1
|
Cantlay JC, Martin GR, McClelland SC, Potier S, O'Brien MF, Fernández-Juricic E, Bond AL, Portugal SJ. Binocular vision and foraging in ducks, geese and swans (Anatidae). Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231213. [PMID: 37670586 PMCID: PMC10510447 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Wide variation in visual field configuration across avian species is hypothesized to be driven primarily by foraging ecology and predator detection. While some studies of selected taxa have identified relationships between foraging ecology and binocular field characteristics in particular species, few have accounted for the relevance of shared ancestry. We conducted a large-scale, comparative analysis across 39 Anatidae species to investigate the relationship between the foraging ecology traits of diet or behaviour and binocular field parameters, while controlling for phylogeny. We used phylogenetic models to examine correlations between traits and binocular field characteristics, using unidimensional and morphometric approaches. We found that foraging behaviour influenced three parameters of binocular field size: maximum binocular field width, vertical binocular field extent, and angular separation between the eye-bill projection and the direction of maximum binocular field width. Foraging behaviour and body mass each influenced two descriptors of binocular field shape. Phylogenetic relatedness had minimal influence on binocular field size and shape, apart from vertical binocular field extent. Binocular field differences are associated with specific foraging behaviours, as related to the perceptual challenges of obtaining different food items from aquatic and terrestrial environments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer C. Cantlay
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Graham R. Martin
- School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Stephanie C. McClelland
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Simon Potier
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Lund University, Sölvegatan 35, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | | | | | - Alexander L. Bond
- Bird Group, Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Akeman Street, Tring, Hertfordshire HP23 6AP, UK
| | - Steven J. Portugal
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
- Bird Group, Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Akeman Street, Tring, Hertfordshire HP23 6AP, UK
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Decision-making at the time of parasitism: cowbirds prefer to peck eggs with weaker shells. Anim Cogn 2021; 25:275-285. [PMID: 34405287 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01549-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Interspecific avian brood parasites, like cuckoos and cowbirds, lay their eggs in nests of other species, the hosts, which take over the entire parental care of the parasite's eggs and chicks. This breeding strategy requires decisions that may affect the parasite's reproductive success. During the breeding season, cowbirds search for host nests and revisit them to monitor its progress and parasitize at the time host laying begins. When visiting hosts nests, they repeatedly peck the nest contents trying to destroy one or more eggs. This behaviour favours parasite's offspring by reducing the competition for food with nestmates. We evaluated if the egg-pecking behaviour of female shiny (Molothrus bonariensis) and screaming (M. rufoaxillaris) cowbirds is affected by the strength and the size of the eggs they find in the nest. We presented to wild-caught females artificial clutches with two natural eggs that differ in size and shell strength. We found that female shiny and screaming cowbirds adjusted egg-pecking behaviour based on the strength but not on the size of the eggs. When differences in strength between eggs were high, both cowbird species pecked more frequently the egg with the weaker shell, increasing the probability of a successful puncture. Our results indicate that female cowbirds can discriminate eggs through the strength of the shell, and by choosing the weaker egg to peck, they increase the probability of puncturing.
Collapse
|
3
|
Lessner EJ. Quantifying neurovascular canal branching patterns reveals a shared crocodylian arrangement. J Morphol 2020; 282:185-204. [PMID: 33135825 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.21295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2020] [Revised: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Highly branched dendritic structures are common in nature and often difficult to quantify and therefore compare. Cranial neurovascular canals, examples of such structures, are osteological correlates for somatosensory systems and have been explored only qualitatively. Adaptations of traditional stream-ordering methods are applied to representative structures derived from computed tomography-scan data. Applying these methods to crocodylian taxa, this clade demonstrates a shared branching pattern and exemplifies the comparative utility of these methods. Additionally, this pattern corresponds with current understanding of crocodylian sensory abilities and behaviors. The method is applicable to many taxa and anatomical structures and provides evidence for morphology-based hypotheses of sensory and physiological evolution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emily J Lessner
- Program in Integrative Anatomy, Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Cantlay JC, Bond AL, Wells-Berlin AM, Crawford R, Martin GR, Rouxel Y, Peregoy S, McGrew KA, Portugal SJ. Ineffectiveness of light emitting diodes as underwater deterrents for Long-tailed Ducks Clangula hyemalis. Glob Ecol Conserv 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022] Open
|
5
|
Schneider ER, Anderson EO, Feketa VV, Mastrotto M, Nikolaev YA, Gracheva EO, Bagriantsev SN. A Cross-Species Analysis Reveals a General Role for Piezo2 in Mechanosensory Specialization of Trigeminal Ganglia from Tactile Specialist Birds. Cell Rep 2019; 26:1979-1987.e3. [PMID: 30784581 PMCID: PMC6420409 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.01.100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Revised: 12/20/2018] [Accepted: 01/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
A major challenge in biology is to link cellular and molecular variations with behavioral phenotypes. Here, we studied somatosensory neurons from a panel of bird species from the family Anatidae, known for their tactile-based foraging behavior. We found that tactile specialists exhibit a proportional expansion of neuronal mechanoreceptors in trigeminal ganglia. The expansion of mechanoreceptors occurs via neurons with intermediately and slowly inactivating mechanocurrent. Such neurons contain the mechanically gated Piezo2 ion channel whose expression positively correlates with the expression of factors responsible for the development and function of mechanoreceptors. Conversely, Piezo2 expression negatively correlates with expression of molecules mediating the detection of temperature and pain, suggesting that the expansion of Piezo2-containing mechanoreceptors with prolonged mechanocurrent occurs at the expense of thermoreceptors and nociceptors. Our study suggests that the trade-off between neuronal subtypes is a general mechanism of tactile specialization at the level of somatosensory system.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eve R Schneider
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Evan O Anderson
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Viktor V Feketa
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Program in Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration and Repair, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Marco Mastrotto
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Program in Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration and Repair, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Yury A Nikolaev
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Elena O Gracheva
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Program in Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration and Repair, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
| | - Sviatoslav N Bagriantsev
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
| |
Collapse
|