1
|
Rogers FD, Peña CJ, Mallarino R. African striped mice (Rhabdomys pumilio) as a neurobehavioral model for male parental care. Horm Behav 2023; 152:105364. [PMID: 37087766 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Revised: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
Abstract
Parental care is diversely demonstrated across the animal kingdom, such that active practitioners and repertoires of parental behavior vary dramatically between and within taxa. For mammals, maternal care is ubiquitous while paternal and alloparental care are rare. The African striped mouse, a rodent species in the family Muridae, demonstrates maternal, paternal, and alloparental care. Because socio-environmental factors can considerably influence the development of their social behavior, including that of paternal and alloparental care, African striped mice are considered socially flexible. Here, we highlight African striped mice as a new model for the neurobiological study of male parental care. We first provide essential background information on the species' natural ecological setting and reproductive behavior, as well as the species-relevant interaction between ecology and reproduction. We then introduce the nature of maternal, paternal, and alloparental care in the species. Lastly, we provide a review of existing developmental and neurobiological perspectives and highlight potential avenues for future research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Forrest Dylan Rogers
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Washington Rd., Princeton, NJ 08544, United States of America; Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, 119 Lewis Thomas Laboratory, Washington Rd., Princeton, NJ 08544, United States of America.
| | - Catherine Jensen Peña
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Washington Rd., Princeton, NJ 08544, United States of America
| | - Ricardo Mallarino
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, 119 Lewis Thomas Laboratory, Washington Rd., Princeton, NJ 08544, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Vullioud P, Mendonça R, Glauser G, Bennett N, Zöttl M, Katlein N, Leal R, Fuerst R, Clutton-Brock T. Increases in glucocorticoids are sufficient but not necessary to increase cooperative burrowing in Damaraland mole-rats. Horm Behav 2021; 135:105034. [PMID: 34320418 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Despite widespread interest in the evolution of cooperative behaviour, the physiological mechanisms shaping their expression remain elusive. We tested the hypothesis that glucocorticoid (GC) hormones affect cooperative behaviour using captive Damaraland mole-rats (Fukomys damarensis), a cooperatively breeding mammal. Within groups, individuals routinely contribute to public goods that include foraging tunnels, which provide all group members access to the tubers of desert plants they feed on, communal food stores and nests. We found that experimental increases in glucocorticoid concentration (GCc) in non-breeding female helpers led them to be active for longer and to burrow more while active, raising their daily contributions to burrowing, but not food carrying or nest building. However, experimentally induced increases in burrowing did not lead to elevated GCc in helpers of both sexes. These results suggest that heightened GCc may stimulate some cooperative behaviours that are energetically demanding (a characteristic shared by many types of cooperative activities across species) but that the cooperative behaviours affected by GCc can also be regulated by other mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Rute Mendonça
- Laboratory of Evolutionary Ecophysiology, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Gaëtan Glauser
- Neuchatel Platform of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Nigel Bennett
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Markus Zöttl
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems, EEMiS, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden
| | - Nathan Katlein
- Kalahari Meerkat Project, Kuruman River Reserve, Northern Cape, South Africa
| | - Rita Leal
- Kalahari Meerkat Project, Kuruman River Reserve, Northern Cape, South Africa
| | - Romain Fuerst
- Kalahari Meerkat Project, Kuruman River Reserve, Northern Cape, South Africa
| | - Tim Clutton-Brock
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Cusick JA, Wellman CL, Demas GE. The call of the wild: using non-model systems to investigate microbiome-behaviour relationships. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:jeb224485. [PMID: 33988717 PMCID: PMC8180253 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.224485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
On and within most sites across an animal's body live complex communities of microorganisms. These microorganisms perform a variety of important functions for their hosts, including communicating with the brain, immune system and endocrine axes to mediate physiological processes and affect individual behaviour. Microbiome research has primarily focused on the functions of the microbiome within the gastrointestinal tract (gut microbiome) using biomedically relevant laboratory species (i.e. model organisms). These studies have identified important connections between the gut microbiome and host immune, neuroendocrine and nervous systems, as well as how these connections, in turn, influence host behaviour and health. Recently, the field has expanded beyond traditional model systems as it has become apparent that the microbiome can drive differences in behaviour and diet, play a fundamental role in host fitness and influence community-scale dynamics in wild populations. In this Review, we highlight the value of conducting hypothesis-driven research in non-model organisms and the benefits of a comparative approach that assesses patterns across different species or taxa. Using social behaviour as an intellectual framework, we review the bidirectional relationship between the gut microbiome and host behaviour, and identify understudied mechanisms by which these effects may be mediated.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jessica A. Cusick
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Biology Building 142, 1001 East Third Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
- Animal Behavior Program, Indiana University, 409 N. Park Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Cara L. Wellman
- Animal Behavior Program, Indiana University, 409 N. Park Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, 1101 E. 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405-7007, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Psychology Building, 1101 E 10th Street Bloomington, IN 47405-2204, USA
| | - Gregory E. Demas
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Biology Building 142, 1001 East Third Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
- Animal Behavior Program, Indiana University, 409 N. Park Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Psychology Building, 1101 E 10th Street Bloomington, IN 47405-2204, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Raulo A, Dantzer B. Associations between glucocorticoids and sociality across a continuum of vertebrate social behavior. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:7697-7716. [PMID: 30151183 PMCID: PMC6106170 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2017] [Revised: 02/22/2018] [Accepted: 02/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The causes and consequences of individual differences in animal behavior and stress physiology are increasingly studied in wild animals, yet the possibility that stress physiology underlies individual variation in social behavior has received less attention. In this review, we bring together these study areas and focus on understanding how the activity of the vertebrate neuroendocrine stress axis (HPA-axis) may underlie individual differences in social behavior in wild animals. We first describe a continuum of vertebrate social behaviors spanning from initial social tendencies (proactive behavior) to social behavior occurring in reproductive contexts (parental care, sexual pair-bonding) and lastly to social behavior occurring in nonreproductive contexts (nonsexual bonding, group-level cooperation). We then perform a qualitative review of existing literature to address the correlative and causal association between measures of HPA-axis activity (glucocorticoid levels or GCs) and each of these types of social behavior. As expected, elevated HPA-axis activity can inhibit social behavior associated with initial social tendencies (approaching conspecifics) and reproduction. However, elevated HPA-axis activity may also enhance more elaborate social behavior outside of reproductive contexts, such as alloparental care behavior. In addition, the effect of GCs on social behavior can depend upon the sociality of the stressor (cause of increase in GCs) and the severity of stress (extent of increase in GCs). Our review shows that the while the associations between stress responses and sociality are diverse, the role of HPA-axis activity behind social behavior may shift toward more facilitating and less inhibiting in more social species, providing insight into how stress physiology and social systems may co-evolve.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aura Raulo
- Department of BiosciencesUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
- Zoology DepartmentUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - Ben Dantzer
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichigan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichigan
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Dantzer B, Goncalves IB, Spence-Jones HC, Bennett NC, Heistermann M, Ganswindt A, Dubuc C, Gaynor D, Manser MB, Clutton-Brock TH. The influence of stress hormones and aggression on cooperative behaviour in subordinate meerkats. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.1248. [PMID: 28931736 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2017] [Accepted: 08/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In cooperative breeders, aggression from dominant breeders directed at subordinates may raise subordinate stress hormone (glucocorticoid) concentrations. This may benefit dominants by suppressing subordinate reproduction but it is uncertain whether aggression from dominants can elevate subordinate cooperative behaviour, or how resulting changes in subordinate glucocorticoid concentrations affect their cooperative behaviour. We show here that the effects of manipulating glucocorticoid concentrations in wild meerkats (Suricata suricatta) on cooperative behaviour varied between cooperative activities as well as between the sexes. Subordinates of both sexes treated with a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist (mifepristone) exhibited significantly more pup protection behaviour (babysitting) compared to those treated with glucocorticoids (cortisol) or controls. Females treated with mifepristone had a higher probability of exhibiting pup food provisioning (pup-feeding) compared to those treated with cortisol. In males, there were no treatment effects on the probability of pup-feeding, but those treated with cortisol gave a higher proportion of the food they found to pups than those treated with mifepristone. Using 19 years of behavioural data, we also show that dominant females did not increase the frequency with which they directed aggression at subordinates at times when the need for assistance was highest. Our results suggest that it is unlikely that dominant females manipulate the cooperative behaviour of subordinates through the effects of aggression on their glucocorticoid levels and that the function of aggression directed at subordinates is probably to reduce the probability they will breed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ben Dantzer
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK .,Kalahari Meerkat Project, Kuruman River Reserve, Northern Cape, South Africa
| | - Ines Braga Goncalves
- Kalahari Meerkat Project, Kuruman River Reserve, Northern Cape, South Africa.,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, Animal Behaviour, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Nigel C Bennett
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Michael Heistermann
- Endocrinology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Andre Ganswindt
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.,Endocrine Research Laboratory, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, University of Pretoria, 0110 Onderstepoort, South Africa
| | - Constance Dubuc
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Kalahari Meerkat Project, Kuruman River Reserve, Northern Cape, South Africa
| | - David Gaynor
- Kalahari Meerkat Project, Kuruman River Reserve, Northern Cape, South Africa.,Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Marta B Manser
- Kalahari Meerkat Project, Kuruman River Reserve, Northern Cape, South Africa.,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, Animal Behaviour, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tim H Clutton-Brock
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Kalahari Meerkat Project, Kuruman River Reserve, Northern Cape, South Africa.,Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Arginine vasopressin in brains of free ranging striped mouse males following alternative reproductive tactics. J ETHOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-015-0436-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
|