1
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Sahm J, Prang MA, Steiger S. Parent-offspring conflict and its outcome under uni-and biparental care. Sci Rep 2022; 12:1999. [PMID: 35132107 PMCID: PMC8821718 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05877-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 12/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Conflicts over parental investment are predicted to be common among family members, especially between parents and their offspring. Parent-offspring conflict has been studied in many brood-caring organisms, but whether its outcome is closer to the parental or offspring optimum is usually unknown, as is whether the presence of a second parent, a caring male partner, can affect the outcome. Here, we manipulated the initial brood size of single and paired female burying beetles to examine how many offspring are necessary to maintain parental care in the current brood. We found that mothers continued to invest in small broods even if their reproductive output would have been higher if they had discontinued their care and produced a second brood instead. Consequently, our data suggests that the offspring have the upper hand in the conflict. However, our results further show that paired females laid a second egg clutch more often and produced more offspring than single females, suggesting that the presence of a male partner shifts the conflict outcome towards the parental optimum. This latter result not only is a novel aspect of parent-offspring theory, but also represents an additional factor that might explain the evolution of biparental care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline Sahm
- Department of Evolutionary Animal Ecology, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany.
| | - Madlen A Prang
- Department of Evolutionary Animal Ecology, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Sandra Steiger
- Department of Evolutionary Animal Ecology, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany
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2
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Bebbington K, Groothuis TGG. Who listens to mother? A whole-family perspective on the evolution of maternal hormone allocation. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 96:1951-1968. [PMID: 33988906 PMCID: PMC8518390 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Revised: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Maternal effects, or the influence of maternal environment and phenotype on offspring phenotype, may allow mothers to fine-tune their offspring's developmental trajectory and resulting phenotype sometimes long after the offspring has reached independence. However, maternal effects on offspring phenotype do not evolve in isolation, but rather within the context of a family unit, where the separate and often conflicting evolutionary interests of mothers, fathers and offspring are all at play. While intrafamilial conflicts are routinely invoked to explain other components of reproductive strategy, remarkably little is known about how intrafamilial conflicts influence maternal effects. We argue that much of the considerable variation in the relationship between maternally derived hormones, nutrients and other compounds and the resulting offspring phenotype might be explained by the presence of conflicting selection pressures on different family members. In this review, we examine the existing literature on maternal hormone allocation as a case study for maternal effects more broadly, and explore new hypotheses that arise when we consider current findings within a framework that explicitly incorporates the different evolutionary interests of the mother, her offspring and other family members. Specifically, we hypothesise that the relationship between maternal hormone allocation and offspring phenotype depends on a mother's ability to manipulate the signals she sends to offspring, the ability of family members to be plastic in their response to those signals and the capacity for the phenotypes and strategies of various family members to interact and influence one another on both behavioural and evolutionary timescales. We also provide suggestions for experimental, comparative and theoretical work that may be instrumental in testing these hypotheses. In particular, we highlight that manipulating the level of information available to different family members may reveal important insights into when and to what extent maternal hormones influence offspring development. We conclude that the evolution of maternal hormone allocation is likely to be shaped by the conflicting fitness optima of mothers, fathers and offspring, and that the outcome of this conflict depends on the relative balance of power between family members. Extending our hypotheses to incorporate interactions between family members, as well as more complex social groups and a wider range of taxa, may provide exciting new developments in the fields of endocrinology and maternal effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kat Bebbington
- Behavioural Biology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, Groningen, 9747AG, The Netherlands.,Animal Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, de Elst 1, Wageningen, 6708WD, The Netherlands
| | - Ton G G Groothuis
- Behavioural Biology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, Groningen, 9747AG, The Netherlands
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3
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Dezetter M, Le Galliard JF, Guiller G, Guillon M, Leroux-Coyau M, Meylan S, Brischoux F, Angelier F, Lourdais O. Water deprivation compromises maternal physiology and reproductive success in a cold and wet adapted snake Vipera berus. CONSERVATION PHYSIOLOGY 2021; 9:coab071. [PMID: 34512993 PMCID: PMC8415537 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coab071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Revised: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Droughts are becoming more intense and frequent with climate change. These extreme weather events can lead to mass mortality and reproduction failure, and therefore cause population declines. Understanding how the reproductive physiology of organisms is affected by water shortages will help clarify whether females can adjust their reproductive strategy to dry conditions or may fail to reproduce and survive. In this study, we investigated the consequences of a short period of water deprivation (2 weeks) during early pregnancy on the physiology and behaviour of a cold- and wet-adapted ectotherm (Vipera berus). We also examined water allocation to developing embryos and embryonic survival. Water-deprived females exhibited significant dehydration, physiological stress and loss of muscle mass. These effects of water deprivation on water balance and muscle loss were correlated with the number of developing embryos. While water-deprived females maintained water transfer to embryos at the expense of their own maintenance, water deprivation also led to embryonic mortality. Overall, water deprivation amplifies the reproductive costs of water allocation to support embryonic development. The deleterious impacts of water deprivation on female current reproductive performance and on potential survival and future reproduction could lead to severe population declines in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathias Dezetter
- Sorbonne University, CNRS, IRD, INRA, Institut d’Écologie et des Sciences de l’Environnement (iEES Paris), 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 5, France
- Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé CNRS, UMR 7372, 79360 Villiers en Bois, France
- Corresponding author: Centre d’Étude Biologique de Chizé CNRS, UMR 7372, 79360 Villiers en Bois, France. Tel: + 33 (0) 5 49 09 35 52. Fax: + 33 (0) 5 49 09 65 26.
| | - Jean François Le Galliard
- Sorbonne University, CNRS, IRD, INRA, Institut d’Écologie et des Sciences de l’Environnement (iEES Paris), 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 5, France
- Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL University, Département de Biologie, CNRS, UMS 3194, Centre de Recherche en Écologie Expérimentale et Prédictive (CEREEP-Ecotron IleDeFrance), 11 Chemin de Busseau, 77140 Saint-Pierre lès-Nemours, France
| | | | - Michaël Guillon
- Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé CNRS, UMR 7372, 79360 Villiers en Bois, France
| | - Mathieu Leroux-Coyau
- Sorbonne University, CNRS, IRD, INRA, Institut d’Écologie et des Sciences de l’Environnement (iEES Paris), 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 5, France
| | - Sandrine Meylan
- Sorbonne University, CNRS, IRD, INRA, Institut d’Écologie et des Sciences de l’Environnement (iEES Paris), 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 5, France
- INSPE de Paris, Université Sorbonne, 10 rue Molitor, 75016 Paris, France
| | - François Brischoux
- Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé CNRS, UMR 7372, 79360 Villiers en Bois, France
| | - Fréderic Angelier
- Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé CNRS, UMR 7372, 79360 Villiers en Bois, France
| | - Olivier Lourdais
- Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé CNRS, UMR 7372, 79360 Villiers en Bois, France
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA
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4
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Schrader M, Keller MK, Lucey GF. Adaptation to monogamy influences parental care but not mating behavior in the burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:6525-6535. [PMID: 32724530 PMCID: PMC7381755 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Revised: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The mating system is expected to have an important influence on the evolution of mating and parenting behaviors. Although many studies have used experimental evolution to examine how mating behaviors evolve under different mating systems, this approach has seldom been used to study the evolution of parental care. We used experimental evolution to test whether adaptation to different mating systems involves changes in mating and parenting behaviors in populations of the burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides. We maintained populations under monogamy or promiscuity for six generations. This manipulation had an immediate impact on reproductive performance and adult survival. Compared to monogamy, promiscuity reduced brood size and adult (particularly male) survival during breeding. After six generations of experimental evolution, there was no divergence between monogamous and promiscuous populations in mating behaviors. Parents from the promiscuous populations (especially males) displayed less care than parents from the monogamous populations. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that male care will increase with the certainty of paternity. However, it appears that this change is not associated with a concurrent change in mating behaviors.
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5
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Körner M, Vogelweith F, Libbrecht R, Foitzik S, Feldmeyer B, Meunier J. Offspring reverse transcriptome responses to maternal deprivation when reared with pathogens in an insect with facultative family life. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20200440. [PMID: 32345162 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Offspring of species with facultative family life are able to live with and without parents (i.e. to adjust to extreme changes in their social environment). While these adjustments are well understood on a phenotypic level, their genetic underpinnings remain surprisingly understudied. Investigating gene expression changes in response to parental absence may elucidate the genetic constraints driving evolutionary transitions between solitary and family life. Here, we manipulated maternal presence to observe gene expression changes in the fat body of juvenile European earwigs, an insect with facultative family life. Because parents typically protect offspring against pathogens, expression changes were recorded in pathogen-free and pathogen-exposed environments. We found that manipulating maternal presence changed the expression of 154 genes, including several metabolism and growth-related genes, and that this change depended on pathogen presence. Specifically, localization and cell transporter genes were downregulated in maternal absence without pathogens but upregulated with pathogens. At least one immunity gene (pathogenesis-related protein 5) was affected by pathogen exposure regardless of maternal presence. Overall, our findings explicate how offspring adjust to parental deprivation on a molecular level and reveal that such adjustments heavily depend on pathogens in the environment. This emphasizes the central role of pathogens in family life evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximilian Körner
- Evolutionary Animal Ecology, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | | | - Romain Libbrecht
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes-Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Susanne Foitzik
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes-Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Barbara Feldmeyer
- Molecular Ecology, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK-F), Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Joël Meunier
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte (IRBI), UMR 7261, CNRS, University of Tours, Tours, France
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6
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Dupoué A, Sorlin M, Richard M, Le Galliard JF, Lourdais O, Clobert J, Aubret F. Mother-offspring conflict for water and its mitigation in the oviparous form of the reproductively bimodal lizard, Zootoca vivipara. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
AbstractParent-offspring conflicts are widespread given that resources are often limited. Recent evidence has shown that availability of water can trigger such conflict during pregnancy in viviparous squamate species (lizards and snakes) and thus questions the role of water in the evolution of reproductive modes. Here, we examined the impact of water restriction during gravidity in the oviparous form of the bimodal common lizard (Zootoca vivipara), using a protocol previously used on the viviparous form. Females were captured in early gravidity from six populations along a 600 m altitudinal gradient to investigate whether environmental conditions (altitude, water access and temperature) exacerbate responses to water restriction. Females were significantly dehydrated after water restriction, irrespective of their reproductive status (gravid vs. non-reproductive), relative reproductive effort (relative clutch mass), and treatment timing (embryonic development stage). Female dehydration, together with reproductive performance, varied with altitude, probably due to long term acclimation or local adaptation. This moderate water-based intergenerational conflict in gravid females contrasts sharply with previous findings for the viviparous form, with implications to the evolutionary reversion from viviparity to oviparity. It is likely that oviparity constitutes a water-saving reproductive mode which might help mitigate intensive temperature-driven population extinctions at low altitudes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andréaz Dupoué
- Station d’Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale de Moulis, CNRS, UMR 5321, Saint Girons, France
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton campus, VIC, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Mahaut Sorlin
- Station d’Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale de Moulis, CNRS, UMR 5321, Saint Girons, France
| | - Murielle Richard
- Station d’Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale de Moulis, CNRS, UMR 5321, Saint Girons, France
| | - Jean François Le Galliard
- iEES Paris, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, UMR 7618, Tours 44–45, Paris, France
- Ecole normale supérieure, Département de biologie, PSL Research University, CNRS, UMS 3194, Centre de recherche en écologie expérimentale et prédictive (CEREEP-Ecotron IleDeFrance), Saint-Pierre-lès-Nemours, France
| | - Olivier Lourdais
- Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, La Rochelle Université, CNRS, UMR, Beauvoir sur Niort, France
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Jean Clobert
- Station d’Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale de Moulis, CNRS, UMR 5321, Saint Girons, France
| | - Fabien Aubret
- Station d’Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale de Moulis, CNRS, UMR 5321, Saint Girons, France
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia
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7
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Tourneur J, Meunier J. Variations in seasonal (not mean) temperatures drive rapid adaptations to novel environments at a continent scale. Ecology 2020; 101:e02973. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Revised: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 12/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jean‐Claude Tourneur
- Département des Sciences Biologiques Université du Québec à Montréal 141 Avenue du Président‐Kennedy Montréal Québec H2X 1Y4 Canada
| | - Joël Meunier
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l’Insecte (IRBI) UMR 7261 CNRS Université de Tours Tours France
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8
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Wu M, Walser JC, Sun L, Kölliker M. The genetic mechanism of selfishness and altruism in parent-offspring coadaptation. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaaw0070. [PMID: 31922000 PMCID: PMC6941917 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw0070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2018] [Accepted: 11/07/2019] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The social bond between parents and offspring is characterized by coadaptation and balance between altruistic and selfish tendencies. However, its underlying genetic mechanism remains poorly understood. Using transcriptomic screens in the subsocial European earwig, Forficula auricularia, we found the expression of more than 1600 genes associated with experimentally manipulated parenting. We identified two genes, Th and PebIII, each showing evidence of differential coexpression between treatments in mothers and their offspring. In vivo RNAi experiments confirmed direct and indirect genetic effects of Th and PebIII on behavior and fitness, including maternal food provisioning and reproduction, and offspring development and survival. The direction of the effects consistently indicated a reciprocally altruistic function for Th and a reciprocally selfish function for PebIII. Further metabolic pathway analyses suggested roles for Th-restricted endogenous dopaminergic reward, PebIII-mediated chemical communication and a link to insulin signaling, juvenile hormone, and vitellogenin in parent-offspring coadaptation and social evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Wu
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology and Evolution, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Corresponding author. (M.W.); (M.K.)
| | - Jean-Claude Walser
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, Genetic Diversity Centre (GDC), ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Lei Sun
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Mathias Kölliker
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology and Evolution, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Corresponding author. (M.W.); (M.K.)
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9
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Dupoué A, Blaimont P, Rozen‐Rechels D, Richard M, Meylan S, Clobert J, Miles DB, Martin R, Decencière B, Agostini S, Le Galliard J. Water availability and temperature induce changes in oxidative status during pregnancy in a viviparous lizard. Funct Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andréaz Dupoué
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale de Moulis CNRS‐UMR 5321 Saint Girons France
| | - Pauline Blaimont
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology University of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz CA USA
| | | | - Murielle Richard
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale de Moulis CNRS‐UMR 5321 Saint Girons France
| | - Sandrine Meylan
- Sorbonne Université, iEES ParisCNRS‐UMR 7618 Paris France
- ESPE de Paris, Sorbonne Université Paris France
| | - Jean Clobert
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale de Moulis CNRS‐UMR 5321 Saint Girons France
| | - Donald B. Miles
- Department of Biological Sciences Ohio University Athens OH USA
| | - Rémi Martin
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale de Moulis CNRS‐UMR 5321 Saint Girons France
| | - Beatriz Decencière
- Centre de Recherche en Ecologie Expérimentale et Prédictive (CEREEP‐Ecotron Ile De France) Ecole Normale Supérieure CNRS‐UMS 3194 PSL Research University Saint‐Pierre‐lès‐Nemours France
| | - Simon Agostini
- Centre de Recherche en Ecologie Expérimentale et Prédictive (CEREEP‐Ecotron Ile De France) Ecole Normale Supérieure CNRS‐UMS 3194 PSL Research University Saint‐Pierre‐lès‐Nemours France
| | - Jean‐François Le Galliard
- Sorbonne Université, iEES ParisCNRS‐UMR 7618 Paris France
- Centre de Recherche en Ecologie Expérimentale et Prédictive (CEREEP‐Ecotron Ile De France) Ecole Normale Supérieure CNRS‐UMS 3194 PSL Research University Saint‐Pierre‐lès‐Nemours France
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10
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Kotler J, Mehr SA, Egner A, Haig D, Krasnow MM. Response to vocal music in Angelman syndrome contrasts with Prader-Willi syndrome. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2019; 40:420-426. [PMID: 32655274 DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2019.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Parent-offspring conflict-conflict over resource distribution within families due to differences in genetic relatedness-is the biological foundation for many psychological phenomena. In genomic imprinting disorders, parent-specific genetic expression is altered causing imbalances in behaviors influenced by parental investment. We use this natural experiment to test the theory that parent-offspring conflict contributed to the evolution of vocal music by moderating infant demands for parental attention. Individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome, a genomic imprinting disorder resulting from increased relative maternal genetic contribution, show enhanced relaxation responses to song, consistent with reduced demand for parental investment (Mehr et al., 2017, Psychological Science). We report the necessary complementary pattern here: individuals with Angelman syndrome, a genomic imprinting disorder resulting from increased relative paternal genetic contribution, demonstrate a relatively reduced relaxation response to song, suggesting increased demand for parental attention. These results support the extension of genetic conflict theories to psychological resources like parental attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Kotler
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.,Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Samuel A Mehr
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.,Data Science Initiative, Harvard University, 8 Story St., Suite 380, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Alena Egner
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - David Haig
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Max M Krasnow
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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11
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Kramer J, Meunier J. The other facets of family life and their role in the evolution of animal sociality. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2019; 94:199-215. [PMID: 29989333 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2017] [Revised: 06/12/2018] [Accepted: 06/15/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Family life forms an integral part of the life history of species across the animal kingdom and plays a crucial role in the evolution of animal sociality. Our current understanding of family life, however, is almost exclusively based on studies that (i) focus on parental care and associated family interactions (such as those arising from sibling rivalry and parent-offspring conflict), and (ii) investigate these phenomena in the advanced family systems of mammals, birds, and eusocial insects. Here, we argue that these historical biases have fostered the neglect of key processes shaping social life in ancestral family systems, and thus profoundly hamper our understanding of the (early) evolution of family life. Based on a comprehensive survey of the literature, we first illustrate that the strong focus on parental care in advanced social systems has deflected scrutiny of other important social processes such as sibling cooperation, parent-offspring competition and offspring assistance. We then show that accounting for these neglected processes - and their changing role over time - could profoundly alter our understanding of the origin and subsequent evolution of family life. Finally, we outline how this 'diachronic' perspective on the evolution of family living provides novel insights into general processes driving the evolution of animal sociality. Overall, we infer that the explicit consideration of thus-far neglected facets of family life, together with their study across the whole diversity of family systems, are crucial to advance our understanding of the processes that shape the evolution of social life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jos Kramer
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology (IPMB), University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Joël Meunier
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte (IRBI), UMR 726, CNRS, Université de Tours, Avenue Monge, 37200 Tours, France
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12
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López-Idiáquez D, Vergara P, Fargallo JA, Martínez-Padilla J. Providing longer post-fledging periods increases offspring survival at the expense of future fecundity. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0203152. [PMID: 30199538 PMCID: PMC6130873 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0203152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2018] [Accepted: 08/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The cost of reproduction is a key concept in life-history trade-offs. However, our understanding of the reproductive costs is biased towards measures of reproductive effort obtained before offspring independence. During the post-fledging dependence period (PFDP), it is well known that parents feed and protect their offspring. However, the effort devoted to this reproductive activity has never been considered in the context of of the costs of reproduction. Moreover, the potential fitness benefits and costs for offspring and parents, respectively, of the duration of the PFDP are largely unknown. We estimated the duration of the PFDP over 5 years using wild common kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) and studied its association with survival probability and future parental reproductive performance. Our results show that longer PFDPs increase the survival probability of fledglings, probably due to the benefits obtained from parental care. In addition, we found that providing longer PFDPs was associated with reduced clutch sizes but not the number of fledglings in the subsequent breeding season in males. We suggest that increased parental expenditures on offspring during the PFDP may represent a potential cost of reproduction in breeding males.
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Affiliation(s)
- David López-Idiáquez
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, Spain.,Department of Ecology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
| | - Pablo Vergara
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Antonio Fargallo
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, Spain
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13
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Abreu LRA, Ribeiro VMP, Gouveia GC, Cardoso EP, Toral FLB. Genetic trends and trade-offs between growth and reproductive traits in a Nellore herd. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0201392. [PMID: 30114191 PMCID: PMC6095503 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2018] [Accepted: 07/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The knowledge of genetic trends and trade-offs between growth and reproductive traits might be useful to understand the evolution of these traits in livestock and natural populations of animals. We estimated the genetic trends and trade-offs between pre-weaning growth and calving intervals of Nellore animals from a commercial farm. Two-trait animal models were used to estimate covariance components and breeding values (EBV) for direct and maternal genetic effects of pre-weaning growth and direct genetic effects of calving intervals. Regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship between direct and maternal EBV of pre-weaning growth and direct EBV of calving intervals (dependent variables) and the coefficient of generation of each animal (independent variable). We also performed regression analyses to examine the relationship between direct EBV of calving intervals (dependent variables) and direct and maternal EBV of pre-weaning growth (independent variables). The genetic trends for direct and maternal genetic effect for pre-weaning growth were significant and presented genetic evolution in the studied Nellore herd. The genetic trends for the reproductive traits were also significant but indicated genetic changes in an unfavorable way. The genetic correlations between direct effects of pre-weaning growth and calving intervals traits and the genetic correlations between maternal effects of pre-weaning growth traits and direct effects of calving interval traits were not different from zero. The presence of trade-offs between the direct effects of growth and reproductive traits were confirmed through regression from direct EBV of calving intervals over EBV of pre-weaning growth traits. In addition, regression analyses showed that selection to increase pre-weaning growth also increased calving intervals. Our results showed that pre-weaning growth and calving intervals are increasing over generations and that trade-offs occurred between those traits in the studied Nellore herd.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luiza Rodrigues Alves Abreu
- Departamento de Zootecnia, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | | | - Gabriela Canabrava Gouveia
- Departamento de Zootecnia, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | | | - Fabio Luiz Buranelo Toral
- Departamento de Zootecnia, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
- * E-mail:
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Ashbrook DG, Sharmin N, Hager R. Offspring genes indirectly influence sibling and maternal behavioural strategies over resource share. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.1059. [PMID: 28954905 PMCID: PMC5627198 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2017] [Accepted: 08/30/2017] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Family members show behavioural strategies predicted to maximize individual fitness. These behaviours depend directly on genes expressed in focal individuals but also indirectly on genes expressed in other family members. However, how sibling and parental behavioural strategies are modified by genes expressed in family members, and to what degree, remains unclear. To answer this question, we have used a split litter design in an experimental population of genetically variable mouse families, and identified loci that indirectly affected sibling and maternal behaviour simultaneously. These loci map to genomic regions that also show a direct effect on offspring behaviour. Directly and indirectly affected traits were significantly correlated at the phenotypic level, illustrating how indirect effects are caused. Genetic variants in offspring that influence solicitation also impacted their siblings' and maternal behaviour. However, in contrast to predictions from sibling competition, unrelated litter mates benefited from increased solicitation. Overall, such indirect genetic effects explained a large proportion of variation seen in behaviours, with candidate genes involved in metabolism to neuronal development. These results reveal that we need to view behavioural strategies as the result of conjoint selection on genetic variation in all interacting family members.
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Affiliation(s)
- David G Ashbrook
- School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK .,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
| | - Naorin Sharmin
- School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK
| | - Reinmar Hager
- School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK
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15
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Duthie AB, Lee AM, Reid JM. Inbreeding parents should invest more resources in fewer offspring. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 283:rspb.2016.1845. [PMID: 27881747 PMCID: PMC5136589 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2016] [Accepted: 10/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Inbreeding increases parent-offspring relatedness and commonly reduces offspring viability, shaping selection on reproductive interactions involving relatives and associated parental investment (PI). Nevertheless, theories predicting selection for inbreeding versus inbreeding avoidance and selection for optimal PI have only been considered separately, precluding prediction of optimal PI and associated reproductive strategy given inbreeding. We unify inbreeding and PI theory, demonstrating that optimal PI increases when a female's inbreeding decreases the viability of her offspring. Inbreeding females should therefore produce fewer offspring due to the fundamental trade-off between offspring number and PI. Accordingly, selection for inbreeding versus inbreeding avoidance changes when females can adjust PI with the degree that they inbreed. By contrast, optimal PI does not depend on whether a focal female is herself inbred. However, inbreeding causes optimal PI to increase given strict monogamy and associated biparental investment compared with female-only investment. Our model implies that understanding evolutionary dynamics of inbreeding strategy, inbreeding depression, and PI requires joint consideration of the expression of each in relation to the other. Overall, we demonstrate that existing PI and inbreeding theories represent special cases of a more general theory, implying that intrinsic links between inbreeding and PI affect evolution of behaviour and intrafamilial conflict.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Bradley Duthie
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Zoology Building, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK
| | - Aline M Lee
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Zoology Building, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK
| | - Jane M Reid
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Zoology Building, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK
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16
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Dupoué A, Le Galliard J, Josserand R, DeNardo DF, Decencière B, Agostini S, Haussy C, Meylan S. Water restriction causes an intergenerational trade‐off and delayed mother–offspring conflict in a viviparous lizard. Funct Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andréaz Dupoué
- CNRS UPMC, UMR 7618, iEES ParisUniversité Pierre et Marie Curie Paris France
| | - Jean‐François Le Galliard
- CNRS UPMC, UMR 7618, iEES ParisUniversité Pierre et Marie Curie Paris France
- Département de biologieEcole normale supérieureCNRSPSL Research University Saint‐Pierre‐lès‐Nemours France
| | - Rémy Josserand
- CNRS UPMC, UMR 7618, iEES ParisUniversité Pierre et Marie Curie Paris France
| | - Dale F. DeNardo
- School of Life SciencesArizona State University Tempe AZ USA
| | - Béatriz Decencière
- Département de biologieEcole normale supérieureCNRSPSL Research University Saint‐Pierre‐lès‐Nemours France
| | - Simon Agostini
- Département de biologieEcole normale supérieureCNRSPSL Research University Saint‐Pierre‐lès‐Nemours France
| | - Claudy Haussy
- CNRS UPMC, UMR 7618, iEES ParisUniversité Pierre et Marie Curie Paris France
| | - Sandrine Meylan
- CNRS UPMC, UMR 7618, iEES ParisUniversité Pierre et Marie Curie Paris France
- ESPE de ParisUniversité Sorbonne Paris IV Paris France
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17
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Balme GA, Robinson HS, Pitman RT, Hunter LTB. Flexibility in the duration of parental care: Female leopards prioritise cub survival over reproductive output. J Anim Ecol 2017; 86:1224-1234. [PMID: 28605016 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2016] [Accepted: 05/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Deciding when to terminate care of offspring is a key consideration for parents. Prolonging care may increase fitness of current offspring, but it can also reduce opportunities for future reproduction. Despite its evolutionary importance, few studies have explored the optimal duration of parental care, particularly among large carnivores. We used a 40-year dataset to assess the trade-offs associated with the length of maternal care in leopards in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa. We compared the costs imposed by care on the survival and residual reproductive value of leopard mothers against the benefits derived from maternal care in terms of increased offspring survival, recruitment and reproduction. We also examined the demographic and ecological factors affecting the duration of care in the light of five explanatory hypotheses: litter size, sex allocation, resource limitation, timing of independence and terminal investment. Duration of care exhibited by female leopards varied markedly, from 9 to 35 months. Mothers did not appear to suffer any short- or long-term survival costs from caring for cubs, but extending care reduced the number of litters that mothers could produce during their lifetimes. Interestingly, the duration of care did not appear to affect the post-independence survival or reproductive success of offspring (although it may have indirectly affected offspring survival by influencing dispersal distance). However, results from generalised linear mixed models showed that mothers prolonged care during periods of prey scarcity, supporting the resource limitation hypothesis. Female leopards also cared for sons longer than daughters, in line with the sex-allocation hypothesis. Cub survival is an important determinant of the lifetime reproductive success in leopards. By buffering offspring against environmental perturbation without jeopardising their own survivorship, female leopards apparently "hedge their bets" with current offspring rather than gamble on future offspring which have a small probability of surviving. In many species, parents put their own needs before that of their offspring. Leopard mothers appear sensitive to their offspring's demands, and adjust levels of care accordingly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guy A Balme
- Panthera, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Hugh S Robinson
- Panthera, New York, NY, USA.,College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA
| | | | - Luke T B Hunter
- Panthera, New York, NY, USA.,School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
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18
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Vogelweith F, Körner M, Foitzik S, Meunier J. Age, pathogen exposure, but not maternal care shape offspring immunity in an insect with facultative family life. BMC Evol Biol 2017; 17:69. [PMID: 28270099 PMCID: PMC5341370 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-017-0926-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2016] [Accepted: 02/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background To optimize their resistance against pathogen infection, individuals are expected to find the right balance between investing into the immune system and other life history traits. In vertebrates, several factors were shown to critically affect the direction of this balance, such as the developmental stage of an individual, its current risk of infection and/or its access to external help such as parental care. However, the independent and/or interactive effects of these factors on immunity remain poorly studied in insects. Results Here, we manipulated maternal presence and pathogen exposure in families of the European earwig Forficula auricularia to measure whether and how the survival rate and investment into two key immune parameters changed during offspring development. The pathogen was the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhiziumbrunneum and the immune parameters were hemocyte concentration and phenol/pro-phenoloxidase enzyme activity (total-PO). Our results surprisingly showed that maternal presence had no effect on offspring immunity, but reduced offspring survival. Pathogen exposure also lowered the survival of offspring during their early development. The concentration of hemocytes and the total-PO activity increased during development, to be eventually higher in adult females compared to adult males. Finally, pathogen exposure overall increased the concentration of hemocytes—but not the total-PO activity—in adults, while it had no effect on these measures in offspring. Conclusions Our results show that, independent of their infection risk and developmental stage, maternal presence does not shape immune defense in young earwigs. This reveals that pathogen pressure is not a universal evolutionary driver of the emergence and maintenance of post-hatching maternal care in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanny Vogelweith
- Zoological Institute, Evolutionary Biology, Johannes-Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
| | - Maximilian Körner
- Zoological Institute, Evolutionary Biology, Johannes-Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Susanne Foitzik
- Zoological Institute, Evolutionary Biology, Johannes-Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Joël Meunier
- Zoological Institute, Evolutionary Biology, Johannes-Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany.,Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte, UMR CNRS 7261, François-Rabelais University of Tours, Tours, France
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19
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Bonnet T, Wandeler P, Camenisch G, Postma E. Bigger Is Fitter? Quantitative Genetic Decomposition of Selection Reveals an Adaptive Evolutionary Decline of Body Mass in a Wild Rodent Population. PLoS Biol 2017; 15:e1002592. [PMID: 28125583 PMCID: PMC5268405 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2016] [Accepted: 12/22/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
In natural populations, quantitative trait dynamics often do not appear to follow evolutionary predictions. Despite abundant examples of natural selection acting on heritable traits, conclusive evidence for contemporary adaptive evolution remains rare for wild vertebrate populations, and phenotypic stasis seems to be the norm. This so-called “stasis paradox” highlights our inability to predict evolutionary change, which is especially concerning within the context of rapid anthropogenic environmental change. While the causes underlying the stasis paradox are hotly debated, comprehensive attempts aiming at a resolution are lacking. Here, we apply a quantitative genetic framework to individual-based long-term data for a wild rodent population and show that despite a positive association between body mass and fitness, there has been a genetic change towards lower body mass. The latter represents an adaptive response to viability selection favouring juveniles growing up to become relatively small adults, i.e., with a low potential adult mass, which presumably complete their development earlier. This selection is particularly strong towards the end of the snow-free season, and it has intensified in recent years, coinciding which a change in snowfall patterns. Importantly, neither the negative evolutionary change, nor the selective pressures that drive it, are apparent on the phenotypic level, where they are masked by phenotypic plasticity and a non causal (i.e., non genetic) positive association between body mass and fitness, respectively. Estimating selection at the genetic level enabled us to uncover adaptive evolution in action and to identify the corresponding phenotypic selective pressure. We thereby demonstrate that natural populations can show a rapid and adaptive evolutionary response to a novel selective pressure, and that explicitly (quantitative) genetic models are able to provide us with an understanding of the causes and consequences of selection that is superior to purely phenotypic estimates of selection and evolutionary change. A population of snow voles provides a rare example of contemporary adaptive evolution in the wild, but without a quantitative genetic perspective this genetic change, and the selective pressure that underlies it, would have gone undetected. Biologists struggle to demonstrate adaptive evolution in wild populations: while they routinely observe natural selection on heritable traits, in only a handful of cases could they demonstrate an evolutionary response. Although various explanations for this paradox have been proposed, comprehensive empirical tests are lacking. Over the past years, we have therefore studied an alpine population of snow voles. Following all individuals throughout their lives, we found that body mass is heritable and that heavy voles have a higher fitness. Nevertheless, mean body mass did not increase. To resolve this, we disentangled the role of genes and the environment in shaping body mass. This revealed that the population did evolve, but that this was masked by environmental variation. Furthermore, although the genetic change was adaptive, it was opposite to our initial expectation: the population evolved to become lighter, not heavier. This was because although heavy voles have the highest fitness, their mass does not cause high fitness. Instead, it is the voles with the genes for being light that do best, especially when the first winter snow arrives early. This shows that populations can evolve rapidly, but that without a genetic perspective, this, and its underlying mechanism, may go undetected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothée Bonnet
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- * E-mail:
| | - Peter Wandeler
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Natural History Museum Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Glauco Camenisch
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Erik Postma
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, United Kingdom
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20
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Raveh S, Vogt D, Kölliker M. Maternal programming of offspring in relation to food availability in an insect (Forficula auricularia). Proc Biol Sci 2016; 283:rspb.2015.2936. [PMID: 27053749 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2015] [Accepted: 03/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Maternal effects can induce adjustments in offspring phenotype to the environment experienced by the mother. Of particular interest is if mothers can programme their offspring to cope best under matching environmental conditions, but the evidence for such anticipatory maternal effects (AME) is limited. In this study, we manipulated experimentally the food availability experienced by mothers and their offspring in the European earwig (Forficula auricularia). Offspring produced by females that had access to high or low food quantities were cross-fostered to foster mothers experiencing matched or mismatched environments. Offspring experiencing food availability matching the one of their mothers had an increased survival to adulthood compared with offspring experiencing mismatched conditions. Females experiencing high food laid larger clutches. This clutch-size adjustment statistically explained the matching effect when offspring experienced high food, but not when experiencing low food conditions. There were no effects of matching on offspring growth and developmental rate. Overall, our study demonstrates that AME occurs in relation to food availability enhancing offspring survival to adulthood under matching food conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shirley Raveh
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology and Evolution, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Dominik Vogt
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology and Evolution, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Mathias Kölliker
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology and Evolution, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
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21
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Royle NJ, Alonzo SH, Moore AJ. Co-evolution, conflict and complexity: what have we learned about the evolution of parental care behaviours? Curr Opin Behav Sci 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2016.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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22
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Mikát M, Černá K, Straka J. Major benefits of guarding behavior in subsocial bees: implications for social evolution. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:6784-6797. [PMID: 28725359 PMCID: PMC5513229 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2015] [Revised: 06/28/2016] [Accepted: 06/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Parental care is a behavior that increases the growth and survival of offspring, often at a cost to the parents' own survival and/or future reproduction. In this study, we focused on nest guarding, which is one of the most important types of extended parental care; we studied this behavior in two solitary bee species of the genus Ceratina with social ancestors. We performed the experiment of removing the laying female, who usually guards the nest after completing its provisioning, to test the effects of nest guarding on the offspring survival and nest fate. By dissecting natural nests, we found that Ceratina cucurbitina females always guarded their offspring until the offspring reached adulthood. In addition, the females of this species were able to crawl across the nest partitions and inspect the offspring in the brood cells. In contrast, several Ceratina chalybea females guarded their nests until the offspring reached adulthood, but others closed the nest entrance with a plug and deserted the nest. Nests with a low number of provisioned cells were more likely to be plugged and abandoned than nests with a higher number of cells. The female removal experiment had a significantly negative effect on offspring survival in both species. These nests frequently failed due to the attacks of natural enemies (e.g., ants, chalcidoid wasps, and other competing Ceratina bees). Increased offspring survival is the most important benefit of the guarding strategy. The abandonment of a potentially unsuccessful brood might constitute a benefit of the nest plugging behavior. The facultative nest desertion strategy is a derived behavior in the studied bees and constitutes an example of an evolutionary reduction in the extent of parental care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Mikát
- Department of Zoology Faculty of Science Charles University in Prague Praha Czech Republic
| | - Kateřina Černá
- Department of Zoology Faculty of Science Charles University in Prague Praha Czech Republic
| | - Jakub Straka
- Department of Zoology Faculty of Science Charles University in Prague Praha Czech Republic
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23
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Thesing J, Kramer J, Koch LK, Meunier J. Short-term benefits, but transgenerational costs of maternal loss in an insect with facultative maternal care. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 282:20151617. [PMID: 26490790 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.1617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A lack of parental care is generally assumed to entail substantial fitness costs for offspring that ultimately select for the maintenance of family life across generations. However, it is unknown whether these costs arise when parental care is facultative, thus questioning their fundamental importance in the early evolution of family life. Here, we investigated the short-term, long-term and transgenerational effects of maternal loss in the European earwig Forficula auricularia, an insect with facultative post-hatching maternal care. We showed that maternal loss did not influence the developmental time and survival rate of juveniles, but surprisingly yielded adults of larger body and forceps size, two traits associated with fitness benefits. In a cross-breeding/cross-fostering experiment, we then demonstrated that maternal loss impaired the expression of maternal care in adult offspring. Interestingly, the resulting transgenerational costs were not only mediated by the early-life experience of tending mothers, but also by inherited, parent-of-origin-specific effects expressed in juveniles. Orphaned females abandoned their juveniles for longer and fed them less than maternally-tended females, while foster mothers defended juveniles of orphaned females less well than juveniles of maternally-tended females. Overall, these findings reveal the key importance of transgenerational effects in the early evolution of family life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Thesing
- Zoological Institute, Evolutionary Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Jos Kramer
- Zoological Institute, Evolutionary Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Lisa K Koch
- Zoological Institute, Evolutionary Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Goethe-University, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, Frankfurt am Main 60438, Germany
| | - Joël Meunier
- Zoological Institute, Evolutionary Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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24
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Ratz T, Kramer J, Veuille M, Meunier J. The population determines whether and how life-history traits vary between reproductive events in an insect with maternal care. Oecologia 2016; 182:443-52. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-016-3685-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2016] [Accepted: 06/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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25
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Grinde B, Tambs K. Effect of household size on mental problems in children: results from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort study. BMC Psychol 2016; 4:31. [PMID: 27255744 PMCID: PMC4890284 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-016-0136-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2015] [Accepted: 05/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Most people in industrialized societies grow up in core (parents only) families with few if any siblings. Based on an evolutionary perspective, it may be argued that this environment reflects a mismatch, in that the tribal setting offered a larger number of close affiliates. The present project examined whether this mismatch may have a negative impact on mental health. Methods We used data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), which includes 114 500 children. The mothers were recruited during pregnancy and followed up with questionnaires as the infants grew older. Correlates between number and type of people living in the household and questions probing mental health were corrected for likely confounders. Results The number of household members correlated with scores on good mental health at all ages tested (3, 5 and 8 years). The effects were distinct, highly significant, and present regardless of how mental issues were scored. The outcome could be attributed to having older siblings, rather than adults beyond parents. The more siblings, and the closer in age, the more pronounced was the effect. Living with a single mother did not make any difference compared to two parents. Girls were slightly more responsive to the presence of siblings than boys. Household pets did not have any appreciable impact. Conclusion A large household is associated with fewer mental problems in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bjørn Grinde
- Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Postbox 4404, Nydalen, 0403, Oslo, Norway.
| | - Kristian Tambs
- Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Postbox 4404, Nydalen, 0403, Oslo, Norway
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26
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Ashbrook DG, Gini B, Hager R. Genetic variation in offspring indirectly influences the quality of maternal behaviour in mice. eLife 2015; 4. [PMID: 26701914 PMCID: PMC4758942 DOI: 10.7554/elife.11814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2015] [Accepted: 12/17/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Conflict over parental investment between parent and offspring is predicted to lead to selection on genes expressed in offspring for traits influencing maternal investment, and on parentally expressed genes affecting offspring behaviour. However, the specific genetic variants that indirectly modify maternal or offspring behaviour remain largely unknown. Using a cross-fostered population of mice, we map maternal behaviour in genetically uniform mothers as a function of genetic variation in offspring and identify loci on offspring chromosomes 5 and 7 that modify maternal behaviour. Conversely, we found that genetic variation among mothers influences offspring development, independent of offspring genotype. Offspring solicitation and maternal behaviour show signs of coadaptation as they are negatively correlated between mothers and their biological offspring, which may be linked to costs of increased solicitation on growth found in our study. Overall, our results show levels of parental provisioning and offspring solicitation are unique to specific genotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- David George Ashbrook
- Computational and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Beatrice Gini
- Computational and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Reinmar Hager
- Computational and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
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