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Brown GE, Crane AL, Demers EE, Chivers DP, Ferrari MC. Uncertain foraging opportunities and predation risk exert additive effects on induced neophobia in cichlids. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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2
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Neophobia and social facilitation in narrow-striped mongooses. Anim Cogn 2020; 24:165-175. [PMID: 32955622 PMCID: PMC7829228 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01429-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2019] [Revised: 09/06/2020] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Social learning is widespread in the animal kingdom, but individuals can differ in how they acquire and use social information. Personality traits, such as neophobia, may, for example, promote individual learning strategies. Here, we contribute comparative data on social learning strategies in carnivorans by examining whether narrow-striped mongooses (Mungotictis decemlineata), a group-living Malagasy euplerid, learn socially and whether neophobia influences social learning. To this end, we tested seven wild female groups with a two-option artificial feeding box, using a demonstrator–observer paradigm, and conducted novel object tests to assess neophobia. In five groups, one individual was trained as a demonstrator displaying one of the techniques, whereas the other two groups served as control groups. Neophobia did not co-vary with an individual’s propensity to seek social information. However, less neophobic individuals, and individuals that tended to seek social information, learned the task faster. Moreover, individuals in demonstrator groups learned the task faster than those in groups without a demonstrator and used the demonstrated technique more often. Hence, narrow-striped mongooses rely on social facilitation and local or stimulus enhancement to solve new problems. Finally, our results suggest that several individual characteristics should be taken into consideration to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of social learning strategies.
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3
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Joyce BJ, Brown GE. Short-term captivity drives hypothalamic plasticity and asymmetry in wild-caught northern red bellied dace (Chrosomus eos). JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2020; 97:577-582. [PMID: 32447778 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.14408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2020] [Revised: 05/12/2020] [Accepted: 05/20/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Teleost fish are neuroplastic and are known to alter their brain morphology and behaviour in response to environmental change such as an increase in predation pressure. The hypothalamus plays a key role in regulating behavioural responses to predation risk. In this study, wild-caught northern red bellied dace (Chrosomus eos) developed smaller and less symmetric hypothalami when held in captivity for 14 days; both measures correlated with boldness in a latency to emerge test. This study's results highlight the potential impact of short-term holding conditions on brains and behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brendan J Joyce
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montreal, Québec, Canada
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4
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Lucon-Xiccato T, De Russi G, Bertolucci C. A novel-odour exploration test for measuring anxiety in adult and larval zebrafish. J Neurosci Methods 2020; 335:108619. [PMID: 32027891 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2020.108619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Revised: 01/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Existing methods to assess anxiety in zebrafish are mostly based on visual exploration. However, evidence suggests that zebrafish are more attuned to olfactory than visual stimuli. We developed a novel-odour exploration test (NOEt) for zebrafish. NEW METHOD Adult zebrafish were exposed to a stimulus sponge soaked with olfactory cue and a control sponge with no cue, placed at the extremities of a narrow, rectangular tank. We scored time spent close to the two sponges to calculate the attraction towards the olfactory cue. In experiment 1, we tested adult zebrafish in the NOEt using various olfactory cues. In experiment 2, we tested larvae. In experiment 3, we compared the NOEt with the most used method to assess anxiety, the open-field test. RESULTS In experiment 1, zebrafish responded markedly to cues, by either approaching or avoiding the soaked sponge according to the type of cue. The temporal pattern of exploration toward the cue was similar to that of novel objects' exploration in this species. In experiment 2, larvae responded to novel odours, but differently from adults. In experiment 3, we found a relationship between the NOEt and the open-field test. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD(S) Compared to existing tests, the NOEt has the advantage of exploiting the preferred sensory modality of zebrafish. Moreover, it can be used in early stages because olfactory receptors develop early in this species. CONCLUSIONS The NOEt is a simple, rapid and low-cost test to study anxiety in zebrafish using the spontaneous exploration of novel olfactory cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyrone Lucon-Xiccato
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
| | - Gaia De Russi
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Cristiano Bertolucci
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
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5
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Crane AL, Brown GE, Chivers DP, Ferrari MCO. An ecological framework of neophobia: from cells to organisms to populations. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2020; 95:218-231. [PMID: 31599483 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2019] [Revised: 09/09/2019] [Accepted: 09/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Neophobia is the fear of novel stimuli or situations. This phenotype has recently received much ecological attention, primarily in the context of decision making. Here, we explore neophobia across biological levels of organisation, first describing types of neophobia among animals and the underlying causes of neophobia, highlighting high levels of risk and uncertainty as key drivers. We place neophobia in the framework of Error Management Theory and Signal Detection Theory, showing how increases in overall risk and uncertainty can lead to costly non-responses towards novel threats unless individuals lower their response threshold and become neophobic. We then discuss how neophobic behaviour translates into population and evolutionary consequences before introducing neophobia-like processes at the cellular level, where some phenomena such as allergy and autoimmunity can parallel neophobic behaviour. Finally, we discuss neophobia attenuation, considering how a sudden change in the environment from dangerous to safe can lead to problematic over-responses (i.e. the 'maladaptive defensive carry-over' hypothesis), and discuss treatment methods for such over-responses. We anticipate that bridging the concept of neophobia with a process-centered perspective can facilitate a transfer of insight across organisational levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam L Crane
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC, H4B 1R6, Canada.,Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Pl., Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E2, Canada
| | - Grant E Brown
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC, H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - Douglas P Chivers
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Pl., Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E2, Canada
| | - Maud C O Ferrari
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, WCVM, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5B4, Canada
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Crane AL, Ferrari MCO, Rivera-Hernández IAE, Brown GE. Microhabitat complexity influences fear acquisition in fathead minnows. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Habitat varies in structure, with animals often preferring a certain degree of microhabitat complexity that facilitates fitness-related activities such as predator avoidance. Environments with high predation risk can induce elevated baseline fear and neophobia in prey, but whether microhabitat complexity influences the acquisition of neophobia has yet to be reported. Here, we tested whether exposure to predation risk induces different levels of fear in microhabitats that differed in complexity. We exposed fathead minnows, Pimephales promelas, to predation risk repeatedly (12 times over 4 days) in the form of damage-released chemical alarm cues (compared to water control) in tanks with vertical plant structure distributed either throughout the tank (complex habitat) or clumped together (simple habitat). Then, we tested minnows before and after exposure to a novel odor in tanks with either the same microhabitat complexity (i.e., familiar habitats) or in tanks with novel habitat that had different substrate structure and no vertical structure. Minnows in the complex habitat showed less overall movement one day after the background risk period, whereas individuals in the simple habitat showed reduced movement regardless of prior risk exposure. We observed stronger effects in the novel habitat, where background risk in both simple and complex habitats caused neophobia. However, individuals from the simple background habitat showed higher baseline fear behaviors. Hence, for minnows, low microhabitat complexity appears to lead to elevated fear, which remains even after a habitat change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam L Crane
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montreal, Q, Canada
| | - Maud C O Ferrari
- Biomedical Sciences, WCVM, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | | | - Grant E Brown
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montreal, Q, Canada
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Meuthen D, Ferrari MCO, Lane T, Chivers DP. High background risk induces risk allocation rather than generalized neophobia in the fathead minnow. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
To cope with the heterogeneous nature of predation and the trade-off between predator avoidance and foraging, prey animals have evolved several cognitive rules. One of these is the risk allocation hypothesis, which predicts that in environments with long periods of sustained high risk, individuals should decrease their antipredator effort to satisfy their metabolic requirements. The neophobia hypothesis, in turn, predicts increased avoidance of novel cues in high-risk habitats. Despite the recent interest in predator-induced neophobia across different sensory channels, tests of such generalized neophobia are restricted to a single fish taxon, the Cichlidae. Hence, we retested the generalized neophobia hypothesis in fathead minnows Pimephales promelas, a small schooling North American cyprinid fish. From hatching onward, minnows were exposed to conspecific alarm cues, which indicate predation risk, or distilled water in a split-clutch design. After 1 month, shoaling behavior was examined prior and subsequent to a mechanical predator disturbance. Fish previously exposed to elevated background risk formed compact shoals for a shorter time interval after the stimulus compared with controls. These results contrast previous studies of generalized neophobia but match the risk allocation hypothesis. Consequently, risk allocation and generalized neophobia are not ubiquitous cognitive rules but instead evolved adaptations of different taxa to their respective environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis Meuthen
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
| | - Maud C O Ferrari
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, WCVM, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
| | - Taylor Lane
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
| | - Douglas P Chivers
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
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8
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Who’s where? Ecological uncertainty shapes neophobic predator avoidance in Trinidadian guppies. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2687-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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9
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Bairos-Novak KR, Ferrari MCO, Chivers DP. A novel alarm signal in aquatic prey: Familiar minnows coordinate group defences against predators through chemical disturbance cues. J Anim Ecol 2019; 88:1281-1290. [PMID: 30997683 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2018] [Accepted: 02/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Animal signalling systems outside the realm of human perception remain largely understudied. These systems consist of four main components: a signalling context, a voluntary signal, receiver responses and resulting fitness benefits to both the signaller and receiver(s). It is often most difficult to determine incidental cues from voluntary signals. One example is chemical disturbance cues released by aquatic prey during predator encounters that may serve to alert conspecifics of nearby risk and initiate tighter shoaling. We aimed to test whether disturbance cues are released incidentally (i.e. as a cue) or are produced voluntarily depending on a specific signalling context such as the audience surrounding the individual, and thus constitute a signal. We hypothesized that if receivers use disturbance cues to communicate risk among themselves, they would produce more (or more potent) disturbance cues when present in a group of conspecifics rather than when they are isolated (presence/absence of an audience) and use disturbance cues more when present alongside familiar rather than unfamiliar conspecifics (audience composition effect). We placed fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) in groups with familiar fish, unfamiliar fish or as isolated individuals with no audience present, and then simulated a predator chase to evoke disturbance cues. We used bioassays with independent receivers to assess whether the disturbance cues produced differed depending on the signallers' audience. We found evidence of voluntary signalling, as minnows responded to disturbance cues from groups of fish with tighter shoaling while disturbance cues from isolated minnows did not evoke a significant shoaling response (presence/absence audience effect). Receivers also increased shoaling, freezing and dashing more in response to disturbance cues from familiar groups compared to disturbance cues from unfamiliar groups or isolated minnows (audience composition effect). Together, these findings support our hypothesis that disturbance cues are used as an antipredator signal to initiate coordinated group defences among familiar conspecifics involving shoaling, freezing and dashing. This study represents the strongest evidence to date that chemicals released by aquatic prey upon disturbance by predators serve as voluntary signals rather than simply cues that prey have evolved to detect when assessing their risk of predation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin R Bairos-Novak
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.,Marine Biology and Aquaculture & ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Qld, Australia
| | - Maud C O Ferrari
- Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Douglas P Chivers
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
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Crane AL, Bairos-Novak KR, Sacco LH, Ferrari MCO. The socially mediated recovery of a fearful fish paired with periodically replaced calm models. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:20180739. [PMID: 30282647 PMCID: PMC6191702 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2018] [Accepted: 09/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Social learning is an important mechanism for acquiring knowledge about environmental risk. However, little work has explored the learning of safety and how such learning outcomes are shaped by the social environment. Here, we exposed minnows, Pimephales promelas, to a high-risk environment to induce behavioural responses associated with fear (e.g. neophobia). We then used the presence of calm conspecific models (low-risk individuals) to weaken these responses. When observers (individuals from the high-risk environment) and models were paired consistently in a one-on-one setting, the observers showed no recovery (i.e. no weakening of the fear responses), and instead the models indirectly acquired those responses (i.e. a socially transmitted state of fear). However, observers paired with models that were periodically replaced with new calm models showed a significant recovery, and each new model showed diminished socially transmitted fear. We argue that our understanding of predation-related fear and social information transfer can prove fruitful in understanding problems with fear and stress across animal taxa, including among humans who experience post-traumatic stress and secondary trauma. Our findings indicate that the periodic replacement of models can promote fear recovery in observers and reduce socially transmitted fear in models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam L Crane
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, Canada S7N 5E2
| | - Kevin R Bairos-Novak
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, Canada S7N 5E2
| | - Laurel H Sacco
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, Canada S7N 5E2
| | - Maud C O Ferrari
- Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, Canada S7N 5B4
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11
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Crane AL, Ferrari MCO. Patterns of predator neophobia: a meta-analytic review. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 284:20170583. [PMID: 28835552 PMCID: PMC5577474 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2017] [Accepted: 07/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Neophobia, the fear of novel stimuli, plays a major role in animal ecology. Here, we review studies on predator neophobia and explore its underlying patterns within an ecological framework. Predator neophobia is typically assessed by observing behaviours in novel areas that bring potential risk from unknown predators, or by observing behaviours towards certain kinds of objects and odours that are novel. We conducted a literature review across taxa, surveying research on baseline and induced neophobia versus controls. We calculated effect sizes for the intensity of neophobic responses, and categorized data according to six factors (taxa, age class, background type, trophic position, test cue type and experimental treatment type). While accounting for each of the other factors, we found that baseline neophobia was stronger among birds and mammals, and towards novel areas, relative to other taxa and cue types. Baseline neophobia was lower for wild-caught animals and for those that were higher in trophic position, compared with those reared in captivity and from lower trophic levels. By contrast, induced neophobia was similar in intensity across taxa, background types and testing cue types, while again being lower among upper trophic-level members and among juvenile animals. Although induced neophobia occurred across all treatment types, brain lesions induced stronger neophobia than predation risk or social isolation. We discuss potential mechanisms underlying these results and highlight gaps in the literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam L Crane
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 5E2
| | - Maud C O Ferrari
- Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 5B4
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12
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Crane AL, Ferrari MC. Uncertainty in risky environments: a high-risk phenotype interferes with social learning about risk and safety. Anim Behav 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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13
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Pruitt JN, Wright CM, Keiser CN, DeMarco AE, Grobis MM, Pinter-Wollman N. The Achilles' heel hypothesis: misinformed keystone individuals impair collective learning and reduce group success. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 283:20152888. [PMID: 26817771 PMCID: PMC4795039 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2015] [Accepted: 01/04/2016] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Many animal societies rely on highly influential keystone individuals for proper functioning. When information quality is important for group success, such keystone individuals have the potential to diminish group performance if they possess inaccurate information. Here, we test whether information quality (accurate or inaccurate) influences collective outcomes when keystone individuals are the first to acquire it. We trained keystone or generic individuals to attack or avoid novel stimuli and implanted these trained individuals within groups of naive colony-mates. We subsequently tracked how quickly groups learned about their environment in situations that matched (accurate information) or mismatched (inaccurate information) the training of the trained individual. We found that colonies with just one accurately informed individual were quicker to learn to attack a novel prey stimulus than colonies with no informed individuals. However, this effect was no more pronounced when the informed individual was a keystone individual. In contrast, keystones with inaccurate information had larger effects than generic individuals with identical information: groups containing keystones with inaccurate information took longer to learn to attack/avoid prey/predator stimuli and gained less weight than groups harbouring generic individuals with identical information. Our results convey that misinformed keystone individuals can become points of vulnerability for their societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan N Pruitt
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Colin M Wright
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Carl N Keiser
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Alex E DeMarco
- Department of Biological Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, USA
| | - Matthew M Grobis
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Noa Pinter-Wollman
- BioCircuits Institute, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
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