1
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Humphrey B, Stouffer DB, Moser-Rust A, Helton WS, Grace RC, Nelson XJ. The effect of interstimulus interval on sustained attention. Behav Processes 2024; 222:105097. [PMID: 39299355 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2024.105097] [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: 04/02/2024] [Revised: 08/28/2024] [Accepted: 09/05/2024] [Indexed: 09/22/2024]
Abstract
The ability of nervous systems to filter out irrelevant and repetitive stimuli may prevent animals from becoming 'saturated' with excess information. However, animals must be particular about which stimuli to attend to and which to ignore, as mistakes may be costly. Using a comparative approach, we explored the effect of interstimulus interval (ISI) between repeated presentations of visual stimuli presented on a screen to test the decrease in responses (response decrement) of both Trite planiceps jumping spiders and untrained Columba livia pigeons, animals with comparable visual ability despite having structurally different visual systems and brain size. We used ISIs of 2.5 s, 5 s, 10 s, predicting that decreases in ISI would lead to progressively less responses to the stimuli. Following from previous work on T. planiceps, we also manipulated pigeon hunger level, finding that hungry birds were initially more responsive than sated pigeons, but the rate of decrease in responses to the stimulus did not differ between the two groups. While a clear response decrement was seen in both species across all conditions, shorter ISIs resulted in more dramatic response decrements, aligning with previous work and with the resource depletion theory posited in the human-based literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bonnie Humphrey
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
| | - Daniel B Stouffer
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
| | - Averill Moser-Rust
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
| | - William S Helton
- Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand; Department of Psychology, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
| | - Randolph C Grace
- Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
| | - Ximena J Nelson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand.
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2
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Kareklas K, Oliveira RF. Emotional contagion and prosocial behaviour in fish: An evolutionary and mechanistic approach. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 163:105780. [PMID: 38955311 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024]
Abstract
In this review, we consider the definitions and experimental approaches to emotional contagion and prosocial behaviour in mammals and explore their evolutionary conceptualisation for studying their occurrence in the evolutionarily divergent vertebrate group of ray-finned fish. We present evidence for a diverse set of fish phenotypes that meet definitional criteria for prosocial behaviour and emotional contagion and discuss conserved mechanisms that may account for some preserved social capacities in fish. Finally, we provide some considerations on how to address the question of interdependency between emotional contagion and prosocial response, highlighting the importance of recognition processes, decision-making systems, and ecological context for providing evolutionary explanations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyriacos Kareklas
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, R. Q.ta Grande 6, Oeiras 2780-156, Portugal
| | - Rui F Oliveira
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, R. Q.ta Grande 6, Oeiras 2780-156, Portugal; ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, Lisboa 1149-041, Portugal.
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3
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Thierry M, Cote J, Bestion E, Legrand D, Clobert J, Jacob S. The interplay between abiotic and biotic factors in dispersal decisions in metacommunities. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230137. [PMID: 38913055 PMCID: PMC11391301 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 06/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Suitable conditions for species to survive and reproduce constitute their ecological niche, which is built by abiotic conditions and interactions with conspecifics and heterospecifics. Organisms should ideally assess and use information about all these environmental dimensions to adjust their dispersal decisions depending on their own internal conditions. Dispersal plasticity is often considered through its dependence on abiotic conditions or conspecific density and, to a lesser extent, with reference to the effects of interactions with heterospecifics, potentially leading to misinterpretation of dispersal drivers. Here, we first review the evidence for the effects of and the potential interplays between abiotic factors, biotic interactions with conspecifics and heterospecifics and phenotype on dispersal decisions. We then present an experimental test of these potential interplays, investigating the effects of density and interactions with conspecifics and heterospecifics on temperature-dependent dispersal in microcosms of Tetrahymena ciliates. We found significant differences in dispersal rates depending on the temperature, density and presence of another strain or species. However, the presence and density of conspecifics and heterospecifics had no effects on the thermal-dependency of dispersal. We discuss the causes and consequences of the (lack of) interplay between the different environmental dimensions and the phenotype for metacommunity assembly and dynamics. This article is part of the theme issue 'Diversity-dependence of dispersal: interspecific interactions determine spatial dynamics'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélanie Thierry
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UAR 2029, CNRS , Moulis 09200, France
| | - Julien Cote
- Centre de Recherche sur la Biodiversité et l'Environnement (CRBE), UMR 5300 CNRS-IRD-TINP-UT3 Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, Bât. 4R1, 118 route de Narbonne , Toulouse Cedex 9 31062, France
| | - Elvire Bestion
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UAR 2029, CNRS , Moulis 09200, France
| | - Delphine Legrand
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UAR 2029, CNRS , Moulis 09200, France
| | - Jean Clobert
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UAR 2029, CNRS , Moulis 09200, France
| | - Staffan Jacob
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UAR 2029, CNRS , Moulis 09200, France
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4
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Valone TJ. Probabilistic inference and Bayesian-like estimation in animals: Empirical evidence. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11495. [PMID: 38994217 PMCID: PMC11237346 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11495] [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: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 05/10/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Animals often make decisions without perfect knowledge of environmental parameters like the quality of an encountered food patch or a potential mate. Theoreticians often assume animals make such decisions using a Bayesian updating process that combines prior information about the frequency distribution of resources in the environment with sample information from an encountered resource; such a process leads to decisions that maximize fitness, given the available information. I examine three aspects of empirical work that shed light on the idea that animals can make such decisions in a Bayesian-like manner. First, many animals are sensitive to variance differences in behavioral options, one metric used to characterize frequency distributions. Second, several species use information about the relative frequency of preferred versus nonpreferred items in different populations to make probabilistic inferences about samples taken from populations in a manner that results in maximizing the likelihood of obtaining a preferred reward. Third, the predictions of Bayesian models often match the behavior of individuals in two main approaches. One approach compares behavior to models that make different assumptions about how individuals estimate the quality of an environmental parameter. The patch exploitation behavior of nine species of birds and mammals has matched the predictions of Bayesian models. The other approach compares the behavior of individuals who learn, through experience, different frequency distributions of resources in their environment. The behavior of three bird species and bumblebees exploiting food patches and fruit flies selecting mates is influenced by their experience learning different frequency distributions of food and mates, respectively, in ways consistent with Bayesian models. These studies lend support to the idea that animals may combine prior and sample information in a Bayesian-like manner to make decisions under uncertainty, but additional work on a greater diversity of species is required to better understand the generality of this ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J Valone
- Department of Biology Saint Louis University Saint Louis Missouri USA
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5
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Peignier M, Ringler M, Ringler E. Odor cues rather than personality affect tadpole deposition in a neotropical poison frog. Curr Zool 2024; 70:332-342. [PMID: 39035761 PMCID: PMC11255997 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoad042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Animals constantly need to evaluate available external and internal information to make appropriate decisions. Identifying, assessing, and acting on relevant cues in contexts such as mate choice, intra-sexual competition, and parental care is particularly important for optimizing individual reproductive success. Several factors can influence decision-making, such as external environmental cues and the animal's own internal state, yet, we have limited knowledge on how animals integrate available information. Here, we used an entire island population (57 males, 53 females, and 1,109 tadpoles) of the neotropical brilliant-thighed poison frog Allobates femoralis to investigate how 2 factors (olfactory cues and personality traits) influence the ability of males to find and use new resources for tadpole deposition. We experimentally manipulated the location of tadpole deposition sites and their associated olfactory cues, and repeatedly measured exploration and boldness in adult males. We further reconstructed tadpole deposition choices via inferred parent-offspring relationships of adult frogs and tadpoles deposited in our experimental pools using molecular parentage analysis. We found that the discovery and use of new rearing sites were heavily influenced by olfactory cues; however, we did not find an effect of the measured behavioral traits on resource discovery and use. We conclude that in highly dynamic environments such as tropical rainforests, reliable external cues likely take priority over personality traits, helping individuals to discover and make use of reproductive resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélissa Peignier
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, CH-3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria
| | - Max Ringler
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, CH-3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria
- Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics, University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Eva Ringler
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, CH-3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria
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6
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Bao L, Rao J, Yu D, Zheng B, Yin B. Decoding the language of fear: Unveiling objective and subjective indicators in rodent models through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 157:105537. [PMID: 38215801 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Revised: 12/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/14/2024]
Abstract
While rodent models are vital for studying mental disorders, the underestimation of construct validity of fear indicators has led to limitations in translating to effective clinical treatments. Addressing this gap, we systematically reviewed 5054 articles from the 1960 s, understanding underlying theoretical advancement, and selected 68 articles with at least two fear indicators for a three-level meta-analysis. We hypothesized correlations between different indicators would elucidate similar functions, while magnitude differences could reveal distinct neural or behavioral mechanisms. Our findings reveal a shift towards using freezing behavior as the primary fear indicator in rodent models, and strong, moderate, and weak correlations between freezing and conditioned suppression ratios, 22-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations, and autonomic nervous system responses, respectively. Using freezing as a reference, moderator analysis shows treatment types and fear stages significantly influenced differences in magnitudes between two indicators. Our analysis supports a two-system model of fear in rodents, where objective and subjective fears could operate on a threshold-based mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lili Bao
- School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, China; Key Laboratory for Learning and Behavioral Sciences, Fujian Normal University, China
| | - Jiaojiao Rao
- School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, China; Key Laboratory for Learning and Behavioral Sciences, Fujian Normal University, China
| | - Delin Yu
- School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, China; Key Laboratory for Learning and Behavioral Sciences, Fujian Normal University, China
| | - Benhuiyuan Zheng
- School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, China; Key Laboratory for Learning and Behavioral Sciences, Fujian Normal University, China
| | - Bin Yin
- School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, China; Key Laboratory for Learning and Behavioral Sciences, Fujian Normal University, China.
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7
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Bell AM. The evolution of decision-making mechanisms under competing demands. Trends Ecol Evol 2024; 39:141-151. [PMID: 37783626 PMCID: PMC10922085 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.09.007] [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: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023]
Abstract
Animals in nature are constantly managing multiple demands, and decisions about how to adjust behavior in response to ecologically relevant demands is critical for fitness. Evidence for behavioral correlations across functional contexts (behavioral syndromes) and growing appreciation for shared proximate substrates of behavior prompts novel questions about the existence of distinct neural, molecular, and genetic mechanisms involved in decision-making. Those proximate mechanisms are likely to be an important target of selection, but little is known about how they evolve, their evolutionary history, or where they harbor genetic variation. Herein I provide a conceptual framework for understanding the evolution of mechanisms for decision-making, highlighting insights on decision-making in humans and model organisms, and sketch an emerging synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison M Bell
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, 505 S. Goodwin Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
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8
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Houston AI, Fromhage L, McNamara JM. A general framework for modelling trade-offs in adaptive behaviour. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:56-69. [PMID: 37609707 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Revised: 08/05/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023]
Abstract
An animal's behaviour can influence many variables, such as its energy reserves, its risk of injury or mortality, and its rate of reproduction. To identify the optimal action in a given situation, these various effects can be compared in the common currency of reproductive value. While this idea has been widely used to study trade-offs between pairs of variables, e.g. between energy gain versus survival, here we present a unified framework that makes explicit how these various trade-offs fit together. This unification covers a wide range of biological phenomena, highlighting similarities in their logical structure and helping to identify knowledge gaps. To fill one such gap, we present a new model of foraging under the risk of predation and damage accumulation. We conclude by discussing the use and limitations of state-dependent optimisation theory in predicting biological observations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alasdair I Houston
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Lutz Fromhage
- University of Jyväskylä, PO Box 35, Jyväskylä, 40014, Finland
| | - John M McNamara
- School of Mathematics, University of Bristol, Fry Building, Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8 1UG, UK
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9
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Sharma M, Isvaran K. Spoilt for choice: Do female mosquitoes experience choice overload when deciding where to lay eggs? Behav Processes 2023; 213:104963. [PMID: 37913998 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2023.104963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
Animals live in complex natural environments. Based on the effects of natural selection, theory on animal information use says that it is optimal for animals to make "rational" decisions, i.e., to choose alternatives which maximize fitness gains, irrespective of the number of alternatives presented to them. Yet, animals commonly make seemingly "irrational" choices in the face of complex and variable stimuli that challenge their cognitive machinery. Here, we test the choice overload hypothesis - decision-making is negatively affected when animals experience an overload of choice. Using simultaneous-choice trials that varied in choice repertoire size, we examined oviposition site selection behaviour in Aedes aegypti towards larval predators, the nymphs of Bradinopyga geminata. Based on the underlying fitness trade-offs of oviposition decision-making, we predicted that female oviposition preference would be weaker and variation in this response would be higher in complex, multiple-choice trials than in binary-choice trials. In partial support of our hypothesis, oviposition preference was weaker in the complex, multiple-choice trials, but the variation in response depended on predator density, and did not depend on choice repertoire size. We suggest that information overload can negatively affect certain aspects of animal decision-making, resulting in choices appearing as "irrational" if the complexity of the decision-making context is not incorporated. Information overload can potentially lead to alternative strategies, such as bet-hedging or decision-making with reduced discrimination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manvi Sharma
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India; Ashoka University, Sonipat, India.
| | - Kavita Isvaran
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India
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10
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Mayer P, Grêt-Regamey A, Ciucci P, Salliou N, Stritih A. Mapping human- and bear-centered perspectives on coexistence using a participatory Bayesian framework. J Nat Conserv 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jnc.2023.126387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
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11
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Lee J, Segundo-Ortin M, Calvo P. Decision Making in Plants: A Rooted Perspective. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:plants12091799. [PMID: 37176857 PMCID: PMC10181133 DOI: 10.3390/plants12091799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Revised: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
This article discusses the possibility of plant decision making. We contend that recent work on bacteria provides a pertinent perspective for thinking about whether plants make choices. Specifically, the analogy between certain patterns of plant behaviour and apparent decision making in bacteria provides principled grounds for attributing decision making to the former. Though decision making is our focus, the discussion has implications for the wider issue of whether and why plants (and non-neural organisms more generally) are appropriate targets for cognitive abilities. Moreover, decision making is especially relevant to the issue of plant intelligence as it is commonly taken to be characteristic of cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonny Lee
- Minimal Intelligence Laboratory (MINT Lab), University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
- Department of Philosophy, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
| | - Miguel Segundo-Ortin
- Minimal Intelligence Laboratory (MINT Lab), University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
- Department of Philosophy, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
| | - Paco Calvo
- Minimal Intelligence Laboratory (MINT Lab), University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
- Department of Philosophy, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
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12
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Baltiansky L, Frankel G, Feinerman O. Emergent regulation of ant foraging frequency through a computationally inexpensive forager movement rule. eLife 2023; 12:77659. [PMID: 37067884 PMCID: PMC10110237 DOI: 10.7554/elife.77659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Ant colonies regulate foraging in response to their collective hunger, yet the mechanism behind this distributed regulation remains unclear. Previously, by imaging food flow within ant colonies we showed that the frequency of foraging events declines linearly with colony satiation (Greenwald et al., 2018). Our analysis implied that as a forager distributes food in the nest, two factors affect her decision to exit for another foraging trip: her current food load and its rate of change. Sensing these variables can be attributed to the forager's individual cognitive ability. Here, new analyses of the foragers' trajectories within the nest imply a different way to achieve the observed regulation. Instead of an explicit decision to exit, foragers merely tend toward the depth of the nest when their food load is high and toward the nest exit when it is low. Thus, the colony shapes the forager's trajectory by controlling her unloading rate, while she senses only her current food load. Using an agent-based model and mathematical analysis, we show that this simple mechanism robustly yields emergent regulation of foraging frequency. These findings demonstrate how the embedding of individuals in physical space can reduce their cognitive demands without compromising their computational role in the group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lior Baltiansky
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Guy Frankel
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Ofer Feinerman
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
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13
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Individual features influence the choice to attack in the southern lapwing Vanellus chilensis, but the opponent type dictates how the interaction goes. Acta Ethol 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-023-00416-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/13/2023]
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14
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Arehart E, Reimer JR, Adler FR. Strategy maps: Generalised giving-up densities for optimal foraging. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:398-410. [PMID: 36719341 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14160] [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: 06/14/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Finding a common currency for benefits and hazards is a major challenge in optimal foraging theory, often requiring complex computational methods. We present a new analytic approach that builds on the Marginal Value Theorem and giving-up densities while incorporating the nonlinear effect of predation risk. We map the space of all possible environments into strategy regions, each corresponding to a discrete optimal strategy. This provides a generalised quantitative measure of the trade-off between foraging rewards and hazards. This extends a classic optimal diet choice rule-of-thumb to incorporate the hazard of waiting for better resources to appear. We compare the dynamics of optimal decision-making for three foraging life-history strategies: One in which fitness accrues instantly, and two with delays before fitness benefit is accrued. Foragers with delayed-benefit strategies are more sensitive to predation risk than resource quality, as they stand to lose more fitness from a predation event than instant-accrual foragers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emerson Arehart
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Jody R Reimer
- Department of Mathematics and School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Frederick R Adler
- Department of Mathematics and School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
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15
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Ehlman SM, Scherer U, Bierbach D, Francisco FA, Laskowski KL, Krause J, Wolf M. Leveraging big data to uncover the eco-evolutionary factors shaping behavioural development. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20222115. [PMID: 36722081 PMCID: PMC9890127 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.2115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Mapping the eco-evolutionary factors shaping the development of animals' behavioural phenotypes remains a great challenge. Recent advances in 'big behavioural data' research-the high-resolution tracking of individuals and the harnessing of that data with powerful analytical tools-have vastly improved our ability to measure and model developing behavioural phenotypes. Applied to the study of behavioural ontogeny, the unfolding of whole behavioural repertoires can be mapped in unprecedented detail with relative ease. This overcomes long-standing experimental bottlenecks and heralds a surge of studies that more finely define and explore behavioural-experiential trajectories across development. In this review, we first provide a brief guide to state-of-the-art approaches that allow the collection and analysis of high-resolution behavioural data across development. We then outline how such approaches can be used to address key issues regarding the ecological and evolutionary factors shaping behavioural development: developmental feedbacks between behaviour and underlying states, early life effects and behavioural transitions, and information integration across development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean M. Ehlman
- SCIoI Excellence Cluster, 10587 Berlin, Germany,Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University, 10117 Berlin, Germany,Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Ulrike Scherer
- SCIoI Excellence Cluster, 10587 Berlin, Germany,Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University, 10117 Berlin, Germany,Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - David Bierbach
- SCIoI Excellence Cluster, 10587 Berlin, Germany,Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University, 10117 Berlin, Germany,Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Fritz A. Francisco
- SCIoI Excellence Cluster, 10587 Berlin, Germany,Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Kate L. Laskowski
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California – Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Jens Krause
- SCIoI Excellence Cluster, 10587 Berlin, Germany,Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University, 10117 Berlin, Germany,Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Max Wolf
- SCIoI Excellence Cluster, 10587 Berlin, Germany,Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
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16
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Edelblutte É, Krithivasan R, Hayek MN. Animal agency in wildlife conservation and management. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2023; 37:e13853. [PMID: 35262968 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2021] [Revised: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Wildlife conservation and management (WCM) practices have been historically drawn from a wide variety of academic fields, yet practitioners have been slow to engage with emerging conversations about animals as complex beings, whose individuality and sociality influence their relationships with humans. We propose an explicit acknowledgement of wild, nonhuman animals as active participants in WCM. We examined 190 studies of WCM interventions and outcomes to highlight 3 common assumptions that underpin many present approaches to WCM: animal behaviors are rigid and homogeneous; wildlife exhibit idealized wild behavior and prefer pristine habitats; and human-wildlife relationships are of marginal or secondary importance relative to nonhuman interactions. We found that these management interventions insufficiently considered animal learning, decision-making, individuality, sociality, and relationships with humans and led to unanticipated detrimental outcomes. To address these shortcomings, we synthesized theoretical advances in animal behavioral sciences, animal geographies, and animal legal theory that may help conservation professionals reconceptualize animals and their relationships with humans. Based on advances in these fields, we constructed the concept of animal agency, which we define as the ability of animals to actively influence conservation and management outcomes through their adaptive, context-specific, and complex behaviors that are predicated on their sentience, individuality, lived experiences, cognition, sociality, and cultures in ways that shape and reshape shared human-wildlife cultures, spaces, and histories. Conservation practices, such as compassionate conservation, convivial conservation, and ecological justice, incorporate facets of animal agency. Animal agency can be incorporated in conservation problem-solving by assessing the ways in which agency contributes to species' survival and by encouraging more adaptive and collaborative decision-making among human and nonhuman stakeholders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Émilie Edelblutte
- Earth and Environment Department, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Roopa Krithivasan
- Graduate School of Geography, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Matthew Nassif Hayek
- Department of Environmental Studies, New York University, New York, New York, USA
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17
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D’Amelio A, Patania S, Bursic S, Cuculo V, Boccignone G. Using Gaze for Behavioural Biometrics. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 23:1262. [PMID: 36772302 PMCID: PMC9920149 DOI: 10.3390/s23031262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 01/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
A principled approach to the analysis of eye movements for behavioural biometrics is laid down. The approach grounds in foraging theory, which provides a sound basis to capture the uniqueness of individual eye movement behaviour. We propose a composite Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process for quantifying the exploration/exploitation signature characterising the foraging eye behaviour. The relevant parameters of the composite model, inferred from eye-tracking data via Bayesian analysis, are shown to yield a suitable feature set for biometric identification; the latter is eventually accomplished via a classical classification technique. A proof of concept of the method is provided by measuring its identification performance on a publicly available dataset. Data and code for reproducing the analyses are made available. Overall, we argue that the approach offers a fresh view on either the analyses of eye-tracking data and prospective applications in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro D’Amelio
- PHuSe Lab, Department of Computer Science, University of Milano Statale, Via Celoria 18, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Sabrina Patania
- PHuSe Lab, Department of Computer Science, University of Milano Statale, Via Celoria 18, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Sathya Bursic
- PHuSe Lab, Department of Computer Science, University of Milano Statale, Via Celoria 18, 20133 Milan, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milan, Italy
| | - Vittorio Cuculo
- PHuSe Lab, Department of Computer Science, University of Milano Statale, Via Celoria 18, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Boccignone
- PHuSe Lab, Department of Computer Science, University of Milano Statale, Via Celoria 18, 20133 Milan, Italy
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18
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Marggraf LC, Lindecke O, Voigt CC, Pētersons G, Voigt-Heucke SL. Nathusius’ bats, Pipistrellus nathusii, bypass mating opportunities of their own species, but respond to foraging heterospecifics on migratory transit flights. Front Ecol Evol 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.908560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
In late summer, migratory bats of the temperate zone face the challenge of accomplishing two energy-demanding tasks almost at the same time: migration and mating. Both require information and involve search efforts, such as localizing prey or finding potential mates. In non-migrating bat species, playback studies showed that listening to vocalizations of other bats, both con-and heterospecifics, may help a recipient bat to find foraging patches and mating sites. However, we are still unaware of the degree to which migrating bats depend on con-or heterospecific vocalizations for identifying potential feeding or mating opportunities during nightly transit flights. Here, we investigated the vocal responses of Nathusius’ pipistrelle bats, Pipistrellus nathusii, to simulated feeding and courtship aggregations at a coastal migration corridor. We presented migrating bats either feeding buzzes or courtship calls of their own or a heterospecific migratory species, the common noctule, Nyctalus noctula. We expected that during migratory transit flights, simulated feeding opportunities would be particularly attractive to bats, as well as simulated mating opportunities which may indicate suitable roosts for a stopover. However, we found that when compared to the natural silence of both pre-and post-playback phases, bats called indifferently during the playback of conspecific feeding sounds, whereas P. nathusii echolocation call activity increased during simulated feeding of N. noctula. In contrast, the call activity of P. nathusii decreased during the playback of conspecific courtship calls, while no response could be detected when heterospecific call types were broadcasted. Our results suggest that while on migratory transits, P. nathusii circumnavigate conspecific mating aggregations, possibly to save time or to reduce the risks associated with social interactions where aggression due to territoriality might be expected. This avoidance behavior could be a result of optimization strategies by P. nathusii when performing long-distance migratory flights, and it could also explain the lack of a response to simulated conspecific feeding. However, the observed increase of activity in response to simulated feeding of N. noctula, suggests that P. nathusii individuals may be eavesdropping on other aerial hawking insectivorous species during migration, especially if these occupy a slightly different foraging niche.
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Del Giudice M. A general motivational architecture for human and animal personality. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 144:104967. [PMID: 36410556 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2022] [Revised: 11/06/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
To achieve integration in the study of personality, researchers need to model the motivational processes that give rise to stable individual differences in behavior, cognition, and emotion. The missing link in current approaches is a motivational architecture-a description of the core set of mechanisms that underlie motivation, plus a functional account of their operating logic and inter-relations. This paper presents the initial version of such an architecture, the General Architecture of Motivation (GAM). The GAM offers a common language for individual differences in humans and other animals, and a conceptual toolkit for building species-specific models of personality. The paper describes the main components of the GAM and their interplay, and examines the contribution of these components to the emergence of individual differences. The final section discusses how the GAM can be used to construct explicit functional models of personality, and presents a roadmap for future research.
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20
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Wosniack ME, Festa D, Hu N, Gjorgjieva J, Berni J. Adaptation of Drosophila larva foraging in response to changes in food resources. eLife 2022; 11:e75826. [PMID: 36458693 PMCID: PMC9822246 DOI: 10.7554/elife.75826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
All animals face the challenge of finding nutritious resources in a changing environment. To maximize lifetime fitness, the exploratory behavior has to be flexible, but which behavioral elements adapt and what triggers those changes remain elusive. Using experiments and modeling, we characterized extensively how Drosophila larvae foraging adapts to different food quality and distribution and how the foraging genetic background influences this adaptation. Our work shows that different food properties modulated specific motor programs. Food quality controls the traveled distance by modulating crawling speed and frequency of pauses and turns. Food distribution, and in particular the food-no food interface, controls turning behavior, stimulating turns toward the food when reaching the patch border and increasing the proportion of time spent within patches of food. Finally, the polymorphism in the foraging gene (rover-sitter) of the larvae adjusts the magnitude of the behavioral response to different food conditions. This study defines several levels of control of foraging and provides the basis for the systematic identification of the neuronal circuits and mechanisms controlling each behavioral response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina E Wosniack
- Computation in Neural Circuits Group, Max Planck Institute for Brain ResearchFrankfurtGermany
| | - Dylan Festa
- School of Life Sciences, Technical University of MunichMunichGermany
| | - Nan Hu
- Department of Zoology, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Julijana Gjorgjieva
- Computation in Neural Circuits Group, Max Planck Institute for Brain ResearchFrankfurtGermany
- School of Life Sciences, Technical University of MunichMunichGermany
| | - Jimena Berni
- Department of Zoology, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School,, University of SussexBrightonUnited Kingdom
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21
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Amiot CE, Santerre-Bélec L. Toward more equal and mutual human-pet relations: Insights and possible solutions based on social psychological theories. Front Vet Sci 2022; 9:1009267. [DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.1009267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Human-pet relations are imbued with power imbalances, with many pets depending on humans for food and water, shelter, health care, and sheer survival. A majority of people report loving their pets and consider them to be integral family members; however, the care provided to pets varies widely and can be, in some cases, suboptimal. Yet, building more equal relations between humans and their pets could provide benefits to both parties. To achieve this increased equality and mutuality, the current paper proposes theory-based solutions. Specifically, and building on established social psychological theories, namely theories of intergroup relations and of human motivation, the current paper identifies both social and relational factors which, if socially and individually promoted, could trigger more equal and possibly mutually beneficial relationships with pets. We provide concrete examples illustrating how these factors can be maximized and promoted.
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22
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Shinde S, Patwardhan A, Watve M. The ratio versus difference optimization and its implications for optimality theory. Evolution 2022; 76:2272-2280. [PMID: 36029469 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14605] [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: 03/05/2021] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Among the classical models of optimization, some models maximize the ratio of returns to investment and others maximize the difference between returns and investment. However, an understanding of under what conditions the ratio or the difference approaches are appropriate is still fragmentary. Under specific contexts, it has been stated that when the investable amount, but not the opportunity for investment, is perceived to be limiting, a ratio optimum is appropriate, whereas a difference optimum is appropriate when the opportunity for investment, but not the investable amount, is perceived to be limiting. The question is important because the strategies indicated by ratio optimum can be substantially different than the ones suggested by difference optimum. We make a general case here to examine and expand this principle and apply it to many evolutionary ecological problems including parental investment, offspring quality-quantity trade-off, nectar production, pollinator behavior viral burst size, and intracellular protein handling. We show that the ratio-difference distinction in optimization models resolves many long-standing debates and conundrums in evolution and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonali Shinde
- Annasaheb Kulkarni Department of Biodiversity, Abasaheb Garware College, Pune, 411004, India
| | - Ankur Patwardhan
- Annasaheb Kulkarni Department of Biodiversity, Abasaheb Garware College, Pune, 411004, India
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23
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Morbey YE, Pauly D. Juvenile-to-adult transition invariances in fishes: Perspectives on proximate and ultimate causation. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2022; 101:874-884. [PMID: 35762307 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.15146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
To bridge physiological and evolutionary perspectives on size at maturity in fishes, the authors focus on the approximately invariant ratio between the estimated oxygen supply at size at maturity (Qm ) relative to that at asymptotic size (Q∞ ) among species within a taxonomic group, and show how two important theories related to this phenomenon complement each other. Gill-oxygen limitation theory proposes a mechanistic basis for a universal oxygen supply-based threshold for maturation, which applies among and within species. On the contrary, the authors show that a generalisation of life-history theory for the invariance of size at maturity (Lm ) relative to asymptotic size (L∞ ) can provide an evolutionary rationale for an oxygen-limited maturation threshold (Qm /Q∞ ). Extending previous inter- and intraspecific analyses, the authors show that maturation invariances also occur in lake whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis (Mitchill 1818), but at both scales, theory seems to underestimate the value of the maturation threshold. They highlight some key uncertainties in the model that should be addressed to help resolve the mismatch.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yolanda E Morbey
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Daniel Pauly
- Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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24
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Rice MA, Galindez SM, Garner JT, Ophir AG. Effects of social and environmental contexts on multi-male mating and mixed paternity in socially monogamous female prairie voles. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:220298. [PMID: 36249338 PMCID: PMC9532998 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.220298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
With whom and how often to mate are fundamental questions that impact individual reproductive success and the mating system. Relatively few studies have investigated female mating tactics compared with males. Here, we asked how differential access to mates influences the occurrence of mixed paternity and overall reproductive success in socially monogamous female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). We created male- and female-biased sex ratios of prairie voles living in semi-natural outdoor enclosures. We ran paternity analyses to determine the identity and number of mating partners females had and the number of offspring produced. We found that 57.1% of females had litters fathered by two or more males when males outnumbered females, and 87.5% of females had litters with more than one father when females outnumbered males. However, the percentage of mixed paternity and the total number of embryos were not statistically different between social contexts. We determined that female fecundity (i.e. number of embryos) correlated with the number of male fathers in each litter across social contexts. Although our study did not support the hypothesis that social context directly influences female mating decisions, it did suggest that female multi-male mating might lead to increased fertilization success under semi-natural conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marissa A. Rice
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | | | - Joshua T. Garner
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA
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25
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Chen Z, Bigman J, Xian W, Liang C, Chu E, Pauly D. The ratio of length at first maturity to maximum length across marine and freshwater fishes. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2022; 101:400-407. [PMID: 34874555 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.14970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Revised: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The prevailing determinant of maturation in fishes is thought to be a redirection of energy from growth to reproduction. Instead, the Gill Oxygen Limitation Theory predicts that maturation, and thus reproduction, is induced when a fish reaches a critical ratio of oxygen supply to demand (Qm /Qmaint ). The consistency of this critical ratio has been previously documented in many fishes, but a broader test was lacking. In this study, the authors assess if this critical ratio is consistent across 132 unique fish species, as measured by the slope of the relationship between Lmax D and Lm D , where Lmax is the maximum length reached in a given population, Lm is the mean size at first maturity in that population and D is a gill-related exponent which renders the Lmax D /Lm D ratio equivalent to the Qm /Qmaint ratio. The authors found that across all species, the Lmax D /Lm D ratio was 1.40 (95% c.i. 1.38-1.42), which was not significantly different from that previously estimated across other species groups (1.35, 95% c.i. 1.22-1.53), especially when phylogenetic relationships were considered (1.25, 95% Bayesian credible interval 1.09-1.40). The consistency of the Lmax D /Lm D ratio across taxa, which expresses the difference in metabolic rate at maturity and maximum size, suggests that the scaling of gill surface area is the factor that underlies this ratio, and which triggers the maturation in fishes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaomin Chen
- Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
- Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jennifer Bigman
- Earth to Ocean Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Weiwei Xian
- Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
- Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
- Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
| | - Cui Liang
- Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
- Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
- Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
| | - Elaine Chu
- Sea Around Us, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Daniel Pauly
- Sea Around Us, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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26
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Cooperation and cognition in wild canids. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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27
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Pauly D. Why do fish reach first maturity when they do? JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2022; 101:333-341. [PMID: 34487555 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.14902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Revised: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Pauly
- Sea Around Us, Institute for the Ocean and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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28
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Railsback SF. Suboptimal foraging theory: How inaccurate predictions and approximations can make better models of adaptive behavior. Ecology 2022; 103:e3721. [PMID: 35394652 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Optimal foraging theory (OFT) is based on the ecological concept that organisms select behaviors that convey future fitness, and on the mathematical concept of optimization: finding the alternative that provides the best value of a fitness measure. As implemented in, e.g., state-based dynamic modeling, OFT is powerful for one key problem of modern ecology: modeling behavior as a tradeoff among competing fitness elements such as growth, risk avoidance, and reproductive output. However, OFT is not useful for other modern problems such as representing feedbacks within systems of interacting, unique individuals: when we need to model foraging by each of many individuals that interact competitively or synergistically, optimization is impractical or impossible-there are no optimal behaviors. For such problems we can, however, still use the concept of future fitness to model behavior, by replacing optimization with less precise (but perhaps more realistic) techniques for ranking alternatives. Instead of simplifying the systems we model until we can find "optimal" behavior, we can use theory based on inaccurate predictions, coarse approximations, and updating to produce good behavior in more complex and realistic contexts. This "state- and prediction-based theory" (SPT) can, for example, produce realistic foraging decisions by each of many unique, interacting individuals when growth rates and predation risks vary over space and time. Because SPT lets us address more natural complexity and more realistic problems, it is more easily tested against more kinds of observation and more useful in management ecology. A simple foraging model illustrates how SPT readily accommodates complexities that make optimization intractable. Other models use SPT to represent contingent decisions (whether to feed or hide, in what patch) that are tradeoffs between growth and predation risk, when both growth and risk vary among hundreds of patches, vary unpredictably over time, depend on characteristics of the individuals, are subject to feedbacks from competition, and change over the daily light cycle. Modern ecology demands theory for tradeoff behaviors in complex contexts that produce feedbacks; when optimization is infeasible, we should not be afraid to use approximate fitness-seeking methods instead.
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29
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Rueda-Uribe C, Lötberg U, Åkesson S. Foraging on the wing for fish while migrating over changing landscapes: traveling behaviors vary with available aquatic habitat for Caspian terns. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2022; 10:9. [PMID: 35236399 PMCID: PMC8892754 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-022-00307-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Birds that forage while covering distance during migration should adjust traveling behaviors as the availability of foraging habitat changes. Particularly, the behavior of those species that depend on bodies of water to find food yet manage to migrate over changing landscapes may be limited by the substantial variation in feeding opportunities along the route. METHODS Using GPS tracking data, we studied how traveling behaviors vary with available foraging habitat during the long-distance migration of Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia), a bird with a specialized diet based on fish that needs bodies of water to forage. We measured individual variation in five traveling behaviors related to foraging along the route and used linear mixed effects models to test the following variables as predictors of traveling behaviors: proportion of overlap with water bodies, weather conditions, days at previous stopover and days of migration. Also, we tested if during traveling days flight height and speed varied with time of day and if birds were in areas with greater proportion of water bodies compared to what would be expected by chance from the landscape. RESULTS We found variation in migratory traveling behaviors that was mainly related to the proportion of overlap with water bodies and experienced tailwinds. Suggesting a mixed migratory strategy with fly-and-foraging, Caspian terns reduced travel speed, flew fewer hours of the day, had lower flight heights and increased diurnal over nocturnal migratory flight hours as the proportion of overlap with water bodies increased. Birds had lower flight speeds and higher flight heights during the day, were in foraging habitats with greater proportions of water than expected by chance but avoided foraging detours. Instead, route tortuosity was associated with lower wind support and cloudier skies. CONCLUSIONS Our findings show how birds may adjust individual behavior as foraging habitat availability changes during migration and contribute to the growing knowledge on mixed migratory strategies of stopover use and fly-and-forage.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Rueda-Uribe
- Department of Biology, Centre for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62, Lund, Sweden.
| | - U Lötberg
- BirdLife Sweden, Stenhusa gård, Lilla Brunneby 106, 386 62, Mörbylånga, Sweden
| | - S Åkesson
- Department of Biology, Centre for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62, Lund, Sweden.
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30
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McNamara JM. Game Theory in Biology: Moving beyond Functional Accounts. Am Nat 2021; 199:179-193. [DOI: 10.1086/717429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- John M. McNamara
- School of Mathematics, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UG, United Kingdom
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31
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Lage CA, Wolmarans DW, Mograbi DC. An evolutionary view of self-awareness. Behav Processes 2021; 194:104543. [PMID: 34800608 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The capacity to be self-aware is regarded as a fundamental difference between humans and other species. However, growing evidence challenges this notion, indicating that many animals show complex signs and behaviors that are consonant with self-awareness. In this review, we suggest that many animals are indeed self-aware, but that the complexity of this process differs among species. We discuss this topic by addressing several different questions regarding self-awareness: what is self-awareness, how has self-awareness been studied experimentally, which species may be self-aware, what are its potential adaptive advantages. We conclude by proposing alternative models for the emergence of self-awareness in relation to species evolutionary paths, indicating future research questions to advance this field further.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caio A Lage
- Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Brazil; University of Perugia, Italy
| | - De Wet Wolmarans
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmacology, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Daniel C Mograbi
- Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Brazil; Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, United Kingdom.
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32
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Wascher CAF, Allen K, Szipl G. Learning and motor inhibitory control in crows and domestic chickens. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:210504. [PMID: 34703616 PMCID: PMC8527213 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive abilities allow animals to navigate through complex, fluctuating environments. In the present study, we tested the performance of a captive group of eight crows, Corvus corone and 10 domestic chickens, Gallus gallus domesticus, in the cylinder task, as a test of motor inhibitory control and reversal learning as a measure of learning ability and behavioural flexibility. Four crows and nine chickens completed the cylinder task, eight crows and six chickens completed the reversal learning experiment. Crows performed better in the cylinder task compared with chickens. In the reversal learning experiment, species did not significantly differ in the number of trials until the learning criterion was reached. The performance in the reversal learning experiment did not correlate with performance in the cylinder task in chickens. Our results suggest crows to possess better motor inhibitory control compared with chickens. By contrast, learning performance in a reversal learning task did not differ between the species, indicating similar levels of behavioural flexibility. Interestingly, we describe notable individual differences in performance. We stress the importance not only to compare cognitive performance between species but also between individuals of the same species when investigating the evolution of cognitive skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia A. F. Wascher
- Behavioural Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK
| | - Katie Allen
- Behavioural Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK
| | - Georgine Szipl
- Konrad Lorenz Forschungsstelle, Core facility, University of Vienna, Gruenau, Austria
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33
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Farahani HK, Ashouri A, Abroon P, Pierre JS, van Baaren J. Wolbachia manipulate fitness benefits of olfactory associative learning in a parasitoid wasp. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:269008. [PMID: 34086908 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.240549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Upon encountering a host, a female parasitoid wasp has to decide whether to learn positive or negative cues related to the host. The optimal female decision will depend on the fitness costs and benefits of learned stimuli. Reward quality is positively related to the rate of behavioral acquisition in processes such as associative learning. Wolbachia, an endosymbiotic bacterium, often plays an impressive role in the manipulation of its arthropod host's biology. Here, we studied the responses of two natural Wolbachia infected/uninfected Trichogramma brassicae wasp populations to theoretically high- and low-reward values during a conditioning process and the consequences of their responses in terms of memory duration. According to our results, uninfected wasps showed an attraction response to high-value rewards, but showed aversive learning in response to low-value rewards. The memory span of uninfected wasps after conditioning by low-value rewards was significantly shorter than that for high-value rewards. As our results revealed, responses to high-quality hosts will bring more benefits (bigger size, increased fecundity and enhanced survival) than those to low-quality hosts for uninfected wasps. Infected wasps were attracted to conditioned stimuli with the same memory duration after conditioning by both types of hosts. This was linked to the fact that parasitoids emerging from both types of hosts present the same life-history traits. Therefore, these hosts represent the same quality reward for infected wasps. According to the obtained results, it can be concluded that Wolbachia manipulates the learning ability of its host, resulting in the wasp responding to all reward values similarly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hossein Kishani Farahani
- Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
| | - Ahmad Ashouri
- Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
| | - Pouria Abroon
- Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, University of Bu Ali, Hamadan, Iran
| | - Jean-Sebastien Pierre
- University of Rennes 1, UMR-CNRS 6553 EcoBio, Avenue du Général Leclerc, Campus de Beaulieu, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France
| | - Joan van Baaren
- University of Rennes 1, UMR-CNRS 6553 EcoBio, Avenue du Général Leclerc, Campus de Beaulieu, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France
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34
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Baert JM, Stienen EWM, Verbruggen F, Van de Weghe N, Lens L, Müller W. Context‐dependent specialisation drives temporal dynamics in intra‐ and inter‐individual variation in foraging behaviour within a generalist bird population. OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jan M. Baert
- Dept of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Univ. of Antwerp Antwerp Belgium
- Dept of Biology, Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Ghent Univ. Ghent Belgium
| | | | | | | | - Luc Lens
- Dept of Biology, Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Ghent Univ. Ghent Belgium
| | - Wendt Müller
- Dept of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Univ. of Antwerp Antwerp Belgium
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35
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Stock M, Poisot T, De Baets B. Optimal transportation theory for species interaction networks. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:3841-3855. [PMID: 33976779 PMCID: PMC8093754 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2020] [Revised: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Observed biotic interactions between species, such as in pollination, predation, and competition, are determined by combinations of population densities, matching in functional traits and phenology among the organisms, and stochastic events (neutral effects).We propose optimal transportation theory as a unified view for modeling species interaction networks with different intensities of interactions. We pose the coupling of two distributions as a constrained optimization problem, maximizing both the system's average utility and its global entropy, that is, randomness. Our model follows naturally from applying the MaxEnt principle to this problem setting.This approach allows for simulating changes in species relative densities as well as to disentangle the impact of trait matching and neutral forces.We provide a framework for estimating the pairwise species utilities from data. Experimentally, we show how to use this framework to perform trait matching and predict the coupling in pollination and host-parasite networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michiel Stock
- Department of Data Analysis and Mathematical ModellingGhent UniversityGhentBelgium
| | - Timothée Poisot
- Département de Sciences BiologiquesUniversitée de MontréalMontréalQCCanada
- Québec Centre for Biodiversity SciencesMcGill UniversityMontréalQCCanada
| | - Bernard De Baets
- Department of Data Analysis and Mathematical ModellingGhent UniversityGhentBelgium
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36
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Schradin C. Corona, Climate Change, and Evolved Human Behavior. Trends Ecol Evol 2021; 36:569-572. [PMID: 33865641 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Revised: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Most scientists agree that we have to restrict climate change, but there is much frustration that we are failing. The Corona Crisis exemplifies how human behavior is constrained by its evolution, cognition, and resource availability, explaining why we do not act to avoid climate change for the benefit of future generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carsten Schradin
- CNRS, UMR7178, 67087 Strasbourg, France; School of Animal, Plant, and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
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37
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Malishev M, Kramer-Schadt S. Movement, models, and metabolism: Individual-based energy budget models as next-generation extensions for predicting animal movement outcomes across scales. Ecol Modell 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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38
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Mertens D, Boege K, Kessler A, Koricheva J, Thaler JS, Whiteman NK, Poelman EH. Predictability of Biotic Stress Structures Plant Defence Evolution. Trends Ecol Evol 2021; 36:444-456. [PMID: 33468354 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2020] [Revised: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
To achieve ecological and reproductive success, plants need to mitigate a multitude of stressors. The stressors encountered by plants are highly dynamic but typically vary predictably due to seasonality or correlations among stressors. As plants face physiological and ecological constraints in responses to stress, it can be beneficial for plants to evolve the ability to incorporate predictable patterns of stress in their life histories. Here, we discuss how plants predict adverse conditions, which plant strategies integrate predictability of biotic stress, and how such strategies can evolve. We propose that plants commonly optimise responses to correlated sequences or combinations of herbivores and pathogens, and that the predictability of these patterns is a key factor governing plant strategies in dynamic environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daan Mertens
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Karina Boege
- Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Apartado Postal 70-275, Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - André Kessler
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Julia Koricheva
- Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
| | | | - Noah K Whiteman
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Erik H Poelman
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
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Budaev S, Kristiansen TS, Giske J, Eliassen S. Computational animal welfare: towards cognitive architecture models of animal sentience, emotion and wellbeing. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:201886. [PMID: 33489298 PMCID: PMC7813262 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/04/2020] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
To understand animal wellbeing, we need to consider subjective phenomena and sentience. This is challenging, since these properties are private and cannot be observed directly. Certain motivations, emotions and related internal states can be inferred in animals through experiments that involve choice, learning, generalization and decision-making. Yet, even though there is significant progress in elucidating the neurobiology of human consciousness, animal consciousness is still a mystery. We propose that computational animal welfare science emerges at the intersection of animal behaviour, welfare and computational cognition. By using ideas from cognitive science, we develop a functional and generic definition of subjective phenomena as any process or state of the organism that exists from the first-person perspective and cannot be isolated from the animal subject. We then outline a general cognitive architecture to model simple forms of subjective processes and sentience. This includes evolutionary adaptation which contains top-down attention modulation, predictive processing and subjective simulation by re-entrant (recursive) computations. Thereafter, we show how this approach uses major characteristics of the subjective experience: elementary self-awareness, global workspace and qualia with unity and continuity. This provides a formal framework for process-based modelling of animal needs, subjective states, sentience and wellbeing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergey Budaev
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, PO Box 7803, 5020 Bergen, Norway
| | - Tore S. Kristiansen
- Research Group Animal Welfare, Institute of Marine Research, PO Box 1870, 5817 Bergen, Norway
| | - Jarl Giske
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, PO Box 7803, 5020 Bergen, Norway
| | - Sigrunn Eliassen
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, PO Box 7803, 5020 Bergen, Norway
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Håkonsrud Jensen C, Weidner J, Giske J, Budaev S, Jørgensen C, Eliassen S. Hormonal adjustments to future expectations impact growth and survival in juvenile fish. OIKOS 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.07483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jacqueline Weidner
- Dept of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Bergen Box 7803 NO‐5020 Bergen Norway
| | - Jarl Giske
- Dept of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Bergen Box 7803 NO‐5020 Bergen Norway
| | - Sergey Budaev
- Dept of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Bergen Box 7803 NO‐5020 Bergen Norway
| | | | - Sigrunn Eliassen
- Dept of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Bergen Box 7803 NO‐5020 Bergen Norway
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Szabo B, Damas-Moreira I, Whiting MJ. Can Cognitive Ability Give Invasive Species the Means to Succeed? A Review of the Evidence. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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42
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Senner NR, Morbey YE, Sandercock BK. Editorial: Flexibility in the Migration Strategies of Animals. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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43
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Weidner J, Jensen CH, Giske J, Eliassen S, Jørgensen C. Hormones as adaptive control systems in juvenile fish. Biol Open 2020; 9:bio046144. [PMID: 31996351 PMCID: PMC7044463 DOI: 10.1242/bio.046144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Growth is an important theme in biology. Physiologists often relate growth rates to hormonal control of essential processes. Ecologists often study growth as a function of gradients or combinations of environmental factors. Fewer studies have investigated the combined effects of environmental and hormonal control on growth. Here, we present an evolutionary optimization model of fish growth that combines internal regulation of growth by hormone levels with the external influence of food availability and predation risk. The model finds a dynamic hormone profile that optimizes fish growth and survival up to 30 cm, and we use the probability of reaching this milestone as a proxy for fitness. The complex web of interrelated hormones and other signalling molecules is simplified to three functions represented by growth hormone, thyroid hormone and orexin. By studying a range from poor to rich environments, we find that the level of food availability in the environment results in different evolutionarily optimal strategies of hormone levels. With more food available, higher levels of hormones are optimal, resulting in higher food intake, standard metabolism and growth. By using this fitness-based approach we also find a consequence of evolutionary optimization of survival on optimal hormone use. Where foraging is risky, the thyroid hormone can be used strategically to increase metabolic potential and the chance of escaping from predators. By comparing model results to empirical observations, many mechanisms can be recognized, for instance a change in pace-of-life due to resource availability, and reduced emphasis on reserves in more stable environments.This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline Weidner
- University of Bergen, Department of Biological Sciences, Postboks 7803, N-5020 Bergen, Norway
| | | | - Jarl Giske
- University of Bergen, Department of Biological Sciences, Postboks 7803, N-5020 Bergen, Norway
| | - Sigrunn Eliassen
- University of Bergen, Department of Biological Sciences, Postboks 7803, N-5020 Bergen, Norway
| | - Christian Jørgensen
- University of Bergen, Department of Biological Sciences, Postboks 7803, N-5020 Bergen, Norway
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44
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Goossens S, Wybouw N, Van Leeuwen T, Bonte D. The physiology of movement. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2020; 8:5. [PMID: 32042434 PMCID: PMC7001223 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-020-0192-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2019] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Movement, from foraging to migration, is known to be under the influence of the environment. The translation of environmental cues to individual movement decision making is determined by an individual's internal state and anticipated to balance costs and benefits. General body condition, metabolic and hormonal physiology mechanistically underpin this internal state. These physiological determinants are tightly, and often genetically linked with each other and hence central to a mechanistic understanding of movement. We here synthesise the available evidence of the physiological drivers and signatures of movement and review (1) how physiological state as measured in its most coarse way by body condition correlates with movement decisions during foraging, migration and dispersal, (2) how hormonal changes underlie changes in these movement strategies and (3) how these can be linked to molecular pathways. We reveale that a high body condition facilitates the efficiency of routine foraging, dispersal and migration. Dispersal decision making is, however, in some cases stimulated by a decreased individual condition. Many of the biotic and abiotic stressors that induce movement initiate a physiological cascade in vertebrates through the production of stress hormones. Movement is therefore associated with hormone levels in vertebrates but also insects, often in interaction with factors related to body or social condition. The underlying molecular and physiological mechanisms are currently studied in few model species, and show -in congruence with our insights on the role of body condition- a central role of energy metabolism during glycolysis, and the coupling with timing processes during migration. Molecular insights into the physiological basis of movement remain, however, highly refractory. We finalise this review with a critical reflection on the importance of these physiological feedbacks for a better mechanistic understanding of movement and its effects on ecological dynamics at all levels of biological organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven Goossens
- Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Nicky Wybouw
- Laboratory of Agrozoology, Department of Plants and Crops, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Thomas Van Leeuwen
- Laboratory of Agrozoology, Department of Plants and Crops, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Dries Bonte
- Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
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45
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Oudman T, Laland K, Ruxton G, Tombre I, Shimmings P, Prop J. Young Birds Switch but Old Birds Lead: How Barnacle Geese Adjust Migratory Habits to Environmental Change. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
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