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PubMed1979

The effect of luminance upon the distribution and behavior of the Eleotrid fish Gobiomorus dormitor, and its prey.

Gobiomorus dormitor success in capturing prey, cichlids, poeciliids and atherinids, is correlated with low luminance. Both prey and predator populations inhabiting rocky areas in Lake Jiloa, Nicaragua shift to deeper water during the dry season when luminance is greater. Predator and prey populations are also deeper over bright sandy areas than over rocks. Predators, during the middle of the day, attack prey significantly less in water above 3 m than in water between 3-12 m, but there is a significant increase in the number of attacks occurring above 3 m at twilight. The predator becomes more active, and the prey disappear into holes at twilight. These data suggest that conclusions concerning the importance of light in structuring the community and behavior of marine fishes can be generalized to tropical freshwater systems.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Predatory aggression, but not maternal or intermale aggression, is associated with high voluntary wheel-running behavior in mice.

Predatory (towards crickets), intermale, and maternal aggression were examined in four replicate lines of mice that had been selectively bred for high wheel-running (S) and in four random-bred control lines (C). In generation 18, individual differences in both predatory and intermale aggression were significantly consistent across four trial days, but predatory and intermale aggression were uncorrelated both at the individual level and among the eight line means. Latencies to attack crickets were significantly lower in S lines as a group. Intermale aggression, however, did not differ between S and C lines. S lines were significantly smaller in body mass, but did not differ in either testes mass or plasma testosterone. In generations 28 and 30, respectively, S and C lines did not differ in either maternal or intermale aggression. However, significant differences among the individual lines were found for maternal aggression, and one S line exhibited an extremely high mean time of aggression (>120 sec for a 5-min test). Maternal and intermale aggression were not correlated among the eight line means or at the level of individual variation. Overall, our results suggest: (1) predatory aggression and voluntary wheel-running are positively related at the genetic level; (2) predatory and intermale aggression are unrelated at a genetic level; and (3) maternal and intermale aggression are not tightly related at the genetic level. Possible relationships between predatory aggression, dopamine, and wheel-running behavior are discussed.

Aggression↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The neuronal correlates of the serotonin-dependent behavior of the pteropod mollusk Clione limacina].

Predatory behaviour of the carnivorous marine pteropod mollusk Clione limacina is normally induced by contact with prey. In the absence of prey, a similar behaviour can be induced by injection of serotonin (5-HT) or its precursor, L-5-hydroxytroptophan (5-HTP). It consists of non-stop fast swimming, rapid extrusions of cephaloconi and other components of the actual prey capturing. Neuronal correlates of this phenomenon were investigated using histofluorescence and intracellular recordings. Prior to treatment with 5-HTP only green fluorescence of catecholamines has been revealed. In the CNS and periphery of 5-HTP-injected hunting animals yellow fluorescence of 5-HT is present as well. In isolated pedal ganglia 5-HTP induces characteristic changes in the activity of the swim generator neurones. An initial intermittent fictitious swimming of these neurones has been changed to sustained swimming of a higher frequency and enhanced spiking per cycle. Changes in activity of 5-HT-producing pedal neurones are also described.

5-Hydroxytryptophan↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Neurotransmitters regulating feline aggressive behavior.

The experiments described in this review reveal that the expression and modulation of aggressive responses in the cat are organized by two distinct sets of pathways. One set of pathways is associated with the elicitation of a specific form of attack behavior. It includes the medial hypothalamus and its projections to the PAG for the expression of defensive rage behavior and the lateral hypothalamus and its descending projections for the expression of predatory attack behavior. The primary focus of the present review is upon the analysis of defensive rage behavior. It was demonstrated that the pathway from the medial hypothalamus to the PAG, which appears to be essential for elicitation of defensive rage, is powerfully excitatory and utilizes excitatory amino acids that act upon NMDA receptors within the PAG. The other pathways examined in this review arise from different nuclei of the amygdala and are modulatory in nature. Here, two facilitatory systems have been identified. The first involves a projection system from the basal complex of amygdala that projects directly to the PAG. Its excitatory effects are manifest through excitatory amino acids that act upon NMDA receptors within the PAG. The second facilitatory pathway arises from the medial nucleus of the amygdala. However, its projection system is directed to the medial hypothalamus rather than the PAG. Its neurotransmitter appears to be substance P that acts upon NK1 receptors within the medial hypothalamus (see Figure 10). It has yet to be determined whether substance P acts upon any of the other neurokinin receptor subtypes. It should also be pointed out that the substance P pathway from the medial amygdala to the medial hypothalamus functions to suppress predatory attack behavior elicited from the lateral hypothalamus. In this network, it is likely that the modulatory effects of the medial amygdala require the presence of a second, inhibitory pathway from the medial hypothalamus that innervates the lateral hypothalamus. At the present time, the neurochemical nature of this second pathway remains unknown, although it is suggested that such neurons may be GABAergic. One major inhibitory pathway was also identified. It arises principally from the central nucleus of the amygdala and projects to the PAG. Its powerful suppressive effects upon PAG elicited defensive rage behavior are mediated through opioid peptides that act upon mu receptors within the PAG. While the present series of studies have begun to define the structural and functional nature of the neural systems that regulate aggressive behavior, our understanding of the overall mechanisms regulating different forms of aggressive behavior remains incomplete.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Aggression↗
PubMed1993

Evidence that substance P is utilized in medial amygdaloid facilitation of defensive rage behavior in the cat.

The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that a major excitatory mechanism for the expression of feline defensive rage behavior involves the medial nucleus of the amygdala which utilizes substance P as a neurotransmitter in a direct output pathway that supplies the medial hypothalamus. In phase I of the experiment, stimulating electrodes were implanted into the medial amygdala and cannula electrodes were implanted into the medial and lateral hypothalamus from which defensive rage and predatory attack behavior could be elicited by electrical stimulation, respectively. Response latencies for defensive rage were significantly lowered after dual stimulation of the medial amygdala and medial hypothalamus relative to single stimulation of the medial hypothalamus alone. In phase II, dose- and time-dependent decreases in medial amygdaloid-induced facilitation of defensive rage were observed after the i.p. administration of the NK1 antagonist, CP-96,345 (0.05, 2 and 4 mg/kg). In phase III of the study, the effects of microinjections of CP-96,345 placed directly into defensive rage sites within the medial hypothalamus (0.05, 0.5 and 2.5 nmol) upon medial amygdaloid modulation of this response were assessed. Again, intracerebral administration of this antagonist blocked the facilitatory effects of medial amygdaloid-induced facilitation of defensive rage in a manner parallel to that observed with peripheral administration of the NK1 antagonist. The results suggest that the medial amygdala facilitates defensive rage by acting through a substance P mechanism at the level of the medial hypothalamus. Other experiments revealed that peripheral administration of the NK1 antagonist: (1) had little upon the latency or threshold for elicitation of defensive rage, suggesting that the medial amygdaloid-substance P facilitatory mechanism acts in a phasic rather than tonic manner; and (2) also blocks the suppressive effects of medial amygdaloid stimulation upon predatory attack behavior elicited from the lateral hypothalamus. The latter finding suggest that similar neurochemical mechanisms regulate medial amygdaloid modulation of both forms of hypothalamically elicited aggression. The final aspect of this study utilized the combination of retrograde-tracing of amygdaloid neurons into the medial hypothalamus after microinjections of Fluoro-Gold into defensive rage sites, and the immunocytochemical analysis of substance P neurons within the amygdala. The data indicated that large numbers of retrogradely and immunocytochemically positive labeled cells were identified in the medial nucleus, including many that were double-labeled.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Amygdala↗
PubMed1993

Genetic analysis of different kinds of aggressive behavior.

Various kinds of aggressive behavior such as spontaneous intermale aggression, predatory aggression (locust-killing behavior), and irritable (shock-induced) aggression were investigated in inbred strains of mice. Genotype was shown to affect significantly the phenotypic variety of these kinds of aggression. There were, however, no interstrain correlations either between intermale aggression and predatory behavior or between intensity of intermale, shock-induced aggression and locust-killing behavior. Moreover, the intermale aggression level (percentage of fighting mice in each strain) did not correlate with the intensity of fighting. It has been shown by Mendelian analysis on C57BL/6J and BALB/c strains that these indices of intermale aggression are under different genetic control. The selection of Norway rats over 20 generations for reduced fear-induced aggressiveness toward man resulted in a decrease in irritable aggression and loss of an aggressive response to man. No changes in intermale and predatory aggression, however, were found. Hence, different kinds of aggressive behavior--intermale, predatory, and fear-induced aggression--seem to be controlled by different genetic mechanisms.

Aggression↗
PubMed2000

Neuroplasticity in specific limbic system circuits may mediate specific kindling induced changes in animal affect-implications for understanding anxiety associated with epilepsy.

In two complementary experiments, we studied the effects of low frequency stimulation (LFS) of the amygdala on behavioral effects of kindling in rats and cats. These studies tested the hypothesis that kindling induced long term potentiation (KLTP) in amygdala circuits underlies interictal behavioral change. Since LFS can depotentiate LTP, it was predicted that LFS should both depotentiate KLTP and reverse behavioral effects of kindling. In cats, the effects of LFS on KLTP of amygdala efferents was studied, and related to behavioral effects. Partial ventral hippocampal kindling in cats and right amygdala kindling in rodents lastingly increased defensive response to rats in cats, and anxiety-like behavior (ALB) in the elevated plus-maze in rats. In addition, partial kindling reduced predatory attack behavior in cats independent of its effects on defensive response. Partial kindling also induced KLTP of amygdala efferent transmission to ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) and periaqueductal gray (PAG) in left and right hemispheres. Depotentiation of amygdala efferent KLTP by bilateral amygdala LFS selectively reduced KLTP in right amygdala efferents. At the same time, defensive behavior, but not attack behavior, was returned to levels seen prior to partial kindling. Defensiveness returned to post kindling levels between 44 and 76days after LFS. At the same time, LTP was restored in the right Amygdalo-PAG pathway only. These findings suggest that lasting change in affect produced by kindling depends on LTP of right amygdala efferent transmission to PAG, replicating studies of the effects of FG-7142 on brain and behavior in the cat. The findings suggest further that the spectrum of behavioral changes produced by partial kindling are dependent on changes in a variety of neural circuits, and that amygdala efferent transmission changes are responsible for changes in defensive behavior, but not attack behavior. Effects of LFS were not due to damage, as thresholds to evoke amygdala efferent response were unchanged. Other data suggest KLTP and depotentiation in right Amygdalo-PAG may reflect changes in glutamate receptor density/synapse number. Kindling effects on rat ALB persisted for at least 1month. Bilateral but not unilateral amygdala LFS reversed the effects of kindling on risk assessment in the plus maze for at least 3weeks. Bilateral LFS also reversed the effects of kindling on open arm exploration, but effects were shorter lived, appearing at 1day but not 3weeks after kindling and LFS. These findings are consistent with other studies which suggest that amygdala neuroplasticity in separable amygdala circuits mediates lasting changes in open arm avoidance and risk assessment. Taken together, the findings of both studies support the hypothesis that a form of LTP of specific amygdala circuits underlies lasting changes in affect produced by limbic kindling. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Aggression↗
PubMed1991

Enkephalinergic involvement in periaqueductal gray control of hypothalamically elicited predatory attack in the cat.

The effects of central infusion of naloxone into the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG) upon predatory attack behavior in the cat were studied in 12 cats. Initially, quiet biting attack was elicited by electrical stimulation of sites within the lateral hypothalamus using monopolar electrodes. Then cannula-electrodes were implanted into sites within the PAG from which electrical stimulation facilitated or suppressed the attack response. Following identification of modulatory sites within the PAG, naloxone (1.0 micrograms/0.5 microliter) was microinjected into those sites and the effects upon hypothalamically elicited attack were assessed. At nine of twelve sites in the PAG where suppression was obtained, administration of naloxone served to block those effects. Similarly, at six of eight facilitatory sites within the PAG, naloxone also blocked the modulatory effects of PAG stimulation. However, vehicle (isotonic saline) alone did not alter the modulatory effects of PAG stimulation. Administration of DAME (250 ng/0.3 microliter) into PAG modulatory sites in four cats, two which facilitated and two that suppressed the attack response, reversed the effects of naloxone at these sites. These results demonstrate that opioid peptides within the PAG play a complex role in the expression of predatory attack behavior in the cat.

Aggression↗
PubMed1998

Cholecystokinin B receptors in the periaqueductal gray potentiate defensive rage behavior elicited from the medial hypothalamus of the cat.

Defensive rage behavior is mediated over a descending pathway from the medial hypothalamus to the dorsolateral midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG) where further integration of this response takes place. The present study sought to determine the roles of CCK-A and CCK-B receptor activation in the PAG in modulating defensive rage behavior. The 'hissing' component of the defensive rage response was used throughout the experiment as the measure of defensive rage behavior. The basic design of the experiment involved placement of monopolar electrodes into the medial hypothalamus from which defensive rage could be elicited and cannula electrodes into the dorsal PAG for purposes of identifying defensive rage sites in this region and for microinjections of CCK compounds into these sites at a later time. Microinjections of the selective CCK-B receptor antagonist, LY288513 (1.05, 4.2, 17.0 nmol/0.25 microliter), into the PAG suppressed the hissing response in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Microinjections of the CCK-B agonist, pentagastrin, (0.5 and 1.0 nmol/0.25 microliter) facilitated the occurrence of defensive rage behavior. Moreover, administration of LY288513 (17 nmol/0.25 microliter) 55 min prior to pentagastrin (1.0 nmol/0.25 microliter) delivery blocked the facilitatory effects of pentagastrin. Administration of the CCK-A antagonist, PD140548 (34 nmol/0.25 microliter), into the PAG failed to alter response latencies for defensive rage behavior. In contrast, microinjections of the CCK-B antagonist, LY288513 (4.2, 17.0 nmol/0.25 microliter), facilitated the occurrence of predatory attack behavior elicited from the lateral hypothalamus. This finding demonstrates the specificity of the effects of CCK-B receptor blockade upon hissing. A combination of immunocytochemical and retrograde tracing procedures using microinjections of Fluoro-Gold (8%, 6 microliters) into the PAG were employed to identify the possible loci of CCK neurons that project to the PAG. The data revealed that neurons labeled for both CCK and Fluoro-Gold were located in the dorsolateral aspect of the midbrain tegmentum, identifying this region as a source of CCK inputs to the PAG. Overall, the findings demonstrate that CCK-B receptors in the PAG potentiate defensive rage behavior and likely suppress predatory attack.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

The control exerted by the substantia nigra on the quiet biting attack elicited by hypothalamic stimulation in the cat.

The effects of substantia nigra (SN) (pars compacta) stimulation on the quiet biting attack evoked by hypothalamic activation in the cat were studied. The measure of the aggressive behavior was the latency of the biting which did not greatly change from one animal to another when hypothalamic stimulation was performed with the same parameters. Concurrent activation of the SN determined an inhibitory effect on the studied behavior in the form of an increase in the biting latency or loss of the attack pattern. The inhibitory role of the SN on predatory attack behavior is discussed.

Aggression↗
PubMed1997

Evolution of forelimb movement patterns for prey manipulation in anurans.

Unlike other amphibians, frogs often use their forelimbs to capture and transport prey. In the present study, high-speed videography was used to observe forelimb use during feeding in a diverse group of anurans in order to determine the evolution of forelimb movement patterns among anuran taxa. Data were gathered from 488 individuals representing 104 species, 55 genera, and 16 families. Five distinct behavior patterns were identified: scooping entails using the back of the hand to push prey into the mouth; wiping involves the use of the palm of the hand to push prey, protruding laterally from the mouth, toward the midline; during prey stretching, one end of the prey is held in a stationary position by the hands while the other end is pulled upward by the jaws; in grasping, the palms face the midline or the substrate as the fingers are wrapped around the prey; grasping with wrist rotation is similar to grasping, but the wrists rotate inward as the hands grasp the prey so that the palms face the mouth. The distribution of these behavior patterns was mapped onto the most recent phylogenetic hypothesis for anurans. Maximum parsimony analyses suggest that scooping and wiping are primitive and have been retained by many frog lineages. Wiping was not observed in the pipids, which are the only anurans that lack tongues and use hydraulic transport. Prey stretching appears to have evolved several times in unrelated taxa. Grasping and grasping with wrist rotation appear to have evolved only in arboreal groups, suggesting that the ability to climb is a preadaptation for the ability to grasp prey. Several species were observed using grasping motions in place of the tongue to capture prey.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Food transfers in wild and reintroduced golden lion tamarins, Leontopithecus rosalia.

We collected data from wild and reintroduced golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia) to describe the behavior of donor and recipient during food transfers, evaluate the effect of supplemental feeding on food transfer behavior, and examine various hypotheses concerning the function of food transfers in primates. Behavioral observations were conducted on 12 groups of tamarins with young (N = 30) between the ages of 1 week and 1 year old. Results show that food transfers involve various behaviors, from steals by recipients to offers by donors; transfers mostly derive from adults and are directed at immature weaned young (between 3 and 9 months old); and that most items transferred were prey or fruits that require skill to process. Eleven percent of food transfers were preceded by an adult vocalization specific to that context, whereas 86% were preceded by conspicuous infant vocalizations and begging behavior. The most common vocalizations were loud and atonal (rasps) and broad banded frequency modulated (trills). Infants born to reintroduced parents vocalized less, whereas reintroduced adults vocalized more before transferring food than their wild counterparts. Reintroduced adults and young received more food transfers (4.4 per hr) than did wild-born adults and young (2.2 per hr). Our findings suggest that food transfer in golden lion tamarins is best understood as provisioning of young that have not fully developed foraging skills to ensure they get the necessary resources for growth and survival.

Aging↗
PubMed2005

Competition, predation, and the evolutionary significance of the cercopithecine cheek pouch: the case of Cercopithecus and Lophocebus.

Reports of cercopithecine cheek pouch use and functional significance are largely anecdotal, and to date there have been no investigations into its use by species living in closed forest habitats. Here, I report on cheek pouch use in Cercopithecus ascanius and Lophocebus albigena in the Kibale National Park, Uganda, between July-October 1997. Two hypotheses were evaluated: this feature was selected for because of its role in 1) increasing feeding efficiency via a reduction in potential feeding competition, and/or 2) reducing vulnerability to predation. Results indicate that both species were more likely to use their cheek pouches when feeding on contestable foods and, after filling cheek pouches, retreated to more densely vegetated ("safer") positions for processing food. There was no influence of age and sex on L. albigena cheek pouch use. Subadult C. ascanius cheek-pouched less frequently than adults, although there were no differences between adult males and females. There was no relationship between feeding-patch size and number of plant food items cheek-pouched in either species. However, the diameter of breast height (dbh; a measure of patch size) of trees in which C. ascanius used their cheek pouches was significantly larger than the dbh of trees in which they did not. Both species were more likely to use their cheek pouches in the presence of greater numbers of conspecifics. These data provide insight into the relationship(s) among oral anatomy and feeding efficiency, and facilitate understanding into the selection for this important oral feature in stem cercopithecines.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed2002

An experimental test of the relationship between temporal variability of feeding opportunities and baseline levels of corticosterone in a shorebird.

In this study, we tested the hypothesis that baseline corticosterone levels increase with a change from constant to variable feeding schedules. Captive red knots, Calidris canutus, were presented with food that was either available during the same time each day (constant) or starting at variable times during the day. Food intake rates, frequency of aggressive interactions, and baseline levels of corticosterone were measured. In the majority of cases, red knots showed higher plasma corticosterone concentrations during feeding schedules that were irregular than when food was available at consistent times. These findings are supported by a previous study that showed that red knots take a long time to adjust to the newly offered, predictable conditions of their aviary environment. The frequency of conflicts in the different groups and (size-corrected) body mass were not correlated with average corticosterone level. The results are examined in the light of literature showing that increases in corticosterone in response to acute, unpredictable events mediate behavioral responses such as increased explorative behavior and memory. For red knots that have to find their food on the temperate-zone mudflats in Western Europe, an increased circulating corticosterone level may be adaptive during periods when the patchily distribution of buried bivalves and the burying behavior of such prey presents them with a variable and unpredictable food supply.

Aggression↗
PubMed2000

Uniform persistence for sigmoidal diet selection with keystone prey species.

In this paper we discuss uniform persistence (UP) criteria of two prey- one predator systems, where we consider that the predator's diet selection is a sigmoidal function of the most profitable prey type in place of a step function of conventional diet choice theory. We also derive UP results of the system with direct interspecific competition between the prey. The role of the most profitable prey item as a keystone species, the magnitude of its carrying capacity, the ability to withstand predation of both prey species, and the ratios of their profitability values (to predators) are important to whether or not adaptive foraging may promote UP. In general, foraging decision rules play no role in UP if the alternative prey item is the keystone species. The result is also not affected by the effect of direct competitive coexistence or dominance relationship of the prey. In some cases, dominance of one of the prey species provides the most advantageous situation for ensuring UP.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed1999

Permanence and global attractivity for Lotka-Volterra difference systems.

The permanence and global attractivity for two-species difference systems of Lotka-Volterra type are considered. It is proved that a cooperative system cannot be permanent. For a permanent competitive system, the explicit expression of the permanent set E is obtained and sufficient conditions are given to guarantee the global attractivity of the positive equilibrium of the system.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Do tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) spontaneously deceive opponents? A preliminary analysis of an experimental food-competition contest between monkeys.

A new laboratory procedure which allows the study of deceptive behavior in nonhuman primates is described. Pairs of tufted capuchin monkeys faced each other in a food-competition contest. Two feeder boxes were placed between the monkeys. A piece of food was placed in one of the boxes. The subordinate individual was able to see the food and to open the box to obtain the bait. A dominant male was unable to see the food or to open the box but was able to take the food once the box was opened by the subordinate. In experiment 1, two of four subordinate monkeys spontaneously started to open the unbaited box first with increasing frequency. Experiment 2 confirmed that this "deceptive" act was not due to a drop in the rate of reinforcement caused by the usurping dominant male, under the situation in which food sometimes automatically dropped from the opened box. In experiment 3, two subordinate monkeys were rerun in the same situation as experiment 1. One of them showed some recovery of the "deceptive" act but the other did not; instead the latter tended to position himself on the side where there was no food before he started to open the box. Although the results do not clearly indicate spontaneous deception, we suggest that operationally defined spontaneous deceptive behaviors in monkeys can be analyzed with experimental procedures such as those used here.

Animals↗