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Case BF, Groffen J, Galligan TM, Bodinof Jachowski CM, Hallagan JJ, Hildreth SB, Alaasam V, Keith Ray W, Helm RF, Hopkins WA. Androgen and glucocorticoid profiles throughout extended uniparental paternal care in the eastern hellbender salamander (Cryptobranchus a. alleganiensis). Gen Comp Endocrinol 2024; 355:114547. [PMID: 38772453 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2024.114547] [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: 11/21/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024]
Abstract
The behavioral endocrinology associated with reproduction and uniparental male care has been studied in teleosts, but little is known about hormonal correlates of uniparental male care in other ectotherms. To address this gap, we are the first to document the seasonal steroid endocrinology of uniparental male hellbender salamanders during the transition from pre-breeding to nest initiation, and through the subsequent eight months of paternal care. In doing so, we investigated the correlates of nest fate and clutch size, exploring hellbenders' alignment with several endocrinological patterns observed in uniparental male fish. Understanding the endocrinology of hellbender paternal care is also vital from a conservation perspective because high rates of nest failure were recently identified as a factor causing population declines in this imperiled species. We corroborated previous findings demonstrating testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) to be the primary androgens in hellbender reproduction, and that cortisol circulates as the most abundant glucocorticoid. However, we were unable to identify a prolactin or a "prolactin-like" peptide in circulation prior to or during parental care. We observed ∼ 80 % declines in both primary androgens during the transition from pre-breeding to nest initiation, and again as paternal care progressed past its first month. In the days immediately following nest initiation, testosterone and DHT trended higher in successful individuals, but did not differ with males' clutch size. We did not observe meaningful seasonality in baseline glucocorticoids associated with breeding or nesting. In contrast, stress-induced glucocorticoids were highest at pre-breeding and through the first two months of care, before declining during the latter-most periods of care as larvae approach emergence from the nest. Neither baseline nor stress-induced glucocorticoids varied significantly with either nest fate or clutch size. Both stress-induced cortisol and corticosterone were positively correlated with total length, a proxy for age in adult hellbenders. This is consistent with age-related patterns in some vertebrates, but the first such pattern observed in a wild amphibian population. Generally, we found that nesting hellbenders adhere to some but not all of the endocrinological patterns observed in uniparental male teleosts prior to and during parental care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian F Case
- Virginia Tech, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA.
| | - Jordy Groffen
- Virginia Tech, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
| | - Thomas M Galligan
- Virginia Tech, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
| | | | - John J Hallagan
- Virginia Tech, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
| | - Sherry B Hildreth
- Virginia Tech, Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
| | - Valentina Alaasam
- Virginia Tech, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
| | - W Keith Ray
- Virginia Tech, Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
| | - Richard F Helm
- Virginia Tech, Department of Biochemistry, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
| | - William A Hopkins
- Virginia Tech, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
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2
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Fischer EK, Roland AB, Moskowitz NA, Tapia EE, Summers K, Coloma LA, O'Connell LA. The neural basis of tadpole transport in poison frogs. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20191084. [PMID: 31311480 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Parental care has evolved repeatedly and independently across animals. While the ecological and evolutionary significance of parental behaviour is well recognized, underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. We took advantage of behavioural diversity across closely related species of South American poison frogs (Family Dendrobatidae) to identify neural correlates of parental behaviour shared across sexes and species. We characterized differences in neural induction, gene expression in active neurons and activity of specific neuronal types in three species with distinct care patterns: male uniparental, female uniparental and biparental. We identified the medial pallium and preoptic area as core brain regions associated with parental care, independent of sex and species. The identification of neurons active during parental care confirms a role for neuropeptides associated with care in other vertebrates as well as identifying novel candidates. Our work is the first to explore neural and molecular mechanisms of parental care in amphibians and highlights the potential for mechanistic studies in closely related but behaviourally variable species to help build a more complete understanding of how shared principles and species-specific diversity govern parental care and other social behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva K Fischer
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | | | - Nora A Moskowitz
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Elicio E Tapia
- Centro Jambatu de Investigación y Conservación de Anfibios, Fundación Otonga, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Kyle Summers
- Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA
| | - Luis A Coloma
- Centro Jambatu de Investigación y Conservación de Anfibios, Fundación Otonga, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Lauren A O'Connell
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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3
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Raulo A, Dantzer B. Associations between glucocorticoids and sociality across a continuum of vertebrate social behavior. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:7697-7716. [PMID: 30151183 PMCID: PMC6106170 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2017] [Revised: 02/22/2018] [Accepted: 02/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The causes and consequences of individual differences in animal behavior and stress physiology are increasingly studied in wild animals, yet the possibility that stress physiology underlies individual variation in social behavior has received less attention. In this review, we bring together these study areas and focus on understanding how the activity of the vertebrate neuroendocrine stress axis (HPA-axis) may underlie individual differences in social behavior in wild animals. We first describe a continuum of vertebrate social behaviors spanning from initial social tendencies (proactive behavior) to social behavior occurring in reproductive contexts (parental care, sexual pair-bonding) and lastly to social behavior occurring in nonreproductive contexts (nonsexual bonding, group-level cooperation). We then perform a qualitative review of existing literature to address the correlative and causal association between measures of HPA-axis activity (glucocorticoid levels or GCs) and each of these types of social behavior. As expected, elevated HPA-axis activity can inhibit social behavior associated with initial social tendencies (approaching conspecifics) and reproduction. However, elevated HPA-axis activity may also enhance more elaborate social behavior outside of reproductive contexts, such as alloparental care behavior. In addition, the effect of GCs on social behavior can depend upon the sociality of the stressor (cause of increase in GCs) and the severity of stress (extent of increase in GCs). Our review shows that the while the associations between stress responses and sociality are diverse, the role of HPA-axis activity behind social behavior may shift toward more facilitating and less inhibiting in more social species, providing insight into how stress physiology and social systems may co-evolve.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aura Raulo
- Department of BiosciencesUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
- Zoology DepartmentUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - Ben Dantzer
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichigan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichigan
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Abdel-Moneim A, Deegan D, Gao J, De Perre C, Doucette JS, Jenkinson B, Lee L, Sepúlveda MS. Gonadal intersex in smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu from northern Indiana with correlations to molecular biomarkers and anthropogenic chemicals. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2017; 230:1099-1107. [PMID: 28783897 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.07.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2017] [Revised: 06/29/2017] [Accepted: 07/16/2017] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Over the past decade, studies have shown that exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can cause gonadal intersex in fish. Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) males appear to be highly susceptible to developing testicular oocytes (TO), the most prevalent form of gonadal intersex, as observed in various areas across the U.S. In this study, prevalence and severity of TO was quantified for smallmouth bass sampled from the St. Joseph River in northern Indiana, intersex biomarkers were developed, and association between TO prevalence and organic contaminants were explored. At some sites, TO prevalence reached maximum levels before decreasing significantly after the spawning season. We examined the relationship between TO presence and expression of gonadal and liver genes involved in sex differentiation and reproductive functions (esr1, esr2, foxl2, fshr, star, lhr and vtg). We found that vitellogenin (vtg) transcript levels were significantly higher in the liver of males with TO, but only when sampled during the spawning season. Further, we identified a positive correlation between plasma VTG levels and vtg transcript levels, suggesting its use as a non-destructive biomarker of TO in this species. Finally, we evaluated 43 contaminants in surface water at representative sites using passive sampling to look for contaminants with possible links to the observed TO prevalence. No quantifiable levels of estrogens or other commonly agreed upon EDCs such as the bisphenols were observed in our contaminant assessment; however, we did find high levels of herbicides as well as consistent quantifiable levels of PFOS, PFOA, and triclosan in the watershed where high TO prevalence was exhibited. Our findings suggest that the observed TO prevalence may be the result of exposures to mixtures of nonsteroidal EDCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed Abdel-Moneim
- Department of Forestry & Natural Resources and Bindley Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA; Department of Veterinary Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Assiut University, Assiut 71526, Egypt
| | - Daragh Deegan
- City of Elkhart, Public Works and Utilities Department, Elkhart, Indiana 46516, USA
| | - Jiejun Gao
- Department of Forestry & Natural Resources and Bindley Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Chloe De Perre
- Department of Agronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Jarrod S Doucette
- Department of Forestry & Natural Resources and Bindley Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | | | - Linda Lee
- Department of Agronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Maria S Sepúlveda
- Department of Forestry & Natural Resources and Bindley Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
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Algera DA, Brownscombe JW, Gilmour KM, Lawrence MJ, Zolderdo AJ, Cooke SJ. Cortisol treatment affects locomotor activity and swimming behaviour of male smallmouth bass engaged in paternal care: A field study using acceleration biologgers. Physiol Behav 2017; 181:59-68. [PMID: 28866027 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.08.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2016] [Revised: 08/28/2017] [Accepted: 08/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Paternal care, where the male provides sole care for the developing brood, is a common form of reproductive investment among teleost fish and ubiquitous in the Centrarchidae family. Throughout the parental care period, nesting males expend energy in a variety of swimming behaviours, including routine and burst swimming, vigilantly monitoring the nest area and protecting the brood from predators. Parental care is an energetically demanding period, which is presumably made even more difficult if fish are exposed to additional challenges such as those arising from human disturbance, resulting in activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal axis (i.e., elevation of cortisol). To study this situation, we examined the effects of experimental manipulation of the stress hormone cortisol on locomotor activity and behaviour of nest guarding male smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu). We exogenously elevated circulating cortisol levels (via intracoelomic implants) and attached tri-axial accelerometers to wild smallmouth bass for three days. During the recovery period (i.e., ≤4h post-release), cortisol-treated fish exhibited significantly reduced locomotor activity and performed significantly less burst and routine swimming relative to control fish, indicating cortisol uptake was rapid, as were the associated behavioural responses. Post-recovery (i.e., >4h post-release), fish with high cortisol exhibited lower locomotor activity and reduced routine swimming relative to controls. Fish were less active and reduced routine and burst swimming at night compared to daylight hours, an effect independent of cortisol treatment. Collectively, our results suggest that cortisol treatment (as a proxy for anthropogenic disturbance and stress) contributed to altered behaviour, and consequently cortisol-treated males decreased parental investment in their brood, which could have potential fitness implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dirk A Algera
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
| | - Jacob W Brownscombe
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Kathleen M Gilmour
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, 30 Marie Curie, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Michael J Lawrence
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Aaron J Zolderdo
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Steven J Cooke
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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Sopinka NM, Jeffrey JD, Burnett NJ, Patterson DA, Gilmour KM, Hinch SG. Maternal programming of offspring hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal axis in wild sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). Gen Comp Endocrinol 2017; 242:30-37. [PMID: 26718080 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2015.12.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2015] [Revised: 11/30/2015] [Accepted: 12/19/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
In fishes, maternal exposure to a stressor can influence offspring size and behavior. However, less is known about how maternal stress influences physiological processes in offspring, such as function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal (HPI) axis. We examined the impact of chronic maternal exposure to an acute chase stressor on the stress response/HPI activity of progeny in wild sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). Resting plasma cortisol and brain preoptic area (POA) corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) mRNA levels did not vary between offspring reared from undisturbed, control females and offspring reared from females exposed to the stressor. However, resting levels of POA glucocorticoid receptors (GR1 and GR2), and head kidney melanocortin 2 receptor (MC2R), steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), and cytochrome P450 side chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc) were elevated in offspring reared from stressor-exposed females. Offspring reared from stressor-exposed females had lower plasma cortisol levels 1-h after an acute chase stressor compared to cortisol levels in offspring reared from control females. In offspring reared from chased females, mRNA levels of genes associated with cortisol biosynthesis were reduced in the head kidney post-chase. In offspring reared from control females, mRNA levels in the head kidney did not vary pre- to post-chase. Together, the results of the present study suggest maternal programming of progeny with respect to baseline and stressor-induced mediators of HPI axis activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- N M Sopinka
- Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Laboratory, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
| | - J D Jeffrey
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - N J Burnett
- Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Laboratory, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - D A Patterson
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Science Branch, Pacific Region, Cooperative Resource Management Institute, School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - K M Gilmour
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - S G Hinch
- Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Laboratory, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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7
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Sopinka NM, Donaldson MR, O’Connor CM, Suski CD, Cooke SJ. Stress Indicators in Fish. FISH PHYSIOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-802728-8.00011-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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