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PubMed1990

Incubation and maternal behaviour in domestic hens: influence of the presence of chicks on circulating luteinising hormone, prolactin and oestradiol and on behaviour.

1. The consequences of the adoption of chicks and their subsequent removal on behaviour and plasma hormone concentrations of incubating hens were investigated. Birds were divided into two group: in group A, incubating hens were given chicks for 11 d; in group B chicks were left with the hens for 3 d only. 2. Incubating hens given chicks immediately showed maternal responses. The introduction of chicks induced a gradual nest desertion. Their removal stopped nest desertion temporarily on day 4 in group B hens. 3. Plasma prolactin concentrations fell one day after introduction of chicks and continued to decline for about one week in group A hens, although there was no further significant decrease in group B hens. Circulating prolactin tended to decrease with time in both groups. 4. Plasma luteinising hormone (LH) concentrations increased concurrently with the decrease of prolactin. The increase was more abrupt in group B hens. 5. Plasma oestradiol concentrations decreased slightly on the day chicks were introduced. The decline was arrested by removal of chicks in group B; in group A the tendency was reversed about 10 days after chick introduction. 6. Irrespective of group, before chick removal hens which deserted their nest rapidly had less contact with chicks and lower prolactin concentrations.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2003

Androgens stimulate specific aspects of maternal nest-building and reduce food intake in rabbits.

Fluctuations in the plasma concentration of estradiol, progesterone, and prolactin across pregnancy regulate maternal nest-building (digging, straw-carrying, and hair-plucking) and food intake in rabbits. Because testosterone levels also change through pregnancy, we investigated if the injection of testosterone propionate (TP; 1 or 5 mg/day) or 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone propionate (5 or 10 mg/day) for 20 days, alone and combined with progesterone (P; 10 mg/day from days 2 to 15), modulated nest-building and food intake in ovariectomized rabbits. Only the combined injection of TP (5 mg/day) plus P stimulated digging and no treatment promoted straw-carrying or hair-plucking. Both androgens induced hair-loosening from the ventrum, an effect counteracted by P. High doses of TP and 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone propionate reduced food intake by 60-70% of baseline values; this effect was counteracted by P in TP-treated animals. These results support a participation of androgens in specific aspects of maternal nest-building and reveal a strong inhibitory effect on food intake.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Phylogenetic perspectives in the evolution of parental care in ray-finned fishes.

Among major vertebrate groups, ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii) collectively display a nearly unrivaled diversity of parental care activities. This fact, coupled with a growing body of phylogenetic data for Actinopterygii, makes these fishes a logical model system for analyzing the evolutionary histories of alternative parental care modes and associated reproductive behaviors. From an extensive literature review, we constructed a supertree for ray-finned fishes and used its phylogenetic topology to investigate the evolution of several key reproductive states including type of parental care (maternal, paternal, or biparental), internal versus external fertilization, internal versus external gestation, nest construction behavior, and presence versus absence of sexual dichromatism (as an indicator of sexual selection). Using a comparative phylogenetic approach, we critically evaluate several hypotheses regarding evolutionary pathways toward parental care. Results from maximum parsimony reconstructions indicate that all forms of parental care, including paternal, biparental, and maternal (both external and internal to the female reproductive tract) have arisen repeatedly and independently during ray-finned fish evolution. The most common evolutionary transitions were from external fertilization directly to paternal care and from external fertilization to maternal care via the intermediate step of internal fertilization. We also used maximum likelihood phylogenetic methods to test for statistical correlations and contingencies in the evolution of pairs of reproductive traits. Sexual dichromatism and nest construction proved to be positively correlated with the evolution of male parental care in species with external fertilization. Sexual dichromatism was also positively correlated with female-internal fertilization and gestation. No clear indication emerged that female-only care or biparental care were evolutionary outgrowths of male-only care, or that biparental care has been a common evolutionary stepping stone between paternal and maternal care. Results are discussed in the context of prior thought about the evolution of alternative parental care modes in vertebrates.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Ecology: ultraviolet reflectance by the skin of nestlings.

Birds can perceive the reflectance of ultraviolet light by biological structures. Here we show that the skin of the mouth and body of starling nestlings substantially reflects light in the ultraviolet range and that young in which this reflectance is reduced will gain less mass than controls, despite low background levels of ultraviolet and visible light in the nest. We suggest that this ultraviolet reflectance from starling nestlings and its contrast with surrounding surfaces are important for parental decisions about food allocation.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Intracerebroventricular injections of prolactin counteract the antagonistic effect of bromocriptine on rabbit maternal behaviour.

To investigate the participation of prolactin in nest-building and maternal behaviour in rabbits, we administered (from pregnancy day 26 to parturition) rabbit prolactin (rbPRL; or vehicle) intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) to primiparous animals injected with bromocriptine subcutaneously (s.c.). Control females (given vehicle s.c. and i.c.v.) built a maternal nest (of straw and body hair) in 77% of cases. This proportion decreased to 19% in the bromocriptine-only group (P < 0.05) and increased to 93% in the group given bromocriptine plus rbPRL (P > 0.05). Maternal behaviour (i.e. the adoption of a crouching posture over the litter inside the nest box) was expressed by 77% of control rabbits, 19% of bromocriptine-only animals (P < 0.05) and 57% of females given bromocriptine plus rbPRL (P > 0.05). Values of nonmaternal activities (i.e. scent-marking, ambulation in an open field) were similar among the three studied groups. These results suggest that prolactin, acting in late pregnancy, plays a major role in the stimulation of nest-building and maternal behaviour in rabbits.

Animals↗

PubMed1977

Effect of handling on maternal behavior following return of pups to the nest.

Handling rat pups during the 1st week after birth altered adult behavior in the open-field, whereas simply spearating the pups from their mothers during the same period produced differences in body weight at weaning. Observations of mother-infant interaction following pup treatment yielded different patterns of maternal behavior. Moreover, pups receiving early treatment were more active as adults in a novel environment and had a greater body weight at weaning. The quality of maternal care and the immediate effects of infantile stimulation on the mother-infant relation should be considered in specifying a mediating mechanism for the effects of early experience.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1977

Significance of the weaning period for natality and maternal behaviour of laboratory rats.

Normally weaned females (at 30 days) displayed seasonal cyclic changes in natality and the characteristics of the young. Natality in the spring and summer was high, the litters were large, the proportion of females and males in the litter was equal and deaths among the unweaned young were very few. Natality in the autumn and winter was low and the litters were small and consisted mainly of males. The death rate among the young was higher than in the spring and summer. Prematurely weaned females (at 15 days) displayed no seasonal cycle either in natality or in the characteristics of the young. The studied parameters corresponded to the values found in the spring and summer in normally weaned females. No differences were found in maternal retrieving, but there was a marked difference in nest-building. The normally weaned female tore up paper (building material) into small fragments 24 hours before giving birth and dropped the young into a soft nest of finely shredded paper. On leaving the nest it covered the young up. The prematurely weaned female scattered the paper about the cage 24 hours before giving birth and dropped the young into a depression stamped out among whole pieces of paper. It did not cover the young up on leaving the nest. The cause of the difference in building behaviour is evidently that prematurely weaned females failed to acquire early experience of this behaviour between the 15th and 30th day of life.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Paternal care reduces maternal hyperthermia in Djungarian hamsters (Phodopus campbelli).

Throughout lactation, maternal body temperature, nest attendance, activity level and reproductive success of solitary female Djungarian hamsters housed at the recommended ambient temperature of 23 degrees C (Canadian Council on Animal Care guidelines) were compared with those of paired females housed at the same temperature and with solitary females housed at the natural burrow temperature of 18 degrees C. As expected, cooler ambient temperature improved pup survival and weaning weight. Likewise, paternal presence largely compensated for the poor pup growth typical at 23 degrees C. However, the mechanisms were not the same. Females at reduced ambient temperatures were as hyperthermic as females at the higher temperature and spent the same proportion of their day at very high body temperatures. However, the steeper temperature gradient available for passive cooling allowed those females to enhance maternal care by shortening their nest bout absences. In contrast, body temperatures of paired females were tightly regulated compared to the hyperthermia of solitary females and rarely included the highest body temperatures. This alleviation of maternal hyperthermia was not achieved through a reduction in nest attendance. Therefore, maternal hyperthermia in Djungarian hamsters is not essential and may be considered a substantial cost to females when males are not present.

Animals↗

PubMed1977

Nest and home.

A nest as a rather loose construction of plant material, as it is used by most birds and some of the lowest primates, never serves as a goal of flight, very rarely as a sleeping place but mainly as a support for the offspring. A home, however, as used by many nonprimate mammals and other vertebrates, is a solid construction or an excavation in a solid material (tree hole, burrow, etc.) which serves principally as a goal of flight in case of danger, also as a sleeping place and temporarily as a nest, that is a fix-point for raising the young. In the phylogeny of primates the nest has been given up very early. The sleeping nest of pongids has nothing to do with it. Whereas the most primitive primates using nests transport their young with the mouth, in all other primates the young has to grasp actively the mother's (parent's) hair to be tranported. When the hair disappeared phylogenetically, technical devices came into use.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Spawning and parental care in Hoplias malabaricus (Teleostei, Characiformes, Erythrinidae) in the Southern Pantanal, Brazil.

Herein we describe spawning and egg guarding in the erythrinid fish Hoplias malabaricus observed in the southern Pantanal (19 degrees 34' S and 57 degrees 00' W), state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Nests were depressions built on sandy soil in flooded areas, and contained a mean of 8,197 +/- 2,204 eggs (N = 4); the mean diameter of eggs was 1.44 +/- 0.09 mm (N = 400). Among 11 nests observed, eight were guarded by males and three by the pair. One male remained in the nest for six days, and two pairs remained guarding the eggs for at least three days before being captured. Females (N = 2) captured in the nest contained oocytes in their ovaries. Our observations suggest that male parental care is the normal form of parental care in H. malabaricus, but biparental care also seems to occur.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Experimentally increased food resources in the natal territory promote offspring philopatry and helping in cooperatively breeding carrion crows.

Kin-based societies, where families represent the basic social unit, occur in a relatively small number of vertebrate species. In the majority of avian kin societies, families form when offspring prolong their association with the parents on the natal territory. Therefore, the key to understanding the evolution of families in birds is to understand natal philopatry (i.e. the tendency to remain on the natal territory). It has been shown that, within populations, the strength of the association between parents and offspring (i.e. family stability) increases when offspring dispersal is constrained by external environmental factors, but it is unclear whether and how family wealth influences juvenile dispersal decisions. Here, we show that young carrion crows (Corvus corone corone) from territories that were food-supplemented year-round were more philopatric and more likely to help at their family's nest than the unfed ones. The results suggest that offspring philopatry and helping behaviour are influenced by the quality of 'home' and that the availability of food resources positively affects the cohesion of the family.

Animal Migration↗

PubMed1994

Investigating sea turtle migration using DNA markers.

The past year has seen a further marshaling of genetic evidence for 'natal homing' in several species of marine turtles, a phenomenon wherein females, upon reaching sexual maturity, exhibit a propensity to return to nest at or near the respective beaches upon which they hatched some two or more decades earlier. This genetics-based inference stems from the strong spatial patterning observed in mitochondrial DNA lineages among nesting sites. Rookery-specific mitochondrial DNA markers are now being employed to monitor the natal sources of individuals captured at other phases of the life cycle, and the genetic findings have important conservation ramifications.

Animals↗

PubMed2007

Costs of egg-laying and offspring provisioning: multifaceted parental investment in a digger wasp.

Nest-building Hymenoptera have been a major testing ground for theories of parental investment and sex allocation. Investment has usually been estimated by the likely costs of offspring provisioning, ignoring other aspects of parental care. Using three experimental treatments, we estimated the costs of egg-laying and provisioning separately under field conditions in a digger wasp Ammophila pubescens. In one treatment, we increased the provisioning effort required per offspring by removing alternate prey items as they were brought to the nest. In two other treatments, we reduced parental effort by either preventing females from provisioning alternate nests or preventing them from both ovipositing and provisioning. Our results indicate that both egg-laying and provisioning represent significant costs of reproduction, expressed as differences in productivity but not survival. A trade-off-based model suggests that other components of parental care such as nest initiation may also represent significant costs. Costs of egg production and nest initiation are probably similar for male and female offspring, so that taking them into account leads to a less male-biased expected sex ratio. Mothers compensated only partially for prey removal in terms of the total provisions they gave to individual offspring.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2006

The breeding system of wild red ruffed lemurs (Varecia rubra): a preliminary report.

Captive studies have shown that ruffed lemurs (Varecia) have an unusual suite of reproductive traits combined with extremely high maternal reproductive costs. These traits include the bearing of litters, nesting of altricial young, and absentee parenting. To characterize the breeding system of this enigmatic lemur, reproductive traits must be contextualized in the wild. Here, I provide a preliminary report of mating and infant care in one community of wild red ruffed lemurs (Varecia rubra). Observations span a 15-month period covering two birth seasons and one mating season on the Masoala Peninsula, Madagascar. Factors that are not possible to replicate in captivity are reported, such as mating pattern, natality and mortality rates, the location of nests within the home range, and the structuring of infant care within a natural community. V. rubra at Andranobe have a fission-fusion, multifemale-multimale grouping pattern and a polygamous mating system. They do not mate monogamously or live strictly in family-based groups as suggested by previous workers. During the first 2 months of life, nests and infant stashing localities are situated within each mother's respective core area, and inhabitants of each core area within the communal home range provide care for young. As part of their absentee parenting system, infants are left in concealed, protected, and supportive spots high in the canopy, while mothers travel distantly. This practice is termed 'infant stashing'. Alloparenting appears to be an integral part of V. rubra's overall reproductive strategy in the wild, as it was performed by all age-sex classes. Among the alloparental behaviors observed were infant guarding, co-stashing, infant transport, and allonursing. Alloparenting and absentee parenting may mitigate high maternal reproductive costs. Furthermore, V. rubra may have a breeding system in which genetic partners (i.e., mating partners) do not always correspond to infant care-providers. Combined with recently available information on the behavioral ecology of wild ruffed lemurs, this preliminary report suggests directions for in-depth studies on Varecia's breeding system.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Changes in plasma corticosterone and adrenocortical response to stress during the breeding cycle in high altitude flycatchers.

Plasma corticosterone levels were monitored in a breeding population of Dusky Flycatchers (Empidonax oberholseri) at Tioga Pass, in the eastern Sierra Nevada. Seasonal changes in baseline plasma corticosterone levels were largely related to changes in reproductive status. Levels in both sexes were highest during the period preceding the female's initiation of a clutch. Females, alone, incubated, but males provided food regularly for their incubating mates. Excepting transient peaks in female corticosterone levels that immediately preceded ovipositions, steep declines in baseline levels of corticosterone in both sexes corresponded to the onset of parental attentiveness. Serial measurements of plasma corticosterone levels over a 1-h period of restraint, indicated that these declines originate at the level of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal response system. Increases in stress-induced plasma corticosterone were significantly greater during the period preceding clutch initiation (prenesting) than during the nesting period (incubation and nestling periods). Despite the changes in corticosterone between prenesting and nesting periods, variability in corticosterone levels during both stages was negatively correlated with body condition (body mass and fat, corrected for size), and level of parental investment. Highest levels of plasma corticosterone were observed in lighter, leaner flycatchers, and during the hours when self-foraging activities were highest; lowest levels were seen in heavier, fatter birds, and those foraging for chicks. This relationship between corticosterone and parental care extended to a small number of accessory males that were acting as helpers at the nest. These results suggest that variation in the length of the reproductive cycle and degree of parental investment may help to explain the level of adaptive modulation of the adrenal stress response in species that breed in unpredictable environments.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed1975

Long term changes in nest condition and pup grouping following handling of rat litters.

Observation of rat litters over the entire preweaning period revealed long term changes to result from handling pups. Handled litters had fewer good nests and were less likely to be found in a single group than control litters. These differences are not attributable to the disturbances per se, as litters where the mother was removed did not differ significantly from undisturbed controls. The differences occurred predominantly in the daytime when maternal activity was at its lowest.

Animals↗

PubMed1975

The influence of the sex of litter-mates on subsequent maternal behaviour in Rattus norvegicus.

Female rats reared in unisexual (U) or bisexual (B) cross-fostered litters were mated at 75 days of age and their maternal behaviour compared by periodic observation over 20 days following birth of their litters. In two separate experiments, U-females showed a lower incidence of pregnancy and, at birth, of litters with ten or more pups than B-females (P less than 0-05). Litters culled to ten animals on the day after birth were significantly heavier in B- than in U-females, although this difference was not evident at weaning as litters reared by U-females showed a relatively greater (P less than 0-01) increase in weight during the investigation than the corresponding litters reared by B-females. Using a scoring method, no difference was evident in the opportunities that U- and B-females offered for their pups to suck, and, when not nursing pups in the nest, both groups of females engaged equally in activities such as grooming, sleeping, eating, and rearing on their hind legs. Throughout the 20-day observation period, B-females maintained significantly more elaborate nests (as scored on an arbitrary scale) than U-females. This difference was evident in females rearing litters of both five and ten animals, and was observed in two separate experiments. In addition, whereas only 15 per cent of U-females were observed nest-building, over 60 per cent of B-females were noted to be engaged in this activity on one or more occasions (P less than 0-001). It is suggested that, in the light of previous findings, these results may reflect differences in oestrogen and/or progesterone metabolism in unisexually-reared and bisexually-reared female rats.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Gathering public information for habitat selection: prospecting birds cue on parental activity.

Because habitat quality strongly affects individual fitness, understanding individual habitat selection strategies is fundamental for most aspects of the evolution and conservation of species. Several studies suggest that individuals gather public information, i.e. information derived from the reproductive performance of conspecifics, to assess and select habitats. However, the behavioural mechanisms of information gathering, i.e. prospecting, are largely unknown, despite the fact that they directly constrain individual selection strategies. To test whether prospectors gather public information or other cues of habitat quality, we manipulated brood size of collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis) and investigated subsequent attraction of prospectors. Experimentally adding two nestlings increased the probability of attracting prospectors to the nest as a result of increased parental feeding rates. Prospectors were attracted to the most successful sites because feeding rate predicted subsequent fledgling production. In the year following prospecting, individuals selected a breeding site very close to the prospected site. These results provide the first experimental evidence, to our knowledge, of the links between information gathering behaviour and breeding habitat selection strategies based on public information.

Animals↗