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Ilan Y. Free Will as Defined by the Constrained Disorder Principle: a Restricted, Mandatory, Personalized, Regulated Process for Decision-Making. Integr Psychol Behav Sci 2024:10.1007/s12124-024-09853-9. [PMID: 38900370 DOI: 10.1007/s12124-024-09853-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
The concept of free will has challenged physicists, biologists, philosophers, and other professionals for decades. The constrained disorder principle (CDP) is a fundamental law that defines systems according to their inherent variability. It provides mechanisms for adapting to dynamic environments. This work examines the CDP's perspective of free will concerning various free will theories. Per the CDP, systems lack intentions, and the "freedom" to select and act is built into their design. The "freedom" is embedded within the response range determined by the boundaries of the systems' variability. This built-in and self-generating mechanism enables systems to cope with perturbations. According to the CDP, neither dualism nor an unknown metaphysical apparatus dictates choices. Brain variability facilitates cognitive adaptation to complex, unpredictable situations across various environments. Human behaviors and decisions reflect an underlying physical variability in the brain and other organs for dealing with unpredictable noises. Choices are not predetermined but reflect the ongoing adaptation processes to dynamic prssu½res. Malfunctions and disease states are characterized by inappropriate variability, reflecting an inability to respond adequately to perturbations. Incorporating CDP-based interventions can overcome malfunctions and disease states and improve decision processes. CDP-based second-generation artificial intelligence platforms improve interventions and are being evaluated to augment personal development, wellness, and health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaron Ilan
- Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University and Department of Medicine, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
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2
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Kleindorfer S, Krupka MA, Katsis AC, Frigerio D, Common LK. Aggressiveness predicts dominance rank in greylag geese: mirror tests and agonistic interactions. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:231686. [PMID: 38577211 PMCID: PMC10987982 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
Individual differences in aggressiveness, if consistent across time and contexts, may contribute to the long-term maintenance of social hierarchies in complex animal societies. Although agonistic interactions have previously been used to calculate individuals' positions within a dominance hierarchy, to date the repeatability of agonistic behaviour has not been tested when calculating social rank. Here, we examined the consistency and social relevance of aggressiveness as a personality trait in a free-flying population of greylag geese (Anser anser). For each individual, we quantified (i) aggressiveness using a standardized mirror stimulation test and (ii) dominance ranking based on the number of agonistic interactions won and lost in a feeding context. We found that individual differences in aggressiveness were significantly repeatable and that individuals' aggressiveness predicted their dominance rank position. The flock showed a robust and intermediately steep dominance hierarchy. Social rank was higher in paired birds, males and older birds, and most agonistic interactions occurred between individuals with moderate rank differences. We suggest that selection favours aggressiveness as a personality trait associated with resource acquisition and social rank, whereby a dominance hierarchy may increase the benefits of group living and reduce costs over conflict within dyads.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Kleindorfer
- Konrad Lorenz Research Center for Behavior and Cognition, Core Facility of the University of Vienna, Grünau im Almtal, Vienna4645, Austria
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna1030, Austria
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia5042, Australia
| | - Mara A. Krupka
- Biology Department, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, MI49006, USA
| | - Andrew C. Katsis
- Konrad Lorenz Research Center for Behavior and Cognition, Core Facility of the University of Vienna, Grünau im Almtal, Vienna4645, Austria
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna1030, Austria
| | - Didone Frigerio
- Konrad Lorenz Research Center for Behavior and Cognition, Core Facility of the University of Vienna, Grünau im Almtal, Vienna4645, Austria
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna1030, Austria
| | - Lauren K. Common
- Konrad Lorenz Research Center for Behavior and Cognition, Core Facility of the University of Vienna, Grünau im Almtal, Vienna4645, Austria
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna1030, Austria
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3
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Jiménez R, Burgos M, Barrionuevo FJ. The Biology and Evolution of Fierce Females (Moles and Hyenas). Annu Rev Anim Biosci 2023; 11:141-162. [PMID: 36130099 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-animal-050622-043424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Talpid moles and spotted hyenas have become the paradigms of anatomical and behavioral female masculinization. Females of many mole species develop ovotestes that produce testosterone, show external genitalia that resemble that of males, and close their vaginal orifice after every estrus, and female spotted hyenas lack an external vaginal orifice and develop a pseudoscrotum and a large pseudopenis through which they urinate, mate, and give birth. We review current knowledge about several significant aspects of the biology and evolution of these females, including (a) their specific study methods; (b) their unique anatomical features, and how these peculiarities influence certain physiological functions; and (c) the role that steroid hormones as well as genetic and environmental factors may have in urogenital system development, aggressive behavior, and social dominance. Nevertheless, both mole and hyena females are exceptionally efficient mothers, so their peculiar genitalia should not call into question their femininity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Jiménez
- Department of Genetics, Institute of Biotechnology, and Center of Biomedical Research (CIBM), University of Granada, Armilla, Granada, Spain; , ,
| | - Miguel Burgos
- Department of Genetics, Institute of Biotechnology, and Center of Biomedical Research (CIBM), University of Granada, Armilla, Granada, Spain; , ,
| | - Francisco J Barrionuevo
- Department of Genetics, Institute of Biotechnology, and Center of Biomedical Research (CIBM), University of Granada, Armilla, Granada, Spain; , ,
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4
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Butterworth NJ, Benbow ME, Barton PS. The ephemeral resource patch concept. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2022; 98:697-726. [PMID: 36517934 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Ephemeral resource patches (ERPs) - short lived resources including dung, carrion, temporary pools, rotting vegetation, decaying wood, and fungi - are found throughout every ecosystem. Their short-lived dynamics greatly enhance ecosystem heterogeneity and have shaped the evolutionary trajectories of a wide range of organisms - from bacteria to insects and amphibians. Despite this, there has been no attempt to distinguish ERPs clearly from other resource types, to identify their shared spatiotemporal characteristics, or to articulate their broad ecological and evolutionary influences on biotic communities. Here, we define ERPs as any distinct consumable resources which (i) are homogeneous (genetically, chemically, or structurally) relative to the surrounding matrix, (ii) host a discrete multitrophic community consisting of species that cannot replicate solely in any of the surrounding matrix, and (iii) cannot maintain a balance between depletion and renewal, which in turn, prevents multiple generations of consumers/users or reaching a community equilibrium. We outline the wide range of ERPs that fit these criteria, propose 12 spatiotemporal characteristics along which ERPs can vary, and synthesise a large body of literature that relates ERP dynamics to ecological and evolutionary theory. We draw this knowledge together and present a new unifying conceptual framework that incorporates how ERPs have shaped the adaptive trajectories of organisms, the structure of ecosystems, and how they can be integrated into biodiversity management and conservation. Future research should focus on how inter- and intra-resource variation occurs in nature - with a particular focus on resource × environment × genotype interactions. This will likely reveal novel adaptive strategies, aid the development of new eco-evolutionary theory, and greatly improve our understanding of the form and function of organisms and ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan J. Butterworth
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University Wellington Road Clayton VIC 3800 Australia
- School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney 15 Broadway Ultimo NSW 2007 Australia
| | - M. Eric Benbow
- Department of Entomology, Department of Osteopathic Medical Specialties, and Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Program Michigan State University 220 Trowbridge Rd East Lansing MI 48824 USA
| | - Philip S. Barton
- Future Regions Research Centre, Federation University University Drive, Mount Helen VIC 3350 Australia
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Gilbert MC, Lerose CS, Conith AJ, Albertson RC. Breaking constraints: The development and evolution of extreme fin morphology in the Bramidae. Evol Dev 2022; 24:109-124. [PMID: 35848377 PMCID: PMC9542103 DOI: 10.1111/ede.12409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The developmental process establishes the foundation upon which natural selection may act. In that same sense, it is inundated with numerous constraints that work to limit the directions in which a phenotype may respond to selective pressures. Extreme phenotypes have been used in the past to identify tradeoffs and constraints and may aid in recognizing how alterations to the Baupläne can influence the trajectories of lineages. The Bramidae, a family of Scombriformes consisting of 20 extant species, are unique in that five species greatly deviate from the stout, ovaloid bodies that typify the bramids. The Ptericlinae, or fanfishes, are instead characterized by relatively elongated body plans and extreme modifications to their medial fins. Here, we explore the development of Bramidae morphologies and examine them through a phylogenetic lens to investigate the concepts of developmental and evolutionary constraints. Contrary to our predictions that the fanfishes had been constrained by inherited properties of an ancestral state, we find that the fanfishes exhibit both increased rates of trait evolution and differ substantially from the other bramids in their developmental trajectories. Conversely, the remaining bramid genera differ little, both among one another and in comparison, to the sister family Caristiidae. In all, our data suggest that the fanfishes have broken constraints, thereby allowing them to mitigate trade‐offs on distinctive aspects of morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle C Gilbert
- Biology Department, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Graduate Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Catherine S Lerose
- Biology Department, Morrill Science Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Biology, Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Graduate Program, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Andrew J Conith
- Biology Department, Morrill Science Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - R Craig Albertson
- Biology Department, Morrill Science Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
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McCormick SK, Holekamp KE, Smale L, Weldele ML, Glickman SE, Place NJ. Sex Differences in Spotted Hyenas. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2022; 14:a039180. [PMID: 34649923 PMCID: PMC9248831 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a039180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The apparent virilization of the female spotted hyena raises questions about sex differences in behavior and morphology. We review these sex differences to find a mosaic of dimorphic traits, some of which conform to mammalian norms. These include space-use, dispersal behavior, sexual behavior, and parental behavior. By contrast, sex differences are reversed from mammalian norms in the hyena's aggressive behavior, social dominance, and territory defense. Androgen exposure early in development appears to enhance aggressiveness in female hyenas. Weapons, hunting behavior, and neonatal body mass do not differ between males and females, but females are slightly larger than males as adults. Sex differences in the hyena's nervous system are relatively subtle. Overall, it appears that the "masculinized" behavioral traits in female spotted hyenas are those, such as aggression, that are essential to ensuring consistent access to food; food critically limits female reproductive success in this species because female spotted hyenas have the highest energetic investment per litter of any mammalian carnivore. Evidently, natural selection has acted to modify traits related to food access, but has left intact those traits that are unrelated to acquiring food, such that they conform to patterns of sexual dimorphism in other mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Kevin McCormick
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
- Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
| | - Kay E Holekamp
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
- Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
| | - Laura Smale
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
- Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
| | - Mary L Weldele
- Departments of Psychology and Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Stephen E Glickman
- Departments of Psychology and Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Ned J Place
- Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
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7
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Tsuboi M. Exceptionally Steep Brain-Body Evolutionary Allometry Underlies the Unique Encephalization of Osteoglossiformes. BRAIN, BEHAVIOR AND EVOLUTION 2021; 96:49-63. [PMID: 34634787 DOI: 10.1159/000519067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Brain-body static allometry, which is the relationship between brain size and body size within species, is thought to reflect developmental and genetic constraints. Existing evidence suggests that the evolution of large brain size without accompanying changes in body size (that is, encephalization) may occur when this constraint is relaxed. Teleost fish species are generally characterized by having close-fitting brain-body static allometries, leading to strong allometric constraints and small relative brain sizes. However, one order of teleost, Osteoglossiformes, underwent extreme encephalization, and its mechanistic bases are unknown. Here, I used a dataset and phylogeny encompassing 859 teleost species to demonstrate that the encephalization of Osteoglossiformes occurred through an increase in the slope of evolutionary (among-species) brain-body allometry. The slope is virtually isometric (1.03 ± 0.09 SE), making it one of the steepest evolutionary brain-body allometric slopes reported to date, and it deviates significantly from the evolutionary brain-body allometric slopes of other clades of teleost. Examination of the relationship between static allometric parameters (intercepts and slopes) and evolutionary allometry revealed that the dramatic steepening of the evolutionary allometric slope in Osteoglossiformes was a combined result of evolution in the slopes and intercepts of static allometry. These results suggest that the evolution of static allometry, which likely has been driven by evolutionary changes in the rate and timing of brain development, has facilitated the unique encephalization of Osteoglossiformes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masahito Tsuboi
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.,Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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8
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Abstract
Goffin’s cockatoos, a parrot species endemic to the Tanimbar Islands in Indonesia, demonstrate remarkable cognitive skills across various technical tasks. These neophilic extractive foragers explore objects with their beak and feet, and are skilled in several modes of tool use. In this study, we confronted the animals for the first time with a vertical string-pulling setup, including a set of classic and novel controls. Nine of the 12 subjects, two of which were subadults, immediately interacted with the single-string task, with seven individuals successfully obtaining the reward on their very first attempt. Four different double string discrimination tests with varying spatial relations were used to assess the Goffin’s cockatoos’ apprehension of basic physical task properties. We found significant differences in performance between the respective experimental conditions, as well as the development of side biases. The results suggest that while the birds seem to consider simple cause–effect relationships, there is no evidence for a mental representation of the causal mechanisms underlying the string-pulling tasks, as subjects failed the crossed strings condition out of immediate sight. Finally, we provide suggestions on improving the methodology, and discuss our findings in regard to the Goffin’s cockatoo’s ecology.
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9
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Farrow LF, Andronicos NM, McDonald PG, Hamlin AS. Quantitative determination of neuronal size and density using flow cytometry. J Neurosci Methods 2021; 352:109081. [PMID: 33484745 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2021.109081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Revised: 12/19/2020] [Accepted: 01/14/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent anthropomorphic disturbances are occurring at an increasing rate leading to organisms facing a variety of challenges. This change is testing the information processing capacity (IPC) of all animals. Brain function is widely accepted to be influenced by a variety of factors, including relative size, number of neurons and neuronal densities. Therefore, in order to understand what drives an animals IPC, a methodological approach to analyze these factors must be established. NEW METHOD Here we created a protocol that allowed for high-throughput, non-biased quantification of neuronal density and size across six regions of the brain. We used the Isotropic Fractionator method in combination with flow cytometry to identify neuronal and non-neuronal cells in the brains of adult rats. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS The results obtained were comparable to those identified using stereological counting methods. RESULTS By employing this new method, the number of nuclei in a specific brain region can be compared between replicate animals within an experiment. By calibrating the forward scatter channel of the flow cytometer with size standard beads, neuronal and non-neuronal nuclear sizes can be estimated simultaneously with nuclei enumeration. These techniques for nuclear counting and size estimation are technically and biologically reproducible. CONCLUSION Use of flow cytometry provides a methodological approach that allows for consistency in research, so that information on brain morphology, and subsequent function, will become comparable across taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- L F Farrow
- Animal Behaviour and Ecology Laboratory, School of Environmental and Rural Science, Faculty of Science, Agriculture, Business and Law, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
| | - N M Andronicos
- Brain Behaviour Research Group, School of Science and Technology, Faculty of Science, Agriculture, Business and Law, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
| | - P G McDonald
- Animal Behaviour and Ecology Laboratory, School of Environmental and Rural Science, Faculty of Science, Agriculture, Business and Law, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
| | - A S Hamlin
- Brain Behaviour Research Group, School of Science and Technology, Faculty of Science, Agriculture, Business and Law, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia.
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Gordon DG, Zelaya A, Arganda-Carreras I, Arganda S, Traniello JFA. Division of labor and brain evolution in insect societies: Neurobiology of extreme specialization in the turtle ant Cephalotes varians. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0213618. [PMID: 30917163 PMCID: PMC6436684 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2018] [Accepted: 02/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Strongly polyphenic social insects provide excellent models to examine the neurobiological basis of division of labor. Turtle ants, Cephalotes varians, have distinct minor worker, soldier, and reproductive (gyne/queen) morphologies associated with their behavioral profiles: small-bodied task-generalist minors lack the phragmotic shield-shaped heads of soldiers, which are specialized to block and guard the nest entrance. Gynes found new colonies and during early stages of colony growth overlap behaviorally with soldiers. Here we describe patterns of brain structure and synaptic organization associated with division of labor in C. varians minor workers, soldiers, and gynes. We quantified brain volumes, determined scaling relationships among brain regions, and quantified the density and size of microglomeruli, synaptic complexes in the mushroom body calyxes important to higher-order processing abilities that may underpin behavioral performance. We found that brain volume was significantly larger in gynes; minor workers and soldiers had similar brain sizes. Consistent with their larger behavioral repertoire, minors had disproportionately larger mushroom bodies than soldiers and gynes. Soldiers and gynes had larger optic lobes, which may be important for flight and navigation in gynes, but serve different functions in soldiers. Microglomeruli were larger and less dense in minor workers; soldiers and gynes did not differ. Correspondence in brain structure despite differences in soldiers and gyne behavior may reflect developmental integration, suggesting that neurobiological metrics not only advance our understanding of brain evolution in social insects, but may also help resolve questions of the origin of novel castes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darcy Greer Gordon
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Alejandra Zelaya
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Ignacio Arganda-Carreras
- Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain
- Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, Basque Country University, San Sebastian, Spain
- Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), San Sebastian, Spain
| | - Sara Arganda
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States of America
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | - James F. A. Traniello
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States of America
- Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States of America
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11
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Kasper C, Hebert FO, Aubin-Horth N, Taborsky B. Divergent brain gene expression profiles between alternative behavioural helper types in a cooperative breeder. Mol Ecol 2018; 27:4136-4151. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.14837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2017] [Revised: 07/21/2018] [Accepted: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Kasper
- Behavioural Ecology; University of Bern; Hinterkappelen Switzerland
| | - Francois Olivier Hebert
- Département de Biologie et Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes; Université Laval; Québec Québec Canada
| | - Nadia Aubin-Horth
- Département de Biologie et Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes; Université Laval; Québec Québec Canada
| | - Barbara Taborsky
- Behavioural Ecology; University of Bern; Hinterkappelen Switzerland
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12
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Breakdown of brain–body allometry and the encephalization of birds and mammals. Nat Ecol Evol 2018; 2:1492-1500. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0632-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2018] [Accepted: 07/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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13
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Turner JW, Bills PS, Holekamp KE. Ontogenetic change in determinants of social network position in the spotted hyena. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2426-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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14
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Behavior, brain, and morphology in a complex insect society: trait integration and social evolution in the exceptionally polymorphic ant Pheidole rhea. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2396-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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15
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16
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Kershenbaum A, Blumstein DT. Introduction to the special column: communication, cooperation, and cognition in predators. Curr Zool 2017; 63:295-299. [PMID: 29491988 PMCID: PMC5804181 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zox027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Arik Kershenbaum
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Daniel T. Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA
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Bierbach D, Laskowski KL, Wolf M. Behavioural individuality in clonal fish arises despite near-identical rearing conditions. Nat Commun 2017; 8:15361. [PMID: 28513582 PMCID: PMC5442312 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2016] [Accepted: 03/23/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Behavioural individuality is thought to be caused by differences in genes and/or environmental conditions. Therefore, if these sources of variation are removed, individuals are predicted to develop similar phenotypes lacking repeatable individual variation. Moreover, even among genetically identical individuals, direct social interactions are predicted to be a powerful factor shaping the development of individuality. We use tightly controlled ontogenetic experiments with clonal fish, the Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa), to test whether near-identical rearing conditions and lack of social contact dampen individuality. In sharp contrast to our predictions, we find that (i) substantial individual variation in behaviour emerges among genetically identical individuals isolated directly after birth into highly standardized environments and (ii) increasing levels of social experience during ontogeny do not affect levels of individual behavioural variation. In contrast to the current research paradigm, which focuses on genes and/or environmental drivers, our findings suggest that individuality might be an inevitable and potentially unpredictable outcome of development. Genetically-identical animals experiencing the same environmental conditions should develop, in theory, identical behavioral traits. However, Bierbach et al. show here that behavioral differences still emerge among cloned fish under tightly controlled experimental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Kate L Laskowski
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Max Wolf
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
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19
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Katz PS. Evolution of central pattern generators and rhythmic behaviours. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:20150057. [PMID: 26598733 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Comparisons of rhythmic movements and the central pattern generators (CPGs) that control them uncover principles about the evolution of behaviour and neural circuits. Over the course of evolutionary history, gradual evolution of behaviours and their neural circuitry within any lineage of animals has been a predominant occurrence. Small changes in gene regulation can lead to divergence of circuit organization and corresponding changes in behaviour. However, some behavioural divergence has resulted from large-scale rewiring of the neural network. Divergence of CPG circuits has also occurred without a corresponding change in behaviour. When analogous rhythmic behaviours have evolved independently, it has generally been with different neural mechanisms. Repeated evolution of particular rhythmic behaviours has occurred within some lineages due to parallel evolution or latent CPGs. Particular motor pattern generating mechanisms have also evolved independently in separate lineages. The evolution of CPGs and rhythmic behaviours shows that although most behaviours and neural circuits are highly conserved, the nature of the behaviour does not dictate the neural mechanism and that the presence of homologous neural components does not determine the behaviour. This suggests that although behaviour is generated by neural circuits, natural selection can act separately on these two levels of biological organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul S Katz
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302-5030, USA
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20
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Campennì M, Schino G. Symmetry-based reciprocity: evolutionary constraints on a proximate mechanism. PeerJ 2016; 4:e1812. [PMID: 26998412 PMCID: PMC4797768 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.1812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2015] [Accepted: 02/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background. While the evolution of reciprocal cooperation has attracted an enormous attention, the proximate mechanisms underlying the ability of animals to cooperate reciprocally are comparatively neglected. Symmetry-based reciprocity is a hypothetical proximate mechanism that has been suggested to be widespread among cognitively unsophisticated animals. Methods. We developed two agent-based models of symmetry-based reciprocity (one relying on an arbitrary tag and the other on interindividual proximity) and tested their ability both to reproduce significant emergent features of cooperation in group living animals and to promote the evolution of cooperation. Results. Populations formed by agents adopting symmetry-based reciprocity showed differentiated “social relationships” and a positive correlation between cooperation given and received: two common aspects of animal cooperation. However, when reproduction and selection across multiple generations were added to the models, agents adopting symmetry-based reciprocity were outcompeted by selfish agents that never cooperated. Discussion. In order to evolve, hypothetical proximate mechanisms must be able to stand competition from alternative strategies. While the results of our simulations require confirmation using analytical methods, we provisionally suggest symmetry-based reciprocity is to be abandoned as a possible proximate mechanism underlying the ability of animals to reciprocate cooperative interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Campennì
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholms Universitet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Gabriele Schino
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche , Rome , Italy
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Yoshida KCS, Van Meter PE, Holekamp KE. Variation among free-living spotted hyenas in three personality traits. BEHAVIOUR 2016. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Inter-individual differences in behaviour, termed ‘animal personality’, are often consistent over time and across contexts and can be significantly related to fitness. However, most studies of animal personality are conducted in the laboratory or involve experimental protocols. Here, we used longitudinal scan and all-occurrence data collected under naturalistic conditions over 21 years to study boldness, aggressiveness, and sociability in a wild population of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). We found significant variation among individual hyenas in all three traits; however, whereas both sexes exhibited consistent inter-individual differences in aggressiveness and sociability, males were less consistent than females in their boldness. Heritability and maternal effects were small but significant for both boldness and sociability. A large proportion of the variation in aggressiveness could be attributed to genetic and maternal effects, supporting previous research linking hormone exposure in utero to aggressive behaviour later in life. All three traits were correlated with at least one measure of fitness. Particularly aggressive females were more successful in raising their offspring to reproductive maturity than less aggressive females. Interestingly, the reproductive benefits of sociability depended on social rank; for low-ranking hyenas, gaining feeding tolerance via sociability may significantly enhance reproductive success. Both boldness and sociability were linked to survival, but these traits affected longevity in different ways; highly social hyenas lived longer than those that were less social, but selection on boldness was stabilizing, favoring hyenas with intermediate boldness values that balance the benefits of risky behaviour against risks of injury and death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn C. Shaw Yoshida
- Las Vegas Natural History Museum, 900 Las Vegas Boulevard N, Las Vegas, NV 89101, USA
- Ecology, Evolutionary Biology & Behavior Program, Michigan State University, 293 Farm Lane, Room 103, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, Room 203, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Page E. Van Meter
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, Room 203, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Division of Clinical Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Kay E. Holekamp
- Ecology, Evolutionary Biology & Behavior Program, Michigan State University, 293 Farm Lane, Room 103, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, Room 203, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
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22
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23
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Kamilar JM, Tecot SR. Connecting proximate mechanisms and evolutionary patterns: pituitary gland size and mammalian life history. J Evol Biol 2015; 28:1997-2008. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2015] [Revised: 07/30/2015] [Accepted: 07/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J. M. Kamilar
- Department of Anthropology; University of Massachusetts; Amherst MA USA
- Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology; University of Massachusetts; Amherst MA USA
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change; Arizona State University; Tempe AZ USA
| | - S. R. Tecot
- School of Anthropology; University of Arizona; Tucson AZ USA
- Laboratory for the Evolutionary Endocrinology of Primates; University of Arizona; Tucson AZ USA
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24
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Duckworth RA. Neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying behavioral stability: implications for the evolutionary origin of personality. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2015; 1360:54-74. [DOI: 10.1111/nyas.12797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Renée A. Duckworth
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of Arizona; Tucson Arizona
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25
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Holekamp KE, Dantzer B, Stricker G, Shaw Yoshida KC, Benson-Amram S. Brains, brawn and sociality: a hyaena's tale. Anim Behav 2015; 103:237-248. [PMID: 26160980 PMCID: PMC4493912 DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.01.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Theoretically intelligence should evolve to help animals solve specific types of problems posed by the environment, but it remains unclear how environmental complexity or novelty facilitates the evolutionary enhancement of cognitive abilities, or whether domain-general intelligence can evolve in response to domain-specific selection pressures. The social complexity hypothesis, which posits that intelligence evolved to cope with the labile behaviour of conspecific group-mates, has been strongly supported by work on the sociocognitive abilities of primates and other animals. Here we review the remarkable convergence in social complexity between cercopithecine primates and spotted hyaenas, and describe our tests of predictions of the social complexity hypothesis in regard to both cognition and brain size in hyaenas. Behavioural data indicate that there has been remarkable convergence between primates and hyaenas with respect to their abilities in the domain of social cognition. Furthermore, within the family Hyaenidae, our data suggest that social complexity might have contributed to enlargement of the frontal cortex. However, social complexity failed to predict either brain volume or frontal cortex volume in a larger array of mammalian carnivores. To address the question of whether or not social complexity might be able to explain the evolution of domain-general intelligence as well as social cognition in particular, we presented simple puzzle boxes, baited with food and scaled to accommodate body size, to members of 39 carnivore species housed in zoos and found that species with larger brains relative to their body mass were more innovative and more successful at opening the boxes. However, social complexity failed to predict success in solving this problem. Overall our work suggests that, although social complexity enhances social cognition, there are no unambiguous causal links between social complexity and either brain size or performance in problem-solving tasks outside the social domain in mammalian carnivores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kay E. Holekamp
- Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, U.S.A
- BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, U.S.A
| | - Ben Dantzer
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, U.S.A
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, U.S.A
| | - Gregory Stricker
- Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, U.S.A
| | | | - Sarah Benson-Amram
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, U.S.A
- Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, U.S.A
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26
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Stamps JA. Individual differences in behavioural plasticities. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2015; 91:534-67. [PMID: 25865135 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 154] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2014] [Revised: 03/14/2015] [Accepted: 03/18/2015] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Interest in individual differences in animal behavioural plasticities has surged in recent years, but research in this area has been hampered by semantic confusion as different investigators use the same terms (e.g. plasticity, flexibility, responsiveness) to refer to different phenomena. The first goal of this review is to suggest a framework for categorizing the many different types of behavioural plasticities, describe examples of each, and indicate why using reversibility as a criterion for categorizing behavioural plasticities is problematic. This framework is then used to address a number of timely questions about individual differences in behavioural plasticities. One set of questions concerns the experimental designs that can be used to study individual differences in various types of behavioural plasticities. Although within-individual designs are the default option for empirical studies of many types of behavioural plasticities, in some situations (e.g. when experience at an early age affects the behaviour expressed at subsequent ages), 'replicate individual' designs can provide useful insights into individual differences in behavioural plasticities. To date, researchers using within-individual and replicate individual designs have documented individual differences in all of the major categories of behavioural plasticities described herein. Another important question is whether and how different types of behavioural plasticities are related to one another. Currently there is empirical evidence that many behavioural plasticities [e.g. contextual plasticity, learning rates, IIV (intra-individual variability), endogenous plasticities, ontogenetic plasticities) can themselves vary as a function of experiences earlier in life, that is, many types of behavioural plasticity are themselves developmentally plastic. These findings support the assumption that differences among individuals in prior experiences may contribute to individual differences in behavioural plasticities observed at a given age. Several authors have predicted correlations across individuals between different types of behavioural plasticities, i.e. that some individuals will be generally more plastic than others. However, empirical support for most of these predictions, including indirect evidence from studies of relationships between personality traits and plasticities, is currently sparse and equivocal. The final section of this review suggests how an appreciation of the similarities and differences between different types of behavioural plasticities may help theoreticians formulate testable models to explain the evolution of individual differences in behavioural plasticities and the evolutionary and ecological consequences of individual differences in behavioural plasticities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judy A Stamps
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, U.S.A
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Sabau RM, Ferkin MH. Maternal Food Restriction During Lactation Affects Body Weightand Sexual Behavior of Male Offspring in Meadow Voles ( Microtus pennsylvanicus). Ethology 2014; 120:793-803. [PMID: 27087714 DOI: 10.1111/eth.12252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Little is known about the occurrence of individual variation in sexual behavior and how maternal nutrition can affect this variation. We tested the hypothesis that male offspring of female meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, that were 30% food restricted (FR) during days 1-7 of lactation (FR 1-7), days 8-14 of lactation (FR 8-14), or late days 15-21 of lactation (FR 15-21) lactation show persistent, negative effects on their sexual behavior as adults relative to male offspring of females that were not food restricted. We measured three components of sexual behavior, attractivity, proceptivity and receptivity, beginning when the males were 98 days of age. Food restriction during middle lactation (FR 8-14) but not during early (FR 1-7) and late lactation (FR 15-21) was sufficient to induce adult male voles to produce anogenital marks that were not as attractive as those produced by control males. Food restriction during lactation did not affect the proceptive behavior of male voles but did affect their receptivity. Only 4 of 12 FR 8-14 male voles mated compared to 9 of 12 FR 1-7 males, 8 of 12 FR 15-21 males, and 8 of 11 control males. However, no differences existed in their copulatory behavior among the males that did mate. The body weight of FR 1-7 and FR 8-14 males was lower than that of FR 15-21 and control males when they were between 22 days of age (weaning) and 48 days of age (puberty) but was similar when the males were 98 days of age. Food intake was similar for the FR and control males between day 22 and day 98. It remains unclear, however, if this type of maternal effect represents strategic programming of offspring behavior in response to the environment experienced by mothers or is a product of developmental processes of food restriction prior to weaning (Forstmeier et al. 2004).
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramona M Sabau
- The University of Memphis, Department of Biological Sciences, Ellington Hall, Memphis, TN 38152 USA
| | - Michael H Ferkin
- The University of Memphis, Department of Biological Sciences, Ellington Hall, Memphis, TN 38152 USA
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28
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Tsuboi M, Gonzalez-Voyer A, Kolm N. Phenotypic integration of brain size and head morphology in Lake Tanganyika Cichlids. BMC Evol Biol 2014; 14:39. [PMID: 24593160 PMCID: PMC4015177 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-14-39] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2013] [Accepted: 02/25/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Phenotypic integration among different anatomical parts of the head is a common phenomenon across vertebrates. Interestingly, despite centuries of research into the factors that contribute to the existing variation in brain size among vertebrates, little is known about the role of phenotypic integration in brain size diversification. Here we used geometric morphometrics on the morphologically diverse Tanganyikan cichlids to investigate phenotypic integration across key morphological aspects of the head. Then, while taking the effect of shared ancestry into account, we tested if head shape was associated with brain size while controlling for the potentially confounding effect of feeding strategy. Results The shapes of the anterior and posterior parts of the head were strongly correlated, indicating that the head represents an integrated morphological unit in Lake Tanganyika cichlids. After controlling for phylogenetic non-independence, we also found evolutionary associations between head shape, brain size and feeding ecology. Conclusions Geometric morphometrics and phylogenetic comparative analyses revealed that the anterior and posterior parts of the head are integrated, and that head morphology is associated with brain size and feeding ecology in Tanganyikan cichlid fishes. In light of previous results on mammals, our results suggest that the influence of phenotypic integration on brain diversification is a general process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masahito Tsuboi
- Department of Animal Ecology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden.
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French JA, Mustoe AC, Cavanaugh J, Birnie AK. The influence of androgenic steroid hormones on female aggression in 'atypical' mammals. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2013; 368:20130084. [PMID: 24167314 PMCID: PMC3826213 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Dimorphism on dominance and agonistic behaviour in mammals tends to be strongly biased toward males. In this review, we focus on a select few species of mammals in which females are as or more aggressive than males, and/or are dominant to males, and explore the role of androgenic hormones in mediating this important difference. While the data are not as clear-cut as those published on traditional laboratory mammals, our review highlights important endocrine substrates for both organizational and activational influences of steroids on female aggressive behaviour. We highlight areas in which further observations and experiments are crucial, especially the potential facilitative effects of androgens on female aggression. Finally, new and innovative techniques, including molecular genetics and receptor pharmacology, portend important insights into the ways in which androgenic hormones regulate aggressive behaviour in 'atypical' female mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey A. French
- Department of Psychology, Callitrichid Research Center, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE 68182, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE 68182, USA
| | - Aaryn C. Mustoe
- Department of Psychology, Callitrichid Research Center, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE 68182, USA
| | - Jon Cavanaugh
- Department of Psychology, Callitrichid Research Center, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE 68182, USA
| | - Andrew K. Birnie
- Department of Psychology, Callitrichid Research Center, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE 68182, USA
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Kappeler PM, Barrett L, Blumstein DT, Clutton-Brock TH. Constraints and flexibility in mammalian social behaviour: introduction and synthesis. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2013; 368:20120337. [PMID: 23569286 PMCID: PMC3638441 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2012.0337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper introduces a Theme Issue presenting the latest developments in research on the interplay between flexibility and constraint in social behaviour, using comparative datasets, long-term field studies and experimental data from both field and laboratory studies of mammals. We first explain our focus on mammals and outline the main components of their social systems, focusing on variation within- and among-species in numerous aspects of social organization, mating system and social structure. We then review the current state of primarily ultimate explanations of this diversity in social behaviour. We approach the question of how and why the balance between behavioural flexibility and continuity is achieved by discussing the genetic, developmental, ecological and social constraints on hypothetically unlimited behavioural flexibility. We introduce the other contributions to this Theme Issue against this background and conclude that constraints are often crucial to the evolution and expression of behavioural flexibility. In exploring these issues, the enduring relevance of Tinbergen's seminal paper 'On aims and methods in ethology', with its advocacy of an integrative, four-pronged approach to studying behaviour becomes apparent: an exceptionally fitting tribute on the 50th anniversary of its publication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter M Kappeler
- Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
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Barrett L, Blumstein DT, Clutton-Brock TH, Kappeler PM. Taking note of Tinbergen, or: the promise of a biology of behaviour. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2013; 368:20120352. [PMID: 23569300 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2012.0352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In this concluding paper, we revisit Tinbergen's 1963 article and assess its impact on the field of behavioural research in general, and the papers in this volume in particular. We show how Tinbergen's insistence that greater attention should be paid to studies of 'survival value' has yielded immense returns over the past 50 years, allowing an integrative biology of behaviour to emerge and thrive, and that his addition of ontogeny to the 'major problems of biology' was both insightful and prescient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise Barrett
- Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Canada.
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