamine increased metabolism was less strong. This work broadens our understanding of flatworm physiology and expands the phylogenetic applicability of energy conservation as a function of sleep.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shauni E T Omond
- School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Robert G Barker
- School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Oana Sanislav
- School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Paul R Fisher
- School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Sarah J Annesley
- School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - John A Lesku
- School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
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Lyamin OI, Siegel JM. Sleep: Giving it up to get it on. Curr Biol 2024; 34:R213-R216. [PMID: 38471454 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
A new study presents evidence of sex-related sleep reduction in males of two marsupial mice species but not in females. The growing experimental data suggest that seasonal sleep reduction, linked to migrations and reproductive periods, is common among animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oleg I Lyamin
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California Los Angeles, Center for Sleep Research, North Hills, CA 91343, USA; A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Moscow, Russia.
| | - Jerome M Siegel
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California Los Angeles, Center for Sleep Research, North Hills, CA 91343, USA
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