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At least 811 records · Page 45Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Cocaine impairs maternal nest building in pregnant rats.

The present study investigated the onset of maternal nest building in pregnant Fischer rats following chronic repeated cocaine administration. Pregnant Fischer rats were injected with saline or cocaine, 15 mg/kg, three times daily at 1-h intervals for 10 days starting on gestation day 8. Cocaine-exposed females incorporated less material into their nests and built fewer fully completed circular nests than control animals. The overall quality of the nest in cocaine exposed dams was significantly lower than that of control animals. Furthermore, cocaine exposed dams gained less weight than control females. However, no difference in number of pups, weight, or length of pups was observed between groups. Thus, it seems that cocaine disrupts the interest and skill in nest building of pregnant rats.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Further phenotypical characterisation of two substrains of C57BL/6J inbred mice differing by a spontaneous single-gene mutation.

Males from two substrains of C57BL/6J mice, which have been found to differ for open-field exploration, radial-maze learning, and the sizes of their hippocampal intra- and infra-pyramidal mossy fibre (IIPMF) terminal fields, were compared for offensive aggression, thermoregulatory nest-building, and their behaviour in the Light-Dark choice test. The substrain with the smaller IIPMF showed higher aggression and more nest-building behavior than the one with the larger IIPMF, whereas only tentative differences were found in the Light Dark choice test. These findings confirm and expand on previously found genetic links between the IIPMF and behaviours in mice. These substrains provide a powerful tool to localise the gene involved and subsequently investigate the pathway leading from gene to behaviour.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Telencephalic nuclei control late but not early nestling calls in the budgerigar.

Bilateral lesions targeting the central nucleus of the anterior archistriatum (AAc) were placed in nestling budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) aged 5, 9, 13, 22, 26, and 33 days post-hatch in order to evaluate the role of the telencephalon in producing nestling vocalizations in this species. In budgerigars, AAc is the final common pathway from telencephalic vocal control nuclei to brainstem respiratory and syringeal motorneuron pools. The results show that lesions destroying AAc bilaterally in addition to surrounding archistriatum and neostriatum do not alter the production of early simple patterned foodbegging calls but do prevent both the normal transition at 3-4 weeks post-hatch to more complex begging calls as well as the emergence of individually-distinctive contact calls around the time of fledging. These vocal results are strikingly similar to those obtained in previous studies in which early deafening of nestlings (Heaton and Brauth, 1999) and early lesioning of auditory areas in the anterior telencephalon (Hall WS, Brauth SE, Heaton JT. Comparison of the effects of lesions in nucleus basalis and field 'L' on vocal control learning and performance in the budgerigar (M. undulatus), Brain Behav. Evol., 1994;44:133-148) did not affect call production until 3-4 weeks post-hatch. These data combined support the idea that neither auditory feedback nor telencephalic sensorimotor circuits are necessary for the production of nestling calls before 3 weeks post-hatch.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2002

c-fos mRNA expression associated with PGF(2alpha)-induced nest-building behaviour in female pigs.

Domestic pigs, Sus scrofa, build a maternal nest on the day before parturition. A model for nest building has been established in pigs, in which exogenously administered prostaglandin (PG) F(2alpha) may be used to elicit nesting behaviour in cyclic, pseudopregnant and pregnant pigs. The central mechanisms mediating this response are unknown. The present study determined regional brain activity using semi-quantitative analysis of c-fos mRNA, after induction of nest-building behaviour by PGF(2alpha) in Large White pseudopregnant pigs. Oestradiol valerate injections (5 mg/day) were given on days 11-15 of the oestrous cycle to induce pseudopregnancy. The pigs were housed individually in pens (2.8 x 1.7 m) containing straw. On the test day (day 46 or 47 of pseudopregnancy) animals were injected with 3 ml saline (n=5) or 15 mg of PGF(2alpha) (Lutalyse, Upjohn; n=6) intramuscularly. Pigs treated with PGF(2alpha), but not saline, displayed bouts of rooting, pawing and gathering straw, which we interpret as nest building behaviour. The pigs were killed 65 min after treatment, which was 30 min after peak nest building activity, and the brain, uterus and ovaries removed for processing using in situ hybridisation. Saline-treated pigs had elevated levels of c-fos mRNA, compared to background, in the pituitary, corpus luteum and uterus, and a lower, but elevated, level of expression in cerebellum, cortex, hippocampus and olfactory bulb. PGF(2alpha)-treated pigs had significantly higher levels of c-fos mRNA expression than saline-treated pigs in the parvocellular and magnocellular regions of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus, the supraoptic nucleus (including the pars dorso-medialis), the neural lobe of the pituitary gland and the cerebellum. PGF(2alpha)-treated pigs also had significantly higher c-fos induction in corpus luteum. These data show that the pattern of c-fos mRNA expression in specific brain areas is different between pigs that show PGF(2alpha)-induced nest building and saline-injected controls.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Effects of oestrogen supplementation and space restriction on PGF2alpha-induced nest-building in pseudopregnant gilts.

This study examined the role of oestrogen supplementation on PGF2alpha-induced nest-building in pseudopregnant gilts. Oestradiol valerate (5 mg/day) injections were given on Days 11-15 of the oestrous cycle to induce pseudopregnancy. A further series of injections of either oestradiol valerate (5 mg/day) or vehicle were given on days 44-46 of pseudopregnancy to reflect more closely the hormone profile seen in pregnancy. Nest-building was induced by a single intramuscular injection of 15 mg of PGF2alpha (Lutalyse) on Day 47 of pseudopregnancy. The gilts were housed in pens (2.8 x 1.7 m) containing straw in experiment 1 or chronically confined in crates (0.6 x 1.7 m) that did not contain straw on days 44-48 of pseudopregnancy for experiment 2. Oestrogen supplemented gilts had significantly higher concentrations of circulating 17beta-oestradiol on day 47 of pseudopregnancy but there were no significant differences between treatments for circulating levels of prolactin, progesterone, cortisol or oxytocin, or for any behavioural measure in either experiment. These results indicate that there is no direct effect of supplementing already pseudopregnant gilts with oestradiol valerate on PGF2alpha-induced nest-building. The results also show that the pre-partum environment has a pronounced effect on nest-building behaviours and that non-pregnant pigs might be a useful model for pre-partum nest-building in this species.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

The effects of nest environment on calcium mobilization by leatherback turtle embryos (Dermochelys coriacea) during development.

We investigated the effect of sand moisture content and sand temperature on developmental success and the mobilization of calcium during development using laboratory incubated eggs (n=251) collected from leatherbacks nesting at Parque Nacional Marino Las Baulas, Costa Rica. Calcium concentrations of egg components [eggshell, yolk plus albumen (Y+A) and embryo] changed significantly through incubation for both viable and undeveloped eggs. In developed eggs, eggshell calcium content decreased 42.9% by day 60 of incubation. The Y+A calcium decreased by 20.8% until the last quarter of incubation, and then increased to 0.99% above initial Y+A calcium concentrations just prior to hatching. In undeveloped eggs, eggshell calcium content decreased by 25.7%, with the rate of decrease slowing significantly beyond day 30 of incubation. In contrast, Y+A calcium increased steadily through the 60-day incubation period. Embryos incorporated a higher proportion of calcium when incubated at a lower sand moisture content (5% H(2)O>12% H(2)O) and at lower sand temperatures (28.5 degrees C, 29.5 degrees C>31.0 degrees C). The total wet mass of freshly oviposited eggs was negatively correlated with calcium concentration per gram of eggshell (r=-0.569; P<0.001). Thus, each yolked egg, regardless of initial wet mass, had an average of 1.23 g (+/-0.43 g) of calcium per egg (Mean egg mass: 76.24+/-1.21 g). Both developmental success (24.1%) and hatching success (7.4%) of laboratory-incubated eggs were dependent to a greater extent on temperature than on moisture, with an increase in mortality as sand temperature increased. For natural nests on Playa Grande, developmental success (37.4%) and hatching success (19.8%) were similar in magnitude to the results obtained from the laboratory. The recent ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) event and increased tidal activity may be responsible for the high embryonic mortality measured during the 1997-1998 nesting season.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

The energy economy of the arctic-breeding Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla): a review.

The present paper reviews recent studies on changes in body mass, body composition and rates of energy expenditure during the breeding season in the black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) on Svalbard (79 degrees N). The main characteristic of the energy budget is a pronounced decrease in body mass as well as basal metabolic rate (BMR) after the eggs have hatched. While most internal organs lose mass in direct proportion to the general decrease in body mass, the liver and kidney masses decrease to a disproportionately greater extent. Since both the liver and the kidney have high intrinsic metabolic rates, these results support an earlier notion that the reduction in body mass is an adaptation to reduce maintenance costs. Alternatively, the reduced BMR is due to a decrease in energy uptake from the gastrointestinal tract, thereby ensuring that undigested food is ready to be regurgitated to the chicks. At the end of the chick-rearing period, the field metabolic rate (FMR) reaches its highest level, probably due to an increased workload associated with chick feeding. This occurs at a time of low body mass and BMR. A pronounced increase in the metabolic scope (FMR/BMR) during the latter part of the chick-rearing period demonstrates that BMR and FMR may change independently of each other and that the ratio FMR/BMR may not be a good measure of energy stress.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Potential for individual recognition in acoustic signals: a comparative study of two gulls with different nesting patterns.

We test relationships between structure of acoustic signal used for individual recognition and nesting ecology among two gulls: the black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus), in which chicks remain in the nest, and the slender-billed gull (L. genei), in which chicks leave the nest after hatching to form crèches. A striking difference between both species is the presence of two fundamental frequencies in the slender-billed gull's call and only one in the black-headed gull's call. Our study shows that the potential for individuality coding is more important in the species where the offspring experiment the greatest constraints--due to their nesting pattern--to identify their parents.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

The life-cycle of Philornis downsi (Diptera: Muscidae) parasitizing Darwin's finches and its impacts on nestling survival.

The fly, Philornis downsi Dodge & Aitken, was first collected in 1964 on the Galápagos Islands and is now widespread across the archipelago. Virtually nothing is known about the behaviour and ecology of the fly as well as for the genus in general. Here, we describe all larval instars for the first time, and discuss infection intensity and impacts of parasitism on nestling survival of Darwin's finches. Adult P. downsi are non-parasitic free-living flies, whereas the larvae are obligate blood-feeding parasites on nestling birds. The larvae show a marked shift in their host site specificity--a novel finding for the genus Philornis: the first and early second larval instars live as agents of myiasis in finch nostrils and other tissues, while the older second and third instar larvae reside in the nest material and feed externally on the blood of nestlings, leading to blood losses in nestlings of 18-55%. Pupation occurs in the bottom layer of the nest. The combined effects of tissue damage by the endoparasitic instar larvae and anaemia by nest-dwelling haematophagous instar larvae account for the high nestling mortality (76%) due to Philornis parasitism. This represents the highest mortality by Philornis reported in the literature and emphasizes the extremely serious threat this parasite poses for the endemic passerine fauna of the Galápagos Islands.

Anemia↗
PubMed2006

The evolution of egg colour and patterning in birds.

Avian eggs differ so much in their colour and patterning from species to species that any attempt to account for this diversity might initially seem doomed to failure. Here I present a critical review of the literature which, when combined with the results of some comparative analyses, suggests that just a few selective agents can explain much of the variation in egg appearance. Ancestrally, bird eggs were probably white and immaculate. Ancient diversification in nest location, and hence in the clutch's vulnerability to attack by predators, can explain basic differences between bird families in egg appearance. The ancestral white egg has been retained by species whose nests are safe from attack by predators, while those that have moved to a more vulnerable nest site are now more likely to lay brown eggs, covered in speckles, just as Wallace hypothesized more than a century ago. Even blue eggs might be cryptic in a subset of nests built in vegetation. It is possible that some species have subsequently turned these ancient adaptations to new functions, for example to signal female quality, to protect eggs from damaging solar radiation, or to add structural strength to shells when calcium is in short supply. The threat of predation, together with the use of varying nest sites, appears to have increased the diversity of egg colouring seen among species within families, and among clutches within species. Brood parasites and their hosts have probably secondarily influenced the diversity of egg appearance. Each drives the evolution of the other's egg colour and patterning, as hosts attempt to avoid exploitation by rejecting odd-looking eggs from their nests, and parasites attempt to outwit their hosts by laying eggs that will escape detection. This co-evolutionary arms race has increased variation in egg appearance both within and between species, in parasites and in hosts, sometimes resulting in the evolution of egg colour polymorphisms. It has also reduced variation in egg appearance within host clutches, although the benefit thus gained by hosts is not clear.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Nineteenth century mercury: hazard to wading birds and cormorants of the Carson River, Nevada.

Contemporary mercury interest relates to atmospheric deposition, contaminated fish stocks and exposed fish-eating wildlife. The focus is on methylmercury (MeHg) even though most contamination is of inorganic (IoHg) origin. However, IoHg is readily methylated in aquatic systems to become more hazardous to vertebrates. In response to a classic episode of historical (1859-1890) IoHg contamination, we studied fish-eating birds nesting along the lower Carson River, Nevada. Adult double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus), snowy egrets (Egretta thula) and black-crowned night-herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) contained very high concentrations of total mercury (THg) in their livers (geo. means 134.8 microg/g wet weight (ww), 43.7 and 13.5, respectively) and kidneys (69.4, 11.1 and 6.1, respectively). Apparently tolerance of these concentrations was possible due to a threshold-dependent demethylation coupled with sequestration of resultant IoHg. Demethylation and sequestration processes also appeared to have reduced the amount of MeHg redistributed to eggs. However, the relatively short time spent by adults in the contaminated area before egg laying was also a factor in lower than expected concentrations of mercury in eggs. Most eggs (100% MeHg) had concentrations below 0.80 microg/g ww, the putative threshold concentration where reproductive problems may be expected; there was no conclusive evidence of mercury-related depressed hatchability. After hatching, the young birds were fed diets by their parents averaging 0.36-1.18 microgMeHg/g ww through fledging. During this four to six week period, accumulated mercury concentrations in the organs of the fledglings were much lower than found in adults, but evidence was detected of toxicity to their immune (spleen, thymus, bursa), detoxicating (liver, kidneys) and nervous systems. Several indications of oxidative stress were also noted in the fledglings and were most apparent in young cormorants containing highest concentrations of mercury. This stress was evidenced by increased thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, low activities of enzymes related to glutathione metabolism and low levels of reduced thiols, plus an increase in the ratio of oxidized to reduced glutathione. At lower concentrations of mercury, as was found in young egrets, we observed elevated activities of protective hepatic enzymes, which could help reduce oxidative stress. Immune deficiencies and neurological impairment of fledglings may affect survivability when confronted with the stresses of learning to forage and the ability to complete their first migration.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Constraints on nest site selection: a comparison of predator and flood avoidance in four species of marsh-nesting birds (genera: Catoptrophorus, Larus, Rallus, and Sterna).

Nest site characteristics associated with flood and predator avoidance were compared for four nonpasserine species of marsh-nesting birds: clapper rails, willets, laughing gulls, and common terns. Species with short nests, willets and terns, minimized flood damage by nesting on higher ground than did gulls and rails that build tall nests. Species with dispersed, cryptic nests had taller surrounding grass than did open-nesting colonial species. Total nest height was similar for species with tall nests and for terns whose short nests were elevated by placement on mats of dead Spartina grass. Willets had lower nest heights than the other species, probably because the inverse relation between grass height and ground height in the salt marsh makes it difficult for willets to find sites with high enough ground for flood avoidance while still retaining high enough grass for nest crypticity. Ground height for common terns and grass height for gulls and rails appear to be cues used in nest site selection. Nests of each species in which these characteristics were maximized were more successful in a major tidal flood. Laughing gulls and clapper rails appear to be more specialized salt marsh nesters than the other two species.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Acute elevation of the heat load of mother rats curtails maternal nest bouts.

Elevation of the rate of rise of ventral, core, or preoptic area temperature in mother rats while they were nesting with their offspring curtailed nest-bout durating. In addition, the naturally occurring curtailment of nest bouts that occurs in mothers caring for large pups was found to be accompanied by an elevated rate at which maternal temperature rose over the course of a nest bout. These data are consistent with the suggestion that nest-bout duration is thermally limited.

Animals↗