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Borthwick Z, Quiring K, Griffith SC, Leu ST. Heat stress conditions affect the social network structure of free-ranging sheep. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e10996. [PMID: 38352202 PMCID: PMC10862161 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10996] [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: 06/07/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Extreme weather conditions, like heatwave events, are becoming more frequent with climate change. Animals often modify their behaviour to cope with environmental changes and extremes. During heat stress conditions, individuals change their spatial behaviour and increase the use of shaded areas to assist with thermoregulation. Here, we suggest that for social species, these behavioural changes and ambient conditions have the potential to influence an individual's position in its social network, and the social network structure as a whole. We investigated whether heat stress conditions (quantified through the temperature humidity index) and the resulting use of shaded areas, influence the social network structure and an individual's connectivity in it. We studied this in free-ranging sheep in the arid zone of Australia, GPS-tracking all 48 individuals in a flock. When heat stress conditions worsened, individuals spent more time in the shade and the network was more connected (higher density) and less structured (lower modularity). Furthermore, we then identified the behavioural change that drove the altered network structure and showed that an individual's shade use behaviour affected its social connectivity. Interestingly, individuals with intermediate shade use were most strongly connected (degree, strength, betweenness), indicating their importance for the connectivity of the social network during heat stress conditions. Heat stress conditions, which are predicted to increase in severity and frequency due to climate change, influence resource use within the ecological environment. Importantly, our study shows that these heat stress conditions also affect the animal's social environment through the changed social network structure. Ultimately, this could have further flow on effects for social foraging and individual health since social structure drives information and disease transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary Borthwick
- School of Animal and Veterinary SciencesThe University of AdelaideRoseworthySouth AustraliaAustralia
| | - Katrin Quiring
- School of Natural SciencesMacquarie UniversitySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
- Department of Behavioural EcologyUniversity of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Simon C. Griffith
- School of Natural SciencesMacquarie UniversitySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental SciencesUniversity of New South WalesSydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Stephan T. Leu
- School of Animal and Veterinary SciencesThe University of AdelaideRoseworthySouth AustraliaAustralia
- School of Natural SciencesMacquarie UniversitySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
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Warrington MH, Beaulieu S, Jellicoe R, Vos S, Bennett NC, Waterman JM. Lovers, not fighters: docility influences reproductive fitness, but not survival, in male Cape ground squirrels, Xerus inauris. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2024; 78:6. [PMID: 38187116 PMCID: PMC10766660 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-023-03421-8] [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: 10/20/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Over their lifetime, individuals may use different behavioural strategies to maximize their fitness. Some behavioural traits may be consistent among individuals over time (i.e., 'personality' traits) resulting in an individual behavioural phenotype with different associated costs and benefits. Understanding how behavioural traits are linked to lifetime fitness requires tracking individuals over their lifetime. Here, we leverage a long-term study on a multi-year living species (maximum lifespan ~ 10 years) to examine how docility (an individual's reaction to trapping and handling) may contribute to how males are able to maximize their lifetime fitness. Cape ground squirrels are burrowing mammals that live in social groups, and although males lack physical aggression and territoriality, they vary in docility. Males face high predation risk and high reproductive competition and employ either of two reproductive tactics ('natal' or 'band') which are not associated with different docility personalities. We found that although more docile individuals sired more offspring on an annual basis, docility did not affect an individual's long-term (lifetime) reproductive output. Survival was not associated with docility or body condition, but annual survival was influenced by rainfall. Our findings suggest that although docility may represent a behavioural strategy to maximize fitness by possibly playing a role in female-male associations or female mate-choice, variations in docility within our study population is likely maintained by other environmental drivers. However, individual variations in behaviours may still contribute as part of the 'tool kit' individuals use to maximize their lifetime fitness. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00265-023-03421-8.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miyako H. Warrington
- Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada
| | - Sienna Beaulieu
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada
| | - Riley Jellicoe
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada
| | - Sjoerd Vos
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Nigel C. Bennett
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002 South Africa
| | - Jane M. Waterman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002 South Africa
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House AH, Debes PV, Kurko J, Erkinaro J, Primmer CR. Genotype-specific variation in seasonal body condition at a large-effect maturation locus. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230432. [PMID: 37253427 PMCID: PMC10229225 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Organisms use resource allocation strategies to survive seasonal environmental changes and life-history stage transitions. Earlier studies found a transcription cofactor, vgll3, associating with maturation timing that inhibits adipogenesis in mice and affects body condition in juvenile salmon. Owing to a lack of temporal studies examining seasonality effects on phenotypes such as vgll3 genotype, body condition, maturation and different life stages, we investigated the influence of different larval and juvenile temperatures, vgll3 genotype and interactions with body condition and maturation rate. We reared Atlantic salmon for 2 years in four larval-juvenile phase temperature groups until the occurrence of mature males. We found no effect of larval temperature on the measured phenotypes or maturation rate. However, we observed an increased maturation rate in individuals of the warm juvenile temperature treatment and differences in body condition associated with vgll3 genotype. Early maturation genotype individuals had a less variable body condition across seasons compared with late maturation genotype individuals. This result suggests a vgll3 influence on resource allocation strategies; possibly linked with the early maturation process, with early maturation genotype individuals having a higher maturation rate and a higher body condition in the spring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew H. House
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 9, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Institute of Biotechnology, Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Viikkinkaari 5d, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Lammi Biological Station, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Pääjärventie 320, 16900 Hämeenlinna, Finland
| | - Paul V. Debes
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 9, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Institute of Biotechnology, Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Viikkinkaari 5d, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Johanna Kurko
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 9, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Institute of Biotechnology, Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Viikkinkaari 5d, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jaakko Erkinaro
- Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE), 90570 Oulu, Finland
| | - Craig R. Primmer
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 9, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Institute of Biotechnology, Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Viikkinkaari 5d, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
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Whole-body adipose tissue multi-omic analyses in sheep reveal molecular mechanisms underlying local adaptation to extreme environments. Commun Biol 2023; 6:159. [PMID: 36755107 PMCID: PMC9908986 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04523-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The fat tail of sheep is an important organ that has evolved to adapt to extreme environments. However, the genetic mechanisms underlying the fat tail phenotype remain poorly understood. Here, we characterize transcriptome and lipidome profiles and morphological changes in 250 adipose tissues from two thin-tailed and three fat-tailed sheep populations in summer and winter. We implement whole-genome selective sweep tests to identify genetic variants related to fat-tails. We identify a set of functional genes that show differential expression in the tail fat of fat-tailed and thin-tailed sheep in summer and winter. These genes are significantly enriched in pathways, such as lipid metabolism, extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, molecular transport, and inflammatory response. In contrast to thin-tailed sheep, tail fat from fat-tailed sheep show slighter changes in adipocyte size, ECM remodeling, and lipid metabolism, and had less inflammation in response to seasonal changes, indicating improved homeostasis. Whole-genome selective sweep tests identify genes involved in preadipocyte commitment (e.g., BMP2, PDGFD) and terminal adipogenic differentiation (e.g., VEGFA), which could contribute to enhanced adipocyte hyperplasia. Altogether, we establish a model of regulatory networks regulating adipose homeostasis in sheep tails. These findings improve our understanding of how adipose homeostasis is maintained, in response to extreme environments in animals.
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Tsai MS, Newman C, Macdonald DW, Buesching CD. Adverse weather during in utero development is linked to higher rates of later-life herpesvirus reactivation in adult European badgers, Meles meles. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:211749. [PMID: 35582658 PMCID: PMC9091846 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Maternal immune and/or metabolic conditions relating to stress or nutritional status can affect in utero development among offspring with subsequent implications for later-life responses to infections. We used free-ranging European badgers as a host-pathogen model to investigate how prenatal weather conditions affect later-life herpesvirus genital tract reactivation. We applied a sliding window analysis of weather conditions to 164 samples collected in 2018 from 95 individuals born between 2005-2016. We test if the monthly mean and variation in rainfall and temperature experienced by their mother during the 12 months of delayed implantation and gestation prior to parturition subsequently affected individual herpes reactivation rates among these offspring. We identified four influential prenatal seasonal weather windows that corresponded with previously identified critical climatic conditions affecting badger survival, fecundity and body condition. These all occurred during the pre-implantation rather than the post-implantation period. We conclude that environmental cues during the in utero period of delayed implantation may result in changes that affect an individual's developmental programming against infection or viral reactivation later in life. This illustrates how prenatal adversity caused by environmental factors, such as climate change, can impact wildlife health and population dynamics-an interaction largely overlooked in wildlife management and conservation programmes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-shan Tsai
- Department of Zoology, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Abingdon Road, Tubney House, Tubney, Oxfordshire OX13 5QL, UK
| | - Chris Newman
- Department of Zoology, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Abingdon Road, Tubney House, Tubney, Oxfordshire OX13 5QL, UK
- Cook's Lake Farming Forestry and Wildlife Inc (Ecological Consultancy), Queens County, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - David W. Macdonald
- Department of Zoology, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Abingdon Road, Tubney House, Tubney, Oxfordshire OX13 5QL, UK
| | - Christina D. Buesching
- Cook's Lake Farming Forestry and Wildlife Inc (Ecological Consultancy), Queens County, Nova Scotia, Canada
- Department of Biology, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, The University of British Columbia, Okanagan, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
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Bright Ross JG, Newman C, Buesching CD, Macdonald DW. Preserving identity in capture–mark–recapture studies: increasing the accuracy of minimum number alive (MNA) estimates by incorporating inter-census trapping efficiency variation. Mamm Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s42991-021-00210-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
AbstractQuantifying abundance is often key to understanding ecological and evolutionary processes in wild populations. Despite shortcomings in producing accurate abundance estimates, minimum number alive (MNA) remains a widely used tool, due to its intuitive computation, reliable performance as an abundance indicator, and linkage to individual life-histories. Here, we propose a novel “efficiency-modified” MNA (eMNA) metric, which aims to preserve MNA’s favourable aspects while remedying its flaws, by incorporating (a) growth correlates to back-age individuals first captured as adults, and (b) estimates of undetected persistence beyond last capture based on time-varying capture efficiency. We evaluate eMNA through samplings of a simulated baseline population parameterised using data from a long-term demographic study of European badgers (Meles meles), under three different levels of capture efficiency (low; intermediate/“real” based on badger field data; high). We differentiate between eMNA’s performance as an abundance estimator—how well it approximates true abundance (accuracy)—and as an abundance indicator—how tightly it correlates with population abundance and changes thereof (precision). eMNA abundance estimates were negatively biased at all capture efficiencies. However, this bias was negligible at intermediate-to-high capture efficiency, particularly once low-information terminal sampling years (the first year and final three years of simulated studies) were removed. Excluding these years, eMNA under-estimated abundance by only 3.5 badgers (1.5% of population) at intermediate (real) capture efficiencies, and performed as a precise abundance indicator, with half the standard deviation of Cormack–Jolly–Seber probabilistic estimates and proving robust to inter-sampling variation in capture efficiency. Using undetected persistence probabilities to parameterise survival regression, we recreated baseline age-based survival relationships, albeit with some negative bias for under-represented ages. We offer considerations on the continued limitations of using eMNA for abundance estimates, minimum study duration for reliability, the metric’s benefits when individual identity is required, and potential for further improvement.
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