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Ruiz-Raya F, Velando A. Lasting benefits of embryonic eavesdropping on parent-parent communication. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadn8542. [PMID: 39213348 PMCID: PMC11364100 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adn8542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 07/25/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Developing embryos have traditionally been viewed as passive agents in the evolution of family conflicts, with maternal substances within the uterus or eggs as main factors modulating later expression of offspring solicitation behaviors. Yet, parent-offspring conflict theory predicts that offspring might also rely on alternative cues to adjust demand in response to prenatal cues of parental capacity for resource provisioning. Here, we show how embryonic experience with vocalizations carried out by parents during nest-relief displays at incubation adaptively shapes avian offspring development, providing lasting benefits to offspring. Genetic siblings prenatally exposed to different levels of parent-parent communication showed differences in epigenetic patterns, adrenocortical responsiveness, development, and food solicitation behavior. The correspondence between prenatal acoustic experience and parental context positively influenced the nutritional status and growth rate of offspring reared by communicative parents. Offspring can thus retain strong control over their own development by gathering prenatal acoustic information about parental generosity.
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2
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Mariette MM, Clayton DF, Buchanan KL. Acoustic developmental programming: a mechanistic and evolutionary framework. Trends Ecol Evol 2021; 36:722-736. [PMID: 34052045 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2020] [Revised: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Conditions experienced prenatally, by modulating developmental processes, have lifelong effects on individual phenotypes and fitness, ultimately influencing population dynamics. In addition to maternal biochemical cues, prenatal sound is emerging as a potent alternative source of information to direct embryonic development. Recent evidence suggests that prenatal acoustic signals can program individual phenotypes for predicted postnatal environmental conditions, which improves fitness. Across taxonomic groups, embryos have now been shown to have immediate adaptive responses to external sounds and vibrations, and direct developmental effects of sound and noise are increasingly found. Establishing the full developmental, ecological, and evolutionary impact of early soundscapes will reveal how embryos interact with the external world, and potentially transform our understanding of developmental plasticity and adaptation to changing environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mylene M Mariette
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, Australia.
| | - David F Clayton
- Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
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3
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Kudo SI, Baba N, Mukai H, Hironaka M, Tanaka KD. Interaction between prenatal and postnatal provisioning in a subsocial bug. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blab015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
When females provide different types of parental provisioning sequentially, earlier provisioning can affect later provisioning. In variable environments, selection will favour the optimal combination of prenatal and postnatal maternal effects. In the burrower bug Adomerus triguttulus, females have two types of provisioning: trophic eggs, which are deposited on clutches before hatching and are consumed immediately by hatchlings, and Lamium nutlets, which are delivered progressively to the brood after hatching. A previous study showed that the female alters trophic egg allocation according to resource conditions before oviposition. Different amounts of maternal trophic egg provisioning and consumption by offspring might affect subsequent maternal brood care, including nutlet provisioning. To examine the effect of trophic egg supply on brood care, we adjusted the number of trophic eggs available to hatchlings. When trophic eggs were removed experimentally, the females attended broods for longer and provisioned them with more nutlets. In contrast, when trophic eggs were added, females did not change the duration of care, but they provided fewer nutlets than control females. This finding provides new insights into the adaptive significance of trophic eggs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shin-Ichi Kudo
- Department of Biology, Naruto University of Education, Naruto, Tokushima, Japan
| | - Narumi Baba
- Institute of Biological Control, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Hakozaki, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Hiromi Mukai
- The United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Kagoshima University, Korimoto, Kagoshima, Japan
- Department of Forest Entomology, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Mantaro Hironaka
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Handayama, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
- Department of Bioproduction Science, Faculty of Bioresources and Environmental Sciences, Ishikawa Prefectural University, Suematsu, Nonoichi, Ishikawa, Japan
| | - Keita D Tanaka
- School of Science, Rikkyo University, Toshima, Tokyo, Japan
- WMO Inc., Komiyamachi, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan
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4
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Parental favoritism in a wild bird population. Anim Cogn 2021; 24:677-687. [PMID: 33398622 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01463-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Revised: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
In most taxa with altricial young, offspring solicit food from their parents using a combination of visual and acoustic stimuli, but exactly what these young are communicating, and how selection shapes parental responses, remains unresolved. Theory posits that parents' interpretation and response to begging should vary with the likelihood of a return on their investment. We tested this in a wild population of prothonotary warblers (Protonotaria citrea), predicting that parents bias food non-randomly toward certain individuals within their broods depending on both the size and number of offspring. We observed parent-offspring interactions and detected strong dependence between brood size and nestling size in shaping parental responses to begging. Larger siblings were less likely to solicit food during feeding events than their smaller siblings, but they received a disproportionate share from parents in nests containing fewer-than-average young, whereas the smaller-than-average nestlings were disproportionately fed in broods containing a greater-than-average number of young. These findings suggest that parents respond to begging signals according to multiple social cues, favoring the stronger siblings with greater survival prospects when few copies of their genes are present, but overtly favoring runts to ensure whole-brood survival when capable of fledging more young. Future experimental studies may shed light on the contributions of parental decision-making and memory, how young nestlings learn in parent-offspring communication systems, and the adaptive significance of these behaviors.
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5
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Chicks from stressed females elicit overprotective behaviour in adoptive mother quail. Behav Processes 2020; 179:104193. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2019] [Revised: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 07/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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6
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Amiri E, Herman JJ, Strand MK, Tarpy DR, Rueppell O. Egg transcriptome profile responds to maternal virus infection in honey bees, Apis mellifera. INFECTION GENETICS AND EVOLUTION 2020; 85:104558. [PMID: 32947033 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2020.104558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Trans-generational disease effects include vertical pathogen transmission but also immune priming to enhance offspring immunity. Accordingly, the survival consequences of maternal virus infection can vary and its molecular consequences during early development are poorly understood. The honey bee queen is long-lived and represents the central hub for vertical virus transmission as the sole reproductive individual in her colony. Even though virus symptoms in queens are mild, viral infection may have severe consequences for the offspring. Thus, transcriptome patterns during early developmental are predicted to respond to maternal virus infection. To test this hypothesis, gene expression patterns were compared among pooled honey bee eggs laid by queens that were either infected with Deformed wing virus (DWV1), Sacbrood virus (SBV2), both viruses (DWV and SBV), or no virus. Whole transcriptome analyses revealed significant expression differences of a few genes, some of which have hitherto no known function. Despite the paucity of single gene effects, functional enrichment analyses revealed numerous biological processes in the embryos to be affected by virus infection. Effects on several regulatory pathways were consistent with maternal responses to virus infection and correlated with responses to DWV and SBV in honey bee larvae and pupae. Overall, effects on egg transcriptome patterns were specific to each virus and the results of dual-infection samples suggested synergistic effects of DWV and SBV. We interpret our results as consequences of maternal infections. Thus, this first study to document and characterize virus-associated changes in the transcriptome of honey bee eggs represents an important contribution to understanding trans-generational virus effects, although more in-depth studies are needed to understand the detailed mechanisms of how viruses affect honey bee embryos.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esmaeil Amiri
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA; Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
| | - Jacob J Herman
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA
| | - Micheline K Strand
- Life Sciences Division, U.S. Army Research Office, CCDC-ARL, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC 27709, USA
| | - David R Tarpy
- Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Olav Rueppell
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada
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7
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Fresneau N, Estramil N, Müller W. Are offspring begging levels exaggerated beyond the parental optimum? Evidence from a bidirectional selection experiment. J Evol Biol 2020; 33:899-910. [PMID: 32236996 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Accepted: 03/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Parental care involves elaborate behavioural interactions between parents and their offspring, with offspring stimulating their parents via begging to provision resources. Thus, begging has direct fitness benefits as it enhances offspring growth and survival. It is nevertheless subject to a complex evolutionary trajectory, because begging may serve as a means for the offspring to manipulate parents in the context of evolutionary conflicts of interest. Furthermore, it has been hypothesized that begging is coadapted and potentially genetically correlated with parental care traits as a result of social selection. Further experiments on the causal processes that shape the evolution of begging are therefore essential. We applied bidirectional artificial selection on begging behaviour, using canaries (Serinus canaria) as a model species. We measured the response to selection, the consequences for offspring development, changes in parental care traits, here the rate of parental provisioning, as well as the effects on reproductive success. After three generations of selection, offspring differed in begging behaviour according to our artificial selection regime: nestlings of the high begging line begged significantly more than nestlings of the low begging line. Intriguingly, begging less benefitted the nestlings, as reflected by on average significantly higher growth rates, and increased reproductive success in terms of a higher number of fledglings in the low selected line. Begging could thus represent an exaggerated trait, possibly because parent-offspring conflict enhanced the selection on begging. We did not find evidence that we co-selected on parental provisioning, which may be due to the lack of power, but may also suggest that the evolution of begging is probably not constrained by a genetic correlation between parental provisioning and offspring begging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nolwenn Fresneau
- MTA-PE Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary.,Department of Limnology, University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary.,Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Research Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Natalia Estramil
- Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Research Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Wendt Müller
- Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Research Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
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Wells JCK. Developmental plasticity as adaptation: adjusting to the external environment under the imprint of maternal capital. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 374:20180122. [PMID: 30966888 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Plasticity is assumed to enable beneficial adjustment to the environment. In this context, developmental plasticity is generally approached within a two-stage framework, whereby adjustments to ecological cues in stage 1 are exposed to selection in stage 2. This conceptual approach may have limitations, because in species providing parental investment, particularly placental mammals such as humans, initial adjustments are not to the environment directly, but rather to the niche generated by parental phenotype (in mammals, primarily that of the mother). Only as maternal investment is withdrawn is the developing organism exposed directly to prevailing ecological conditions. A three-stage model may therefore be preferable, where developmental trajectory first adjusts to maternal investment, then to the external environment. Each offspring experiences a trade-off, benefitting from maternal investment during the most vulnerable stages of development, at the cost of exposure to investment strategies that maximize maternal fitness. Maternal life-history trade-offs impact the magnitude and schedule of her investment in her offspring, generating lifelong effects on traits related to health outcomes. Understanding the imprint of maternal capital on offspring is particularly important in species demonstrating social hierarchy. Interventions targeting maternal capital might offer new opportunities to improve health outcomes of both mother and offspring. This article is part of the theme issue 'Developing differences: early-life effects and evolutionary medicine'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan C K Wells
- Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health , 30 Guilford Street, London WC 1N 1EH , UK
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9
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Jenni-Eiermann S, Jenni L, Olano Marin J, Homberger B. Seasonal changes in yolk hormone concentrations carry-over to offspring traits. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2020; 287:113346. [PMID: 31790656 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2019.113346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2019] [Revised: 11/21/2019] [Accepted: 11/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Yolk hormones are substances which transmit non-genetic factors from the mother to the next generation. The systematic changes of yolk hormone concentrations within asynchronously hatching clutches have been interpreted as a means to adaptively shape the offspring's phenotype. However, in synchronously hatching clutches the role of yolk hormones is less understood. We investigated whether seasonal changes between eggs in the yolk hormones testosterone (Testo), progesterone (Prog) and corticosterone (Cort) also occur in the grey partridge, a synchronously hatching precocial species without direct food competition between siblings. Specifically we asked whether yolk hormone concentrations systematically vary with season and whether they affect the offspring's hatching mass, mass gain, circulating baseline and stress-induced Cort. Additionally, we investigated the effect of genetic background and food availability on yolk hormone concentrations by subjecting grey partridge hens of two strains (wild and domesticated) to two different feeding regimes (predictable vs. unpredictable feeding) during egg laying. We hypothesized that egg hormone concentrations change over the season, but breeding in captivity over many generations and ad libitum food access could have resulted in domestication effects which abolished potential seasonal effects. Results showed that progressing season had a strong positive effect on yolk Prog and yolk Testo, but not on yolk Cort. Feeding regimes and strain had no effect on yolk hormones. Offspring mass and mass gain increased and baseline Cort decreased with progressing season. In addition, yolk Testo correlated positively with offspring mass gain and negatively with baseline Cort, while yolk Prog had a positive correlation with baseline Cort. Strain and feeding regimes of the mother had no effect on offspring traits. In conclusion, grey partridge chicks hatching late in the season might benefit from the increased concentrations of the growth-stimulating yolk Testo and by this catch-up in development. Hence, yolk hormone concentration could adaptively shape the offspring phenotype in a precocial species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lukas Jenni
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, Seerose 1, 6204 Sempach, Switzerland
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10
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Mariette MM. Acoustic Cooperation: Acoustic Communication Regulates Conflict and Cooperation Within the Family. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
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11
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Fresneau N, Müller W. Flexible communication within bird families-The consequences of behavioral plasticity for parent-offspring coadaptation. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:693-702. [PMID: 30680149 PMCID: PMC6342095 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2018] [Revised: 11/05/2018] [Accepted: 11/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Offspring are selected to demand more resources than what is optimal for their parents to provide, which results in a complex and dynamic interplay during parental care. Parent-offspring communication often involves conspicuous begging by the offspring which triggers a parental response, typically the transfer of food. So begging and parental provisioning reciprocally influence each other and are therefore expected to coevolve. There is indeed empirical evidence for covariation of offspring begging and parental provisioning at the phenotypic level. However, whether this reflects genetic correlations of mean levels of behaviors or a covariation of the slopes of offspring demand and parental supply functions (= behavioral plasticity) is not known. The latter has gone rather unnoticed-despite the obvious dynamics of parent-offspring communication. In this study, we measured parental provisioning and begging behavior at two different hunger levels using canaries (Serinus canaria) as a model species. This enabled us to simultaneously study the plastic responses of the parents and the offspring to changes in offspring need. We first tested whether parent and offspring behaviors covary phenotypically. Then, using a covariance partitioning approach, we estimated whether the covariance predominantly occurred at a between-nest level (i.e., indicating a fixed strategy) or at a within-nest level (i.e., reflecting a flexible strategy). We found positive phenotypic covariation of offspring begging and parental provisioning, confirming previous evidence. Yet, this phenotypic covariation was mainly driven by a covariance at the within-nest level. That is parental and offspring behaviors covary because of a plastic behavioral coadjustment, indicating that behavioral plasticity could be a main driver of parent-offspring coadaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nolwenn Fresneau
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Research GroupUniversity of AntwerpAntwerpBelgium
| | - Wendt Müller
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Research GroupUniversity of AntwerpAntwerpBelgium
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12
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Thomson CE, Hadfield JD. No evidence for sibling or parent-offspring coadaptation in a wild population of blue tits, despite high power. Evolution 2018; 73:28-41. [PMID: 30417945 PMCID: PMC6587764 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2018] [Accepted: 10/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Parent and offspring behaviors are expected to act as both the agents and targets of selection. This may generate parent-offspring coadaptation in which parent and offspring behaviors become genetically correlated in a way that increases inclusive fitness. Cross-fostering has been used to study parent-offspring coadaptation, with the prediction that offspring raised by non-relatives, or parents raising non-relatives, should suffer fitness costs. Using long-term data from more than 400 partially crossed broods of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), we show that there is no difference in mass or survival between crossed and non-crossed chicks. However, previous studies for which the evidence for parent-offspring coadaptation is strongest compare chicks from fully crossed broods with those from non-crossed broods. When parent-offspring coadaptation acts at the level of the brood then partial cross-fostering experiments are not expected to show evidence of coadaptation. To test this, we performed an additional experiment (163 broods) in which clutches were either fully crossed, non-crossed, or partially crossed. In agreement with the long-term data, there was no evidence for parent-offspring coadaptation on offspring fitness despite high power. In addition there was no evidence of effects on parental fitness, nor evidence of sibling coadaptation, although the power of these tests was more modest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline E Thomson
- Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, United Kingdom.,Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, United Kingdom
| | - Jarrod D Hadfield
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, United Kingdom
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13
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Rossi M, Marfull R, Golüke S, Komdeur J, Korsten P, Caspers BA. Begging blue tit nestlings discriminate between the odour of familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics. Funct Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marta Rossi
- Department of Animal Behaviour Bielefeld University Bielefeld Germany
- School of Life Sciences University of Sussex Falmer Brighton UK
| | - Reinaldo Marfull
- Behavioural Physiology and Ecology Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Sarah Golüke
- Department of Animal Behaviour Bielefeld University Bielefeld Germany
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Behavioural Physiology and Ecology Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Peter Korsten
- Department of Animal Behaviour Bielefeld University Bielefeld Germany
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14
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Krippel J, Ballentine B, Hyman J. Reproductive Consequences of Aggression in a Territorial Songbird. Ethology 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Krippel
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences; University of British Columbia Vancouver; Vancouver BC Canada
| | | | - Jeremy Hyman
- Department of Biology; Western Carolina University; Cullowhee NC USA
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15
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Estramil N, Groothuis TGG, Eens M, de Vries B, Müller W. Coadaptation of offspring begging and parental provisioning: A role for prenatal maternal effects? Horm Behav 2017; 87:129-136. [PMID: 27838359 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2016] [Revised: 11/02/2016] [Accepted: 11/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies on birds have shown that offspring begging and parental provisioning covary at the phenotypic level, which is thought to reflect genetic correlations. However, prenatal maternal factors, like yolk testosterone, may also facilitate parent-offspring coadaptation via their effects on offspring begging and development. In fact, maternal effects are thought to adjust offspring phenotype to the environmental conditions they will experience after birth, which are in turn strongly dependent on the levels of parental provisioning. Using cross-fostering experiments in canaries, we tested the role of maternal effects on parent-offspring coadaptation from two different approaches. First, we analyzed whether females deposit yolk testosterone in relation to their own or their partner's prospective parental provisioning, measured as the rate of parental feeding to foster nestlings. Second, we investigated whether females deposit yolk testosterone in relation to costs they incurred when raising a previous brood, as this likely impinges on their capacity to provide parental care in the near future. However, from the results of both experiments we have no evidence that canary females deposit yolk testosterone in order to match offspring begging to the levels of care they and/or their partners provide. We therefore found no evidence that yolk testosterone facilitates parent-offspring coadaptation. In addition, our results suggest that the functional consequences of yolk testosterone deposition may relate to hatching asynchrony since it primarily varied with egg laying order.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Estramil
- Department of Biology-Ethology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
| | - Ton G G Groothuis
- Behavioural Biology, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Marcel Eens
- Department of Biology-Ethology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
| | - Bonnie de Vries
- Behavioural Biology, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Wendt Müller
- Department of Biology-Ethology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
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16
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Tschirren B, Ziegler AK, Pick JL, Okuliarová M, Zeman M, Giraudeau M. Matrilineal inheritance of a key mediator of prenatal maternal effects. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 283:20161676. [PMID: 27629040 PMCID: PMC5031669 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2016] [Accepted: 08/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex-linkage is predicted to evolve in response to sex-specific or sexually antagonistic selection. In line with this prediction, most sex-linked genes are associated with reproduction in the respective sex. In addition to traits directly involved in fertility and fecundity, mediators of maternal effects may be predisposed to evolve sex-linkage, because they indirectly affect female fitness through their effect on offspring phenotype. Here, we test for sex-linked inheritance of a key mediator of prenatal maternal effects in oviparous species, the transfer of maternally derived testosterone to the eggs. Consistent with maternal inheritance, we found that in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) granddaughters resemble their maternal (but not their paternal) grandmother in yolk testosterone deposition. This pattern of resemblance was not due to non-genetic priming effects of testosterone exposure during prenatal development, as an experimental manipulation of yolk testosterone levels did not affect the females' testosterone transfer to their own eggs later in life. Instead, W chromosome and/or mitochondrial variation may underlie the observed matrilineal inheritance pattern. Ultimately, the inheritance of mediators of maternal effects along the maternal line will allow for a fast and direct response to female-specific selection, thereby affecting the dynamics of evolutionary processes mediated by maternal effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Tschirren
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ann-Kathrin Ziegler
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Joel L Pick
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Monika Okuliarová
- Department of Animal Physiology and Ethology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
| | - Michal Zeman
- Department of Animal Physiology and Ethology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
| | - Mathieu Giraudeau
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
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17
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Tanaka KD, Morimoto G, Ueda K. Equivocal Responses of Feeding Parents to Experimental Brood Sizes in a Hawk-Cuckoo Host: Brood Size as a Reference for Parental Provisioning Decisions? Ethology 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Gen Morimoto
- Department of Life-Sciences; Rikkyo University; Tokyo Japan
- Yamashina Institute for Ornithology; Chiba Japan
| | - Keisuke Ueda
- Department of Life-Sciences; Rikkyo University; Tokyo Japan
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18
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Lucass C, Iserbyt A, Eens M, Müller W. Structural (UV) and carotenoid-based plumage coloration - signals for parental investment? Ecol Evol 2016; 6:3269-79. [PMID: 27252832 PMCID: PMC4870211 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2015] [Revised: 02/29/2016] [Accepted: 03/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Parental care increases parental fitness through improved offspring condition and survival but comes at a cost for the caretaker(s). To increase life-time fitness, caring parents are, therefore, expected to adjust their reproductive investment to current environmental conditions and parental capacities. The latter is thought to be signaled via ornamental traits of the bearer. We here investigated whether pre- and/or posthatching investment of blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) parents was related to ornamental plumage traits (UV crown coloration and carotenoid-based plumage coloration) expressed by either the individual itself (i.e. "good parent hypothesis") or its partner (i.e. "differential allocation hypothesis"). Our results show that neither prehatching (that is clutch size and offspring begging intensity) nor posthatching parental investment (provisioning rate, offspring body condition at fledging) was related to an individual's UV crown coloration or to that of its partner. Similar observations were made for carotenoid-based plumage coloration, except for a consistent positive relationship between offspring begging intensity and maternal carotenoid-based plumage coloration. This sex-specific pattern likely reflects a maternal effect mediated via maternally derived egg substances, given that the relationship persisted when offspring were cross-fostered. This suggests that females adjust their offspring's phenotype toward own phenotype, which may facilitate in particular mother-offspring co-adaptation. Overall, our results contribute to the current state of evidence that structural or pigment-based plumage coloration of blue tits are inconsistently correlated with central life-history traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carsten Lucass
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group University of Antwerp Universiteitsplein 1 2610 Antwerp Wilrijk Belgium
| | - Arne Iserbyt
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group University of Antwerp Universiteitsplein 1 2610 Antwerp Wilrijk Belgium
| | - Marcel Eens
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group University of Antwerp Universiteitsplein 1 2610 Antwerp Wilrijk Belgium
| | - Wendt Müller
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group University of Antwerp Universiteitsplein 1 2610 Antwerp Wilrijk Belgium
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19
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Lucass C, Fresneau N, Eens M, Müller W. Sex roles in nest keeping - how information asymmetry contributes to parent-offspring co-adaptation. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:1825-33. [PMID: 26929817 PMCID: PMC4759049 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2015] [Revised: 11/26/2015] [Accepted: 01/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Parental food provisioning and offspring begging influence each other reciprocally. This makes both traits agents and targets of selection, which may ultimately lead to co‐adaptation. The latter may reflect co‐adapted parent and offspring genotypes or could be due to maternal effects. Maternal effects are in turn likely to facilitate in particular mother‐offspring co‐adaptation, further emphasized by the possibility that mothers are sometimes found to be more responsive to offspring need. However, parents may not only differ in their sensitivity, but often play different roles in postnatal care. This potentially impinges on the access to information about offspring need. We here manipulated the information on offspring need as perceived by parents by playing back begging calls at a constant frequency in the nest‐box of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). We measured the parental response in provisioning to our treatment, paying particular attention to sex differences in parental roles and whether such differences alter the perception of the intensity of our manipulation. This enabled us to investigate whether an information asymmetry about offspring need exists between parents and how such an asymmetry relates to co‐adaptation between parental provisioning and offspring begging. Our results show that parents indeed differed in the frequency how often they perceived the playback due to the fact that females spent more time with their offspring in the nest box. Correcting for the effective exposure of an adult to the playback, the parental response in provisioning covaried more strongly (positive) with offspring begging intensity, independent of the parental sex, indicating coadaptation on the phenotypic level. Females were not more sensitive to experimentally increased offspring need than males, but they were exposed to more broadcasted begging calls. Therefore, sex differences in access to information about offspring need, due to different parental roles, have the potential to impinge on family conflicts and their resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carsten Lucass
- Department of Biology Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group University of Antwerp Universiteitsplein 1 2610 Antwerp Wilrijk Belgium
| | - Nolwenn Fresneau
- Department of Biology Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group University of Antwerp Universiteitsplein 1 2610 Antwerp Wilrijk Belgium
| | - Marcel Eens
- Department of Biology Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group University of Antwerp Universiteitsplein 1 2610 Antwerp Wilrijk Belgium
| | - Wendt Müller
- Department of Biology Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group University of Antwerp Universiteitsplein 1 2610 Antwerp Wilrijk Belgium
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20
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Paquet M, Smiseth PT. Maternal effects as a mechanism for manipulating male care and resolving sexual conflict over care. Behav Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
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21
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Sexually antagonistic selection during parental care is not generated by a testosterone-related intralocus sexual conflict-insights from full-sib comparisons. Sci Rep 2015; 5:17715. [PMID: 26625951 PMCID: PMC4667218 DOI: 10.1038/srep17715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2015] [Accepted: 11/04/2015] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The evolution of shared male and female traits can be hampered if selection favours sex-specific optima. However, such genomic conflicts can be resolved when independent male and female mechanisms evolve. The existence, extent and consequences of conflict and/or conflict resolution are currently debated. Endocrinological traits like plasma testosterone (T) are suitable test cases, given their important role in mediating correlated traits, plus their opposing sex-specific fitness effects. We compared full-sibling (brother/sister) captive canaries to test for (1) sexually antagonistic selection characterized by contrasting fitness patterns within pairs of relatives, (2) intersexual genetic correlation of plasma T (h(²) = 0.41 ± 0.31) and (3) intralocus sexual conflict over T levels featured by distinct sex-specific fitness optima. We found potential for sexually antagonistic selection, since high fledgling mass was reached by either brothers or sisters, but not by both. We report a positive intersexual correlation for T, as a requirement for intralocus sexual conflict. However, high levels of T were associated with increased female and decreased male fitness (fledgling mass), which contrasts our expectations and challenges the hypothesis of intralocus sexual conflict driven by T. We hypothesize that behavioural and physiological trade-offs differ between sexes when raising offspring, driving T levels towards a state of monomorphism.
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22
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Favored parent–offspring trait combinations? On the interplay of parental and offspring traits. Behav Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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23
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Lucass C, Korsten P, Eens M, Müller W. Within‐family parent–offspring co‐adaptation in a wild bird: on static traits, behavioural reaction norms, and sex differences. Funct Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carsten Lucass
- Department of Biology‐Ethology University of Antwerp Universiteitsplein 1 2610 Antwerp Wilrijk Belgium
| | - Peter Korsten
- Behavioural Ecology and Self‐Organization group Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies University of Groningen Nijenborgh 7 9747 AG Groningen The Netherlands
- Department of Animal Behaviour Bielefeld University PO Box 10 01 3133501 Bielefeld Germany
| | - Marcel Eens
- Department of Biology‐Ethology University of Antwerp Universiteitsplein 1 2610 Antwerp Wilrijk Belgium
| | - Wendt Müller
- Department of Biology‐Ethology University of Antwerp Universiteitsplein 1 2610 Antwerp Wilrijk Belgium
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24
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McGhee KE, Bell AM. Paternal care in a fish: epigenetics and fitness enhancing effects on offspring anxiety. Proc Biol Sci 2015; 281:20141146. [PMID: 25232132 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.1146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In many animals, including humans, interactions with caring parents can have long-lasting effects on offspring sensitivity to stressors. However, whether these parental effects impact offspring fitness in nature is often unclear. In addition, despite evidence that maternal care can influence offspring behaviour via epigenetic alterations to the genome, it remains unclear whether paternal care has similar effects. Here, we show in three-spined sticklebacks, a fish in which fathers are the sole provider of offspring care, that the direct care provided by fathers affects offspring anxiety and the potential for epigenetic alterations to the offspring genome. We find that families are differentially vulnerable to early stress and fathers can compensate for this differential sensitivity with the quality of their care. This variation in paternal care is also linked to the expression in offspring brains of a DNA methyltransferase (Dnmt3a) responsible for de novo methylation. We show that these paternal effects are potentially adaptive and anxious offspring are unlikely to survive an encounter with a predator. By supplying offspring care, fathers reduce offspring anxiety thereby increasing the survival of their offspring-not in the traditional sense through resource provisioning but through an epigenetic effect on offspring behavioural development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie E McGhee
- School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing St., Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Alison M Bell
- School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
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25
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Bowers EK, Bowden RM, Sakaluk SK, Thompson CF. Immune activation generates corticosterone-mediated terminal reproductive investment in a wild bird. Am Nat 2015; 185:769-83. [PMID: 25996862 DOI: 10.1086/681017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Despite classical expectations of a trade-off between immune activity and reproduction, an emergent view suggests that individuals experiencing activation of their immune system actually increase reproductive effort and allocation to offspring as a form of terminal investment in response to reduced survival probability. However, the components and mechanisms of increased parental investment following immunostimulation are currently unknown. We hypothesize that increased glucocorticoid production following immunostimulation modulates the increase in reproductive effort that constitutes terminal investment. We activated the immune system of breeding female house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) with an immunogen and cross-fostered the eggs that they subsequently produced to separate prenatal and postnatal components of maternal investment. Cross-fostering revealed an increase in both pre- and postnatal allocation from immunostimulated females, which was confirmed by quantification of egg constituents and maternal provisioning behavior. The increase in maternal provisioning was mediated, at least in part, by increased corticosterone in these females. Offspring immune responsiveness was also enhanced through transgenerational immune priming via the egg. Thus, our results indicate that maternal immunostimulation induces transgenerational effects on offspring through both pre- and postnatal parental effects and support an important role for corticosterone in mediating parental investment.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Keith Bowers
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois 61790
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26
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Paquet M, Covas R, Doutrelant C. A cross-fostering experiment reveals that prenatal environment affects begging behaviour in a cooperative breeder. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.01.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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27
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Winney I, Nakagawa S, Hsu Y, Burke T, Schroeder J. Troubleshooting the potential pitfalls of cross‐fostering. Methods Ecol Evol 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Winney
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences University of Sheffield Sheffield S10 2TN UK
| | - Shinichi Nakagawa
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences University of Sheffield Sheffield S10 2TN UK
- Department of Zoology University of Otago Dunedin New Zealand
| | - Yu‐Hsun Hsu
- Department of Zoology University of Otago Dunedin New Zealand
| | - Terry Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences University of Sheffield Sheffield S10 2TN UK
| | - Julia Schroeder
- Evolutionary Biology Max Planck Institute for Ornithology Seewiesen Germany
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28
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Commentary: Parental care and the proximate links between maternal effects and offspring fitness. Oecologia 2015; 177:1089-92. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-015-3266-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2014] [Accepted: 02/06/2015] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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29
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Iserbyt A, Farrell S, Eens M, Müller W. Sex-specific negotiation rules in a costly conflict over parental care. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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30
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English S, Pen I, Shea N, Uller T. The information value of non-genetic inheritance in plants and animals. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0116996. [PMID: 25603120 PMCID: PMC4300080 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0116996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2014] [Accepted: 12/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Parents influence the development of their offspring in many ways beyond the transmission of DNA. This includes transfer of epigenetic states, nutrients, antibodies and hormones, and behavioural interactions after birth. While the evolutionary consequences of such non-genetic inheritance are increasingly well understood, less is known about how inheritance mechanisms evolve. Here, we present a simple but versatile model to explore the adaptive evolution of non-genetic inheritance. Our model is based on a switch mechanism that produces alternative phenotypes in response to different inputs, including genes and non-genetic factors transmitted from parents and the environment experienced during development. This framework shows how genetic and non-genetic inheritance mechanisms and environmental conditions can act as cues by carrying correlational information about future selective conditions. Differential use of these cues is manifested as different degrees of genetic, parental or environmental morph determination. We use this framework to evaluate the conditions favouring non-genetic inheritance, as opposed to genetic determination of phenotype or within-generation plasticity, by applying it to two putative examples of adaptive non-genetic inheritance: maternal effects on seed germination in plants and transgenerational phase shift in desert locusts. Our simulation models show how the adaptive value of non-genetic inheritance depends on its mechanism, the pace of environmental change, and life history characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sinead English
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Ido Pen
- Theoretical Biology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Nicholas Shea
- Department of Philosophy, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Tobias Uller
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- * E-mail:
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31
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Estramil N, Eens M, Müller W. Female mate choice, differential allocation and parent–offspring covariation in canaries. BEHAVIOUR 2015. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Parental care typically involves elaborate reciprocal within-family interactions, and traits such as parental provisioning and offspring begging should therefore coevolve. There is indeed mounting evidence for a phenotypic covariation, also in the canary (Serinus canaria), our model species. Such covariation may arise due to maternal effects, rendering this relationship particularly sensitive to environmental conditions. Here, we manipulated the social environment by pairing females with either their chosen or non-chosen male. Subsequently, all clutches were cross-fostered to separate pre- and postnatal effects. We found a positive covariation between offspring begging and parental provisioning, which was, however, unaffected by mate preferences, and we found no evidence for differential allocation. In addition, there was no effect of assortative mating, which is thought to reinforce parent–offspring covariation. The fact that parent–offspring covariation is consistently observed in canaries suggests that it is biologically relevant, but it requires further studies to elucidate its sensitivity to environmental variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Estramil
- Department of Biology-Ethology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Marcel Eens
- Department of Biology-Ethology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Wendt Müller
- Department of Biology-Ethology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
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32
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Montoya B, Torres R. Male skin color signals direct and indirect benefits in a species with biparental care. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
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33
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Giordano M, Groothuis TGG, Tschirren B. Interactions between prenatal maternal effects and posthatching conditions in a wild bird population. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
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34
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On the coadaptation of offspring begging and parental supply—a within-individual approach across life stages. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1756-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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35
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Crespi EJ, Unkefer MK. Development of food intake controls: neuroendocrine and environmental regulation of food intake during early life. Horm Behav 2014; 66:74-85. [PMID: 24727079 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2014.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [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: 11/11/2013] [Revised: 04/01/2014] [Accepted: 04/05/2014] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
This article is part of a Special Issue "Energy Balance". The development of neuroendocrine regulation of food intake during early life has been shaped by natural selection to allow for optimal growth and development rates needed for survival. In vertebrates, neonates or early larval forms typically exhibit "feeding drive," characterized by a developmental delay in 1) responsiveness of the hypothalamus to satiety signals (e.g., leptin, melanocortins) and 2) sensitivity to environmental cues that suppress food intake. Homeostatic regulation of food intake develops once offspring transition to later life history stages when growth is slower, neuroendocrine systems are more mature, and appetite becomes more sensitive to environmental or social cues. Across vertebrate groups, there is a tremendous amount of developmental plasticity in both food intake regulation and stress responsiveness depending on the environmental conditions experienced during early life history stages or by pregnant/brooding mothers. This plasticity is mediated through the organizing effects of hormones acting on the food intake centers of the hypothalamus during development, which alter epigenetic expression of genes associated with ingestive behaviors. Research is still needed to reveal the mechanisms through which environmental conditions during development generate and maintain these epigenetic modifications within the lifespan or across generations. Furthermore, more research is needed to determine whether observed patterns of plasticity are adaptive or pathological. It is clear, however, that developmental programming of food intake has important effects on fitness, and therefore, has ecological and evolutionary implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica J Crespi
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.
| | - Margaret K Unkefer
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
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36
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Estramil N, Eens M, Müller W. Cross-fostering mismatches parent-offspring behaviors but this does not entail costs to family life. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1714-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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37
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Liebgold EB. The Influence of Social Environment: Behavior of Unrelated Adults Affects Future Juvenile Behaviors. Ethology 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Eric B. Liebgold
- Department of Biological Sciences; Salisbury University; Salisbury MD USA
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38
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Lotem A, Biran-Yoeli I. Evolution of learning and levels of selection: A lesson from avian parent–offspring communication. Theor Popul Biol 2014; 91:58-74. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tpb.2013.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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39
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Cadby CD, Jones SM, Wapstra E. Geographical differences in maternal basking behaviour and offspring growth rate in a climatically widespread viviparous reptile. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 217:1175-9. [PMID: 24311810 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.089953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
In reptiles, the thermal environment during embryonic development affects offspring phenotypic traits and potentially offspring fitness. In viviparous species, mothers can potentially manipulate the embryonic thermal environment through their basking behaviour and, thus, may be able to manipulate offspring phenotype and increase offspring fitness. One way in which mothers can maximise offspring phenotype (and thus potentially affect offspring fitness) is by fine-tuning their basking behaviour to the environment in order to buffer the embryo from deleterious developmental temperatures. In widespread species, it is unclear whether populations that have evolved under different climatic conditions will exhibit different maternal behaviours and/or thermal effects on offspring phenotype. To test this, we provided extended or reduced basking opportunity to gravid spotted skinks (Niveoscincus ocellatus) and their offspring from two populations at the climatic extremes of the species' distribution. Gravid females fine-tuned their basking behaviour to the basking opportunity, which allowed them to buffer their embryos from potentially negative thermal effects. This fine-tuning of female basking behaviour appears to have led to the expression of geographical differences in basking behaviour, with females from the cold alpine regions being more opportunistic in their basking behaviour than females from the warmer regions. However, those differences in maternal behaviour did not preclude the evolution of geographic differences in thermal effects: offspring growth varied between populations, potentially suggesting local adaptation to basking conditions. Our results demonstrate that maternal effects and phenotypic plasticity can play a significant role in allowing species to cope in changing environmental conditions, which is particularly relevant in the context of climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloé D Cadby
- School of Zoology, Private Bag 05, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia
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40
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Publisher’s note. Theor Popul Biol 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tpb.2013.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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41
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Bentz AB, Navara KJ, Siefferman L. Phenotypic plasticity in response to breeding density in tree swallows: an adaptive maternal effect? Horm Behav 2013; 64:729-36. [PMID: 23994066 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2013.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2013] [Revised: 08/17/2013] [Accepted: 08/20/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Territorial animals breeding in high-density environments are more likely to engage in aggressive competition with conspecifics for resources necessary for reproduction. In many avian species, increased competition among breeding females results in increased testosterone concentrations in egg yolks. Generally, elevated yolk testosterone increases nestling growth, competitive behaviors, and bold behavioral traits. However, few studies provide an environmental context with which to examine the potential adaptive benefits of these phenotypic changes. In this study, tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) breeding density was altered to modify levels of social competition and yolk testosterone. We measured nestling growth, competitive ability, and breathing rate in response to a stressor using a partial cross-foster design. Females breeding at high-density experienced more aggressive, competitive interactions and their eggs had higher testosterone concentrations. Nestlings that hatched in high-density environments grew faster and displayed more competitive behaviors and a higher breathing rate response to a stressor regardless of post-hatching density. Our study demonstrates that phenotypic plasticity occurs in response to yolk testosterone variation resulting from different breeding densities. These findings suggest that naturally-induced maternal effects prepare offspring for competitive environments, supporting the idea that maternal effects are adaptive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra B Bentz
- Biology Department, Appalachian State University, 572 Rivers St., Boone, NC 28608, USA.
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42
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Gómez Y, Kölliker M. Maternal care, mother-offspring aggregation and age-dependent coadaptation in the European earwig. J Evol Biol 2013; 26:1903-11. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2013] [Revised: 04/05/2013] [Accepted: 04/09/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Y. Gómez
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology and Evolution; University of Basel; Basel Switzerland
| | - M. Kölliker
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology and Evolution; University of Basel; Basel Switzerland
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43
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Estramil N, Eens M, Müller W. Coadaptation of offspring begging and parental provisioning--an evolutionary ecological perspective on avian family life. PLoS One 2013; 8:e70463. [PMID: 23894662 PMCID: PMC3716698 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0070463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2012] [Accepted: 06/24/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Offspring begging and parental provisioning are the two central social behaviours expressed during the period of parental care. Both behaviours influence each other and it is, therefore, hypothesized that they should ultimately become (genetically) correlated, stabilized by fitness costs to parents and/or offspring. By reciprocally exchanging entire clutches in canaries (Serinus canaria), we tested (1) whether there is covariation between these behaviours and (2) whether a mismatch - as introduced by cross-fostering - entails costs. Begging was scored in a standardized begging test and parental provisioning was measured via (a) the actual feeding rate and (b) using the growth rate of the foster nestlings as a proxy. Costs were established in terms of future reproductive investment in subsequent clutches and offspring growth. We found a positive and significant phenotypic covariation between offspring begging and parental feeding when using the growth rate as a proxy and, to a lesser extent, in case of the parental feeding rate. Female parents suffered no future reproductive costs when feeding foster nestlings that were more demanding than their own nestlings. Neither growth measured amongst all offspring nor the reproductive investment measured amongst the female offspring as adults was influenced by their begging behaviour. However, the reproductive investment of female offspring tended to depend on the parental qualities of their foster parents. Thus, offspring may only be able to extract resources within the limit of generosity of their foster parents. This suggests parental control of feeding, which is also supported by the positive covariation between offspring begging and parental feeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Estramil
- Department of Biology-Ethology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
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Velando A, Kim SY, Noguera JC. Begging response of gull chicks to the red spot on the parental bill. Anim Behav 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.03.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Maternal effects on begging behaviour: an experimental demonstration of the effects of laying sequence, hatch order, nestling sex and brood size. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-012-1407-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Poisbleau M, Müller W, Carslake D, Demongin L, Groothuis TGG, Van Camp J, Eens M. Penguin chicks benefit from elevated yolk androgen levels under sibling competition. PLoS One 2012; 7:e42174. [PMID: 22860073 PMCID: PMC3408461 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0042174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2012] [Accepted: 07/03/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Crested penguins (genus Eudyptes) have a peculiar hatching pattern, with the first-laid egg (A-egg) hatching after the second-laid egg (B-egg) and chicks from A-eggs typically having a much lower survival probability. Maternal yolk androgens have been suggested to contribute to the competitive superiority of the B-chick in southern rockhopper penguins Eudyptes chrysocome, given their important role in mediating sibling competition in other species. We therefore increased the yolk androgen levels in freshly-laid eggs and examined the consequences for sibling competition--via effects on embryonic developmental times, chick growth and early survival. We placed one androgen-treated egg and one control egg into each foster nest, matching them for mass, laying date and laying order. The androgen treatment did not significantly affect embryonic developmental times or chick measurements at hatching. However, elevated yolk androgen levels benefitted chick growth in interaction with the number of siblings in a brood. Chicks from androgen-treated eggs had faster growth in the presence of a sibling than chicks from control eggs. Under these circumstances they also had a higher survival probability. Thus maternal androgens appear to reinforce the observed hatching pattern, facilitating brood reduction. This contrasts to most previous studies in other species where yolk androgens have been shown to compensate for the negative consequences of delayed hatching within the brood hierarchy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maud Poisbleau
- Department of Biology - Ethology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium.
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Head ML, Berry LK, Royle NJ, Moore AJ. Paternal care: direct and indirect genetic effects of fathers on offspring performance. Evolution 2012; 66:3570-81. [PMID: 23106719 DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2012.01699.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Knowledge of how genetic effects arising from parental care influence the evolution of offspring traits comes almost exclusively from studies of maternal care. However, males provide care in some taxa, and often this care differs from females in quality or quantity. If variation in paternal care is genetically based then, like maternal care and maternal effects, paternal effects may have important consequences for the evolution of offspring traits via indirect genetic effects (IGEs). IGEs and direct-indirect genetic covariances associated with parental care can contribute substantially to total heritability and influence predictions about how traits respond to selection. It is unknown, however, if the magnitude and sign of parental effects arising from fathers are the same as those arising from mothers. We used a reciprocal cross-fostering experiment to quantify environmental and genetic effects of paternal care on offspring performance in the burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides. We found that IGEs were substantial and direct-indirect genetic covariances were negative. Combined, these patterns led to low total heritabilities for offspring performance traits. Thus, under paternal care, offspring performance traits are unlikely to evolve in response to selection, and variation in these traits will be maintained in the population despite potentially strong selection on these traits. These patterns are similar to those generated by maternal care, indicating that the genetic effects of care on offspring performance are independent of the caregiver's sex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan L Head
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9EZ, United Kingdom
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Kozlowski CP, Ricklefs RE. The effects of brood size on growth and steroid hormone concentrations in nestling eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis). Gen Comp Endocrinol 2011; 173:447-53. [PMID: 21819987 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2011.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2011] [Revised: 07/14/2011] [Accepted: 07/16/2011] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Birds in multi-nestling broods often experience reduced growth and elevated nutritional and social stress as a result of competition for parental resources. While responses are often species-specific, experimentally increasing brood size has been shown to decrease growth and increase production of both testosterone and corticosterone in nestling passerines. To investigate the relationship between brood size, growth, and steroid hormone production in eastern bluebirds, we cross-fostered nestlings to small, medium, and large broods. Body mass, skeletal size, serum testosterone, and baseline serum corticosterone concentration were measured prior to fledging. Bluebird nestlings raised in large broods weighed less than nestlings in small and medium-sized broods and secreted elevated concentrations of testosterone. Nestling corticosterone concentrations did not vary in response to brood size or body condition, but concentrations were higher in males compared to females. Our results suggest that nestling bluebirds experiencing nutritional and social stress increase testosterone production. Elevated concentrations may enhance begging and competitive abilities in smaller young. Higher concentrations of corticosterone in males may be related to sex-biased provisioning. Further experimental work is needed to ascertain the effects of elevated testosterone concentrations in nestling bluebirds, as well as the causes and consequences of elevated corticosterone for male nestlings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corinne P Kozlowski
- Saint Louis Zoo, Research Department, 1 Government Drive, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
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Grodzinski U, Dor R, Lotem A. Begging for a better future: how far can behavioral ecologists go without specifying mechanisms? Behav Ecol 2011. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arr076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Grodzinski U, Johnstone RA. Parents and offspring in an evolutionary game: the effect of supply on demand when costs of care vary. Proc Biol Sci 2011; 279:109-15. [PMID: 21561973 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.0776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Current models of parent-offspring communication do not explicitly predict the effect of parental food supply on offspring demand (ESD). However, existing theory is frequently interpreted as predicting a negative ESD, such that offspring beg less when parental supply is high. While empirical evidence largely supports this interpretation, several studies have identified the opposite case, with well-fed offspring begging more than those in poorer condition. Here, we show that signalling theory can give rise to either a negative or a positive ESD depending on the precise form of costs and benefits. Introducing variation among parents in the cost of care, we show that the ESD may change sign depending upon the quantitative relation between two effects: (i) decreased supply leads to increased begging because of an increase in marginal fitness benefit of additional resources to offspring, (ii) decreased supply leads to reduced begging because it is associated with a decrease in parental responsiveness, rendering begging less effective. To illustrate the interplay between these two effects, we show that Godfray's seminal model of begging yields a negative ESD when care is generally cheap, because the impact of supply on the marginal benefits of additional resources then outweighs the associated changes in parental responsiveness to begging. By contrast, the same model predicts a positive ESD when care is generally costly, because the impact of care costs on parental responsiveness then outweighs the change in marginal benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uri Grodzinski
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK.
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