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Dantzer B, Newman AEM. Expanding the frame around social dynamics and glucocorticoids: From hierarchies within the nest to competitive interactions among species. Horm Behav 2022; 144:105204. [PMID: 35689971 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The effect of the social environment on individual state or condition has largely focused on glucocorticoid levels (GCs). As metabolic hormones whose production can be influenced by nutritional, physical, or psychosocial stressors, GCs are a valuable (though singular) measure that may reflect the degree of "stress" experienced by an individual. Most work to date has focused on how social rank influences GCs in group-living species or how predation risk influences GCs in prey. This work has been revealing, but a more comprehensive assessment of the social environment is needed to fully understand how different features of the social environment influence GCs in both group living and non-group living species and across life history stages. Just as there can be intense within-group competition among adult conspecifics, it bears appreciating there can also be competition among siblings from the same brood, among adult conspecifics that do not live in groups, or among heterospecifics. In these situations, dominance hierarchies typically emerge, albeit, do dominants or subordinate individuals or species have higher GCs? We examine the degree of support for hypotheses derived from group-living species about whether differential GCs between dominants and subordinates reflect the "stress of subordination" or "costs of dominance" in these other social contexts. By doing so, we aim to test the generality of these two hypotheses and propose new research directions to broaden the lens that focuses on social hierarchies and GCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben Dantzer
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 48109 Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 48109, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Amy E M Newman
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G2W1, Canada
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2
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Schneeberger K, Eccard JA. Experience of social density during early life is associated with attraction to conspecific odour in the common vole (
Microtus arvalis
). Ethology 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Karin Schneeberger
- Animal Ecology group University of Potsdam Potsdam Germany
- Applied Zoology and Nature Conservation University of Greifswald Greifswald Germany
| | - Jana A. Eccard
- Animal Ecology group University of Potsdam Potsdam Germany
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3
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Mazza V, Dammhahn M, Eccard JA, Palme R, Zaccaroni M, Jacob J. Coping with style: individual differences in responses to environmental variation. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2760-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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4
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Boudreau MR, Seguin JL, Boonstra R, Palme R, Boutin S, Krebs CJ, Murray DL. Experimental increase in predation risk causes a cascading stress response in free-ranging snowshoe hares. Oecologia 2019; 191:311-323. [PMID: 31535254 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-019-04500-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2018] [Accepted: 09/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Extensive research confirms that environmental stressors like predation risk can profoundly affect animal condition and physiology. However, there is a lack of experimental research assessing the suite of physiological responses to risk that may arise under realistic field conditions, leaving a fragmented picture of risk-related physiological change and potential downstream consequences on individuals. We increased predation risk in free-ranging snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) during two consecutive summers by simulating natural chases using a model predator and monitored hares intensively via radio-telemetry and physiological assays, including measures designed to assess changes in stress physiology and overall condition. Compared to controls, risk-augmented hares had 25.8% higher free plasma cortisol, 15.9% lower cortisol-binding capacity, a greater neutrophil:lymphocyte skew, and a 10.4% increase in glucose. Despite these changes, intra-annual changes in two distinct condition indices, were unaffected by risk exposure. We infer risk-augmented hares compensated for changes in their stress physiology through either compensatory foraging and/or metabolic changes, which allowed them to have comparable condition to controls. Although differences between controls and risk-augmented hares were consistent each year, both groups had heightened stress measures during the second summer, likely reflecting an increase in natural stressors (i.e., predators) in the environment. We show that increased predation risk in free-ranging animals can profoundly alter stress physiology and that compensatory responses may contribute to limiting effects of such changes on condition. Ultimately, our results also highlight the importance of biologically relevant experimental risk manipulations in the wild as a means of assessing physiological responses to natural stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie R Boudreau
- Environmental and Life Sciences, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, K9J 0G2, Canada.
| | - Jacob L Seguin
- Environmental and Life Sciences, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, K9J 0G2, Canada
| | - Rudy Boonstra
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Rupert Palme
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1210, Vienna, Austria
| | - Stan Boutin
- Faculty of Science, 1-001 CCIS, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Charles J Krebs
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Dennis L Murray
- Environmental and Life Sciences, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, K9J 0G2, Canada
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5
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Jarcho MR, McNeal N, Colburn W, Normann MC, Watanasriyakul WT, Grippo AJ. Wheel access has opposing effects on stress physiology depending on social environment in female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). Stress 2019; 22:265-275. [PMID: 30628521 PMCID: PMC6476667 DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2018.1553948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2018] [Accepted: 11/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Physical exercise and chronic social stress are both known to impact general health and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function, albeit typically in opposing directions. Therefore, the question we investigated in this study was how these two factors - physical exercise and chronic social isolation - would interact when presented simultaneously in a female rodent model. Adult female prairie voles were separated into four experimental groups: (1) isolated without wheel access, (2) isolated with wheel access, (3) paired without wheel access, and (4) paired with wheel access. Plasma, hair, and adrenal glands were sampled to investigate changes in stress physiology. Our results indicate that, when isolated, wheel access had a mitigating effect on HPA activity. However, in paired animals, wheel access had the opposite effect, as both adrenal mass and increase in hair corticosterone concentrations were greater in paired animals with wheel access. Strong correlations were detected between change in hair corticosterone and adrenal mass, while no correlations were found between plasma corticosterone and either of the other markers. These results imply that the HPA axis is highly sensitive to both the social environment and the physical demands placed on the individual, and that when investigating the effects of chronic isolation, both hair corticosterone and adrenal mass may be more reliable markers than a single plasma corticosterone sample.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Neal McNeal
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL
| | - William Colburn
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL
| | | | | | - Angela J. Grippo
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL
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6
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Łopucki R, Klich D, Ścibior A, Gołębiowska D. Hormonal adjustments to urban conditions: stress hormone levels in urban and rural populations of Apodemus agrarius. Urban Ecosyst 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s11252-019-0832-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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7
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Xu XM, Chi QS, Cao J, Zhao ZJ. The effect of aggression I: The increases of metabolic cost and mobilization of fat reserves in male striped hamsters. Horm Behav 2018; 98:55-62. [PMID: 29288636 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2017.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2017] [Revised: 12/14/2017] [Accepted: 12/24/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Aggression can benefit individuals by enhancing their dominance and thereby their ability to acquire and retain resources that increase survival or fitness. Engaging in aggressive behavior costs energy and how animals manage their energy budget to accommodate aggression remains unclear. We conducted three experiments to examine changes in physiological, behavioral and hormonal markers indicative of energy budget in male striped hamsters subject to resident-intruder aggression tests. Body temperature, metabolic rate and serum corticosterone levels significantly increased in resident hamsters immediately after the introduction of intruders. Energy intake did not change, but the metabolic rate of residents increased by 16.1% after 42-days of repeated encounters with intruders. Residents had significantly decreased body fat content and serum thyroxine (T4) levels, and a considerably elevated tri-iodothyronine (T3)/T4 ratio compared to a control group that had no intruders. Attack latency considerably shortened, and the number of attack bouts and total duration of attacks, significantly increased in residents on day 42 compared to day 1 of experiments. These findings may suggest that the conversion of T4 to T3 is involved in defensive aggression behavior. The mobilization of fat reserves resulting in lean body mass is probably common response to the increased metabolic cost of aggression in small mammals. Aggressive behavior, which is important for the successful acquisition and defense of resources, may be of significance for adaptation and evolution of metabolic rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Ming Xu
- College of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China
| | - Qing-Sheng Chi
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management for Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China
| | - Jing Cao
- College of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China
| | - Zhi-Jun Zhao
- College of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China.
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8
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Guo HL, Teng HJ, Zhang JH, Zhang JX, Zhang YH. Asian house rats may facilitate their invasive success through suppressing brown rats in chronic interaction. Front Zool 2017; 14:20. [PMID: 28413431 PMCID: PMC5389004 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-017-0202-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2016] [Accepted: 03/02/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Asian house rat (Rattus tanezumi) and the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) are closely related species and are partially sympatric in southern China. Over the past 20 years, R. tanezumi has significantly expanded northward in China and partially replaced the native brown rat subspecies, R. n. humiliatus. Although invasive species are often more aggressive than native species, we did not observe interspecific physical aggression between R. tanezumi and R. n. humiliatus. Here, we focused on whether or not R. tanezumi was superior to R. n. humiliatus in terms of nonphysical competition, which is primarily mediated by chemical signals. RESULTS We performed two laboratory experiments to test different paradigms in domesticated R. tanezumi and R. n. humiliatus. In Experiment 1, we caged adult male rats of each species for 2 months in heterospecific or conspecific pairs, partitioned by perforated galvanized iron sheets, allowing exchange of chemical stimuli and ultrasonic vocalization. The sexual attractiveness of male urine odor showed a tendency (marginal significance) to increase in R. tanezumi caged with R. n. humiliatus, compared with those in conspecific pairs. Hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and brain-derived nutrition factor (BDNF) mRNA were upregulated in R. n. humiliatus and R. tanezumi, respectively, when the rats were caged in heterospecific pairs. In Experiment 2, we kept juvenile male rats in individual cages in rooms with either the same or the different species for 2 months, allowing chemical interaction. The sexual attractiveness of male urine was significantly enhanced in R. tanezumi, but reduced in R. n. humiliatus by heterospecific cues and mRNA expression of hippocampal GR and BDNF were upregulated by heterospecific cues in R. n. humiliatus and R. tanezumi, respectively. Although not identical, the results from Experiments 1 and 2 were generally consistent. CONCLUSIONS The results of both experiments indicate that nonphysical/chronic interspecific stimuli, particularly scent signals, between R. n. humiliatus and R. tanezumi may negatively affect R. n. humiliatus and positively affect R. tanezumi. We infer that chronic interspecific interactions may have contributed to the invasion of R. tanezumi into the range of R. n. humiliatus in natural habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong-Ling Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.1-5 Beichen West Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101 China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 China
| | - Hua-Jing Teng
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.1-5 Beichen West Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101 China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 China
| | - Jin-Hua Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.1-5 Beichen West Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101 China
| | - Jian-Xu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.1-5 Beichen West Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101 China
| | - Yao-Hua Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.1-5 Beichen West Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101 China
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9
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Competition with stone crabs drives juvenile spiny lobster abundance and distribution. Oecologia 2017; 184:205-218. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-017-3844-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2015] [Accepted: 02/18/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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10
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Harris BN, Carr JA. The role of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal/interrenal axis in mediating predator-avoidance trade-offs. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2016; 230-231:110-42. [PMID: 27080550 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2016.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2015] [Revised: 04/07/2016] [Accepted: 04/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Maintaining energy balance and reproducing are important for fitness, yet animals have evolved mechanisms by which the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal/interrenal (HPA/HPI) axis can shut these activities off. While HPA/HPI axis inhibition of feeding and reproduction may have evolved as a predator defense, to date there has been no review across taxa of the causal evidence for such a relationship. Here we review the literature on this topic by addressing evidence for three predictions: that exposure to predators decreases reproduction and feeding, that exposure to predators activates the HPA/HPI axis, and that predator-induced activation of the HPA/HPI axis inhibits foraging and reproduction. Weight of evidence indicates that exposure to predator cues inhibits several aspects of foraging and reproduction. While the evidence from fish and mammals supports the hypothesis that predator cues activate the HPA/HPI axis, the existing data in other vertebrate taxa are equivocal. A causal role for the HPA axis in predator-induced suppression of feeding and reproduction has not been demonstrated to date, although many studies report correlative relationships between HPA activity and reproduction and/or feeding. Manipulation of HPA/HPI axis signaling will be required in future studies to demonstrate direct mediation of predator-induced inhibition of feeding and reproduction. Understanding the circuitry linking sensory pathways to their control of the HPA/HPI axis also is needed. Finally, the role that fear and anxiety pathways play in the response of the HPA axis to predator cues is needed to better understand the role that predators have played in shaping anxiety related behaviors in all species, including humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Breanna N Harris
- Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, United States
| | - James A Carr
- Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, United States.
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11
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State-dependent foraging: lactating voles adjust their foraging behavior according to the presence of a potential nest predator and season. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2015; 69:747-754. [PMID: 25926712 PMCID: PMC4405346 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-015-1889-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2013] [Revised: 02/12/2015] [Accepted: 02/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Parental care often produces a trade-off between meeting nutritional demands of offspring and the duties of offspring protection, especially in altricial species. Parents have to leave their young unattended for foraging trips, during which nestlings are exposed to predators. We investigated how rodent mothers of altricial young respond to risk of nest predation in their foraging decisions. We studied foraging behavior of lactating bank voles (Myodes glareolus) exposed to a nest predator, the common shrew (Sorex araneus). We conducted the experiment in summer (high resource provisioning for both species) and autumn (less food available) in 12 replicates with fully crossed factors “shrew presence” and “season.” We monitored use of feeding stations near and far from the nest as measurement of foraging activity and strategic foraging behavior. Vole mothers adapted their strategies to shrew presence and optimized their foraging behavior according to seasonal constraints, resulting in an interaction of treatment and season. In summer, shrew presence reduced food intake from feeding stations, while it enhanced intake in autumn. Shrew presence decreased the number of visited feeding stations in autumn and concentrated mother’s foraging efforts to fewer stations. Independent of shrew presence or season, mothers foraged more in patches further away from the nest than near the nest. Results indicate that females are not investing in nest guarding but try to avoid the accumulation of olfactory cues near the nest leading a predator to the young. Additionally, our study shows how foraging strategies and nest attendance are influenced by seasonal food provision.
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12
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Zanette LY, Clinchy M, Suraci JP. Diagnosing predation risk effects on demography: can measuring physiology provide the means? Oecologia 2014; 176:637-51. [PMID: 25234371 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-014-3057-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2014] [Accepted: 08/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Predators kill prey thereby affecting prey survival and, in the traditional top-down view of predator limitation, that is their sole effect. Bottom-up food limitation alters the physiological condition of individuals affecting both fecundity and survival. Predators of course also scare prey inducing anti-predator defences that may carry physiological costs powerful enough to reduce prey fecundity and survival. Here, we consider whether measuring physiology can be used as a tool to unambiguously diagnose predation risk effects. We begin by providing a review of recent papers reporting physiological effects of predation risk. We then present a conceptual framework describing the pathways by which predators and food can affect prey populations and give an overview of predation risk effects on demography in various taxa. Because scared prey typically eat less the principal challenge we see will be to identify measures that permit us to avoid mistaking predator-induced reductions in food intake for absolute food shortage. To construct an effective diagnostic toolkit we advocate collecting multiple physiological measures and utilizing multivariate statistical procedures. We recommend conducting two-factor predation risk × food manipulations to identify those physiological effects least likely to be mistaken for responses to bottom-up food limitation. We suggest there is a critical need to develop a diagnostic tool that can be used when it is infeasible to experimentally test for predation risk effects on demography, as may often be the case in wildlife conservation, since failing to consider predation risk effects may cause the total impact of predators to be dramatically underestimated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liana Y Zanette
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON, N6A 5B7, Canada,
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