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PubMed2002

Prostaglandin F2alpha-induced nest-building behaviour is associated with increased hypothalamic c-fos and c-jun mRNA expression.

Intramuscular injection of the naturally occurring prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha) to sexually mature female pigs induces luteolysis and rapidly elicits a behavioural response consistent with pre-partum nest-building. Intramuscular injection of the synthetic prostaglandin F2alpha (cloprostenol) also induces luteolysis but no nest-building behaviour is observed. The effects of PGF2alpha, but not cloprostenol, on nest-building behaviour may be mediated via peripheral PGF2alpha receptors (FP) or via direct action on central FP receptors. We have previously shown FP receptor mRNA to be localized in porcine paraventricular nucleus (PVN), supraoptic nucleus (SON) and pars dorso-medialis of the suproptic nucleus (SOD), suprachiasmatic nucleus, choroid plexus and anterior and intermediate pituitary lobes. In this experiment, we examined hypothalamic expression of the immediate early genes c-fos and c-jun mRNA after treatment with PGF2alpha or cloprostenol. Twenty-one 8-month-old nulliparous female pigs (gilts) were injected intramuscularly with a luteolytic dose of PGF2alpha (15 mg), cloprostenol (175 microg) or saline control, their behaviour was recorded and they were killed 60 min later. Coronal hypothalamic sections and control ovarian tissues were incubated with 45-mer oligonucleotide probes complementary to porcine c-fos and c-jun genes using standard in situ hybridization histochemistry techniques. Significantly higher c-fos and c-jun mRNA expression was found in PGF2alpha-treated compared to saline or cloprostenol-treated pigs in the PVN, SON and SOD. Significantly higher c-fos and c-jun mRNA expression was found in corpus lutea of PGF2alphaand cloprostenol-treated pigs compared to saline controls. Treatment with PGF2alpha induced nest-building behaviour whereas treatment with cloprostenol and saline did not. This suggests that PGF2alpha, or one of its metabolites, and not cloprostenol, crosses the blood-brain barrier and acts directly on hypothalamic receptors to mediate its effect on nest-building behaviour.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Genetic relationships in the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) analysed by microsatellite DNA markers.

Microsatellite DNA markers were developed from a peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) and genetic relationships among peregrine falcons in southern Norway were analysed using the markers. The genomic DNA library was screened for the presence of dinucleotide microsatellite repeats. Twelve loci revealed polymorphism through the initial analysis of 24 unrelated peregrine falcons, and Mendelian inheritance was confirmed in two peregrine falcon families bred in captivity. The estimated mean probability of identical genotypes in two unrelated individuals was 3 x 10-8, and the combined exclusion probability for parentage testing was 0.99 and 0.94 for one or both parents unknown, respectively. The markers were used to investigate the parentage of peregrine broods from the same nest site from different breeding seasons, and subsequently the nest-site fidelity of the breeding peregrines. High nest-site fidelity was found by studying pairwise comparisons of relatedness (rxy) estimates among chicks at six nest sites from three different breeding seasons. Cross-species amplifications showed that most loci also appeared to amplify polymorphic products in the gyrfalcon (F. rusticolus), merlin (F. columbarius), hobby (F. subbuteo) and kestrel (F. tinnunculus), demonstrating that the loci will provide powerful genetic markers in these falcons too.

Alleles↗
PubMed2001

Surprising similarity of sneaking rates and genetic mating patterns in two populations of sand goby experiencing disparate sexual selection regimes.

Molecular markers have proved extremely useful in resolving mating patterns within individual populations of a number of species, but little is known about how genetic mating systems might vary geographically within a species. Here we use microsatellite markers to compare patterns of sneaked fertilization and mating success in two populations of sand goby (Pomatoschistus minutus) that differ dramatically with respect to nest-site density and the documented nature and intensity of sexual selection. At the Tvärminne site in the Baltic Sea, the microsatellite genotypes of 17 nest-tending males and mean samples of more than 50 progeny per nest indicated that approximately 35% of the nests contained eggs that had been fertilized by sneaker males. Successful nest holders mated with an average of 3.0 females, and the distribution of mate numbers for these males did not differ significantly from the Poisson expectation. These genetically deduced mating-system parameters in the Tvärminne population are remarkably similar to those in sand gobies at a distant site adjoining the North Sea. Thus, pronounced differences in the ecological setting and sexual selection regimes in these two populations have not translated into evident differences in cuckoldry rates or other monitored patterns of male mating success. In this case, the ecological setting appears not to be predictive of alternative male mating strategies, a finding of relevance to sexual selection theory.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Reconciling genetic expectations from host specificity with historical population dynamics in an avian brood parasite, Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo Chalcites basalis of Australia.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is being used increasingly to explore the evolution of host specificity in avian brood parasites. A stable coevolutionary equilibrium between multiple phylogenetically unrelated hosts and a brood parasitic species predicts that mtDNA diversity in the parasite should be relatively deep and phylogenetically structured. Also, the different intraspecific clades resulting from parasitism to multiple sympatric hosts should themselves occur sympatrically. However, mtDNA diversity in brood parasites is as susceptible to effects of historical population dynamics as in any species. We demonstrate the relevance of these dynamics to the use of mtDNA in understanding coevolution between an Australian brood-parasite, Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo Chalcites basalis and its hosts, Malurus fairy-wrens and Acanthiza thornbills. Previous ecological and behavioural analyses argue that Malurus- and Acanthiza-specific host races exist in C. basalis. Yet mtDNA diversity in C. basalis is low and phylogenetically unstructured (mean sequence divergence 0.15 +/- 0.07%, range 0.00%-0.31%) and tests of mtDNA neutrality and range expansion vs. population stability (Tajima's D, Fu & Li's F* and D*, Fu's F(S), mismatch analyses) all indicate that C. basalis has expanded its range very recently, probably within the last few tens of thousands of years following climatic amelioration after a peak of aridity in the late Pleistocene. The low mtDNA diversity and its lack of phylogenetic structure in C. basalis deny the existence of evolutionarily long-term stable host races in C. basalis but not the possibility of recently evolved ones. They highlight the need for renewed behavioural and ecological study of the relationship between C. basalis and its hosts. Our findings illustrate the need to understand the evolutionary context in which a brood parasite and its hosts have evolved if mtDNA data are to be used in testing hypotheses concerning the origin and maintenance of host specificity. They also add to the growing body of work illustrating the use of mismatch analyses and Fu's F(S) in detecting range expansions.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

A genetic assessment of parentage in a natural population of dollar sunfish (Lepomis marginatus) based on microsatellite markers.

We employ microsatellite markers to assess mating tactics in Lepomis marginatus. Genetic assignments for 1015 progeny in 23 nests indicate that about 95% of the offspring were sired by their respective nest-guardians, a finding consistent with the apparent absence of a brood parasitic morphotype in this species. Allopaternal care was documented in two nests, one resulting from a nest takeover, the other from cuckoldry by an adjoining nest-tender. Clustered de novo mutations also were identified. About 2.5 females (range 1-7) contributed to the offspring pool within a typical nest. Results are compared to those for other Lepomis species.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Intensive genetic assessment of the mating system and reproductive success in a semi-closed population of the mottled sculpin, Cottus bairdi.

Most genetic surveys of parentage in nature sample only a small fraction of the breeding population. Here we apply microsatellite markers to deduce the genetic mating system and assess the reproductive success of females and males in an extensively collected, semi-closed stream population of the mottled sculpin fish, Cottus bairdi. In this species, males guard nest rocks where females deposit the eggs for fertilization. The potential exists for both males and females to mate with multiple partners and for males to provide parental care to genetically unrelated offspring. Four hundred and fifty-five adults and subadults, as well as 1,259 offspring from 23 nests, were genotyped at five polymorphic microsatellite loci. Multilocus maternal genotypes, deduced via genetic analyses of embryos, were reconstructed for more than 90% of the analysed nests, thus allowing both male and female reproductive success to be estimated accurately. There was no genetic evidence for cuckoldry, but one nest probably represents a takeover event. Successful males spawned with a mean of 2.8 partners, whereas each female apparently deposited her entire clutch of eggs in a single nest (mean fecundity = 66 eggs/female). On average, genetically deduced sires and dams were captured 1.6 and 9.3 metres from their respective nests, indicating little movement by breeders during the spawning season. Based on a 'genetic mark-recapture' estimate, the total number of potentially breeding adults (c. 570) was an order-of-magnitude larger than genetically based estimates of the effective number of breeders (c. 54). In addition, significantly fewer eggs per female were deposited in single than in multidam nests. Not only were perceived high-quality males spawning with multiple partners, but they were receiving more eggs from each female.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

The leatherback turtle, Dermochelys coriacea, exhibits both polyandry and polygyny.

The leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is an endangered species, and world-wide populations are declining. To understand better the mating structure of this pelagic and fragile species, we investigated paternity in nearly 1000 hatchlings from Playa Grande in Parque Marino Nacional Las Baulas, Costa Rica. We collected DNA samples from 36 adult female leatherbacks and assessed allele frequency distributions for three microsatellite loci. For 20 of these 36 females, we examined DNA from hatchlings representing multiple clutches, and in some cases assessed up to four successive clutches from the same female. We inferred paternal alleles by comparing maternal and hatchling genotypes. We could not reject the null hypothesis of single paternity in 12 of 20 families (31 of 50 clutches), but we did reject the null hypothesis in two families (eight of 50 clutches). In the remaining six families, the null hypothesis could not be accepted or rejected with certainty because the number of hatchlings exhibiting extra nonmaternal alleles was small, and could thus be a result of mutation or sample error. Successive clutches laid by the same female had the same paternal allelic contribution, indicating sperm storage or possibly monogamy. None of 20 females shared the same three-locus genotype whereas there were two instances of shared genotypes among 17 inferred paternal three-locus genotypes. We conclude that both polyandry and polygyny are part of the mating structure of this leatherback sea turtle population.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Individual female clutch identification through yolk protein electrophoresis in the communally breeding guira cuckoo (Guira guira).

Avian communal breeding systems generate alternative behavioural strategies for females, resulting in differences in reproductive success. Identifying eggs of different females in such systems is problematic, however, due to egg destruction before incubation, difficulty of capturing adults, and/or inaccuracy of egg identification based on egg morphometry. Here, we describe a technique that uses electrophoresis of yolk proteins to determine egg ownership, which we applied to communally breeding guira cuckoos (Guira guira). Validation of the method included identical yolk protein banding patterns in all eggs of the same female, but different patterns in eggs of different females in budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus), and identical patterns in yolk follicles of the same females in guira cuckoos. We applied the protocol to 195 guira cuckoo eggs from 34 joint nests in 2 years. All multiple guira cuckoo eggs laid on the same day in single nests had distinct banding patterns of yolk proteins, practically eliminating the possibility of more than one female being represented by the same pattern. Some identical banding patterns were repeated in different days within a nesting bout, indicating that some females laid several eggs in shared nests. Identical patterns occasionally occurred in renestings of groups, indicating that some females lay eggs in consecutive nestings. Yolk protein electrophoresis is a useful tool to identify egg maternity in other circumstances, such as polygynous mating systems with joint nests and intraspecific parasitism. Additionally, it is an alternative method for species where electrophoresis of egg white proteins does not show sufficient polymorphism.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Nestmate relatedness and population genetic structure of the Australian social crab spider Diaea ergandros (Araneae: Thomisidae).

We characterized the population genetic structure of the Australian social spider Diaea ergandros using polymorphic allozyme markers. Our main objectives were to understand the social organization of D. ergandros and discern patterns of gene flow across distantly separated geographical areas. Spiders were sampled from nests located within 100 m wide locales, which were distributed within larger 50 km wide regions. Our results indicated that nestmates could have been produced by a single mother and father in 88.9% of D. ergandros nests. The remainder of nests contained spiders that were probably produced by polyandrous females or were immigrants from foreign nests. Nestmate relatedness was relatively high (r = 0.44) and did not differ significantly between the sexes or among juvenile, subadult and adult life stages. We also discovered that D. ergandros populations were highly structured, with significant differentiation detected among locales (FLR = 0.23) and regions (FRT = 0.081). Spiders within locales were also substantially inbred (FIL = 0.15). Overall, our data show that significant population subdivision exists in D. ergandros populations, and we suggest that the poor dispersal ability of Diaea spiders can account for the observed genetic structure.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Reproduction of the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) after feeding or food deprivation in winter.

The wild raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides, Canidae, Carnivora) goes through autumn fattening followed by winter sleep. Farmed raccoon dogs also exhibit autumn fattening but not winter sleep, as a result of daily feeding and lack of nests. We studied the effects of food deprivation and winter sleep or active winter feeding on the physiology and reproduction of farm-born raccoon dogs. Eighty-six animals were put on a 2-month fast in November-December. The fast caused no deleterious effects on the health of the raccoon dogs. In the spring the food-deprived animals had slightly more cubs per mated female than the fed animals. There was a significant negative correlation between the number of cubs obtained and the mean body mass of the females at the beginning of the mating season. The highest mean number of cubs was obtained by the females that weighed 5-7 kg. The results indicate that the raccoon dog is finely adapted to a long period of food deprivation in the winter. Furthermore, winter sleep and food deprivation could be introduced to farm conditions by providing the raccoon dogs with nestboxes and withholding food for a period of 6-8 weeks in mid-winter.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1981

Host acquisition by Ornithodoros capensis Neumann (Ixodoidea: Argasidae).

Forty percent of white-capped noddy tern, Anous minutus, nests tagged in January 1977 were re-occupied the following nesting season in February 1978. This re-use of nests allows host acquisition by O. capensis, as the ticks remain in the core of the abandoned nest during the non-nesting season.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prevention of the expression of incubation behaviour using passive immunisation against prolactin in turkey hens (Meleagris gallopavo).

The efficacy of injecting antibodies raised against turkey prolactin to prevent the expression of incubation behaviour has been investigated in turkey hens. Medium white turkey hens (n = 15 x 2) were injected three times weekly for 4 consecutive weeks starting on week 5 of egg production. The hens were injected im with a volume of 1 mL per injection for the 1st week and 0.5 mL thereafter, of normal rabbit serum or serum containing antibodies raised against turkey prolactin (Guémené et al, 1994a). None of the 15 passively immunised hens expressed incubation behaviour, whereas, more than half (53%) of the control hens did express it. Plasma prolactin concentrations observed in the two groups presented comparable profiles until week 9 and from week 19 of egg production onward. Differences were, therefore, observed from week 10 until week 17 with the non immunised hens showing higher plasma prolactin concentrations than the immunised ones. This difference was related to the presence of incubating hens in the control group. A higher percentage of non immunised hens disrupted egg production during the course of the study and consequently immunised hens laid more eggs than the control ones. No change in plasma LH and oestradiol concentrations can be related to the immunisation procedure. We conclude that prevention of incubation behaviour can be achieved using passive immunisation against prolactin, prevention which resulted in more egg production under our experimental protocol.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Molecular genetics of avian proteins. XIII. Protein polymorphism in three species of Australian passerines.

An introduced species, the house sparrow (Passer domesticus), and two Australian native species, the welcome swallow (Hirundo tahitica neoxena) and the fairy martin (Petrochelidon ariel), have moderately low levels of protein polymorphism compared with domesticated or semi-wild 'managed' species of birds. Genetically varient proteins in these birds include transferrin, esterase, phosphoglucomutase, NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenases, phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (decarboxylating) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Egg-white protein polymorphism confirms heterogeneity of egg colour, markings and shape, and suggests that approximately 10% of the 'clutches' in house sparrow nests represent infidelity (intraspecific nest parasitism). For the four enzymes capable of supplying reduced NADP for reductive biosyntheses in growth and detoxification, the house sparrow has more heterozygosity (29%) than either the welcome swallow (9-4%) or the fairy martin (2-3%) and the difference is highly significant statistically. The results are discussed in relation to possible biochemical correlates of MacArthur and Wilson's (1967) evolutionary strategies or r or K selection.

Alleles↗
PubMed2006

Sex-biased maternal effects reduce ectoparasite-induced mortality in a passerine bird.

Duration of developmental stages in animals evolves under contrasting selection pressures of age-specific mortality and growth requirements. When relative importance of these effects varies across environments, evolution of developmental periods is expected to be slow. In birds, maternal effects on egg-laying order and offspring growth, two proximate determinants of nestling period, should enable rapid adjustment of developmental periods to even widely fluctuating mortality rates. We test this hypothesis in a population of house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) breeding under two contrasting mortality risks: (i) a nest mite-free condition when selection on offspring survival favors a longer time in the nest; and (ii) a mite infestation when selection favors a shorter nest tenure. Mites affected survival of sons more than daughters, and females breeding under mite infestation laid male eggs last and female eggs first in the clutch, thereby reducing sons' exposure to mites and associated mortality. Strong sex bias in laying order and growth patterns enabled mite-infested offspring to achieve similar fledging size, despite a shorter nest tenure, compared with mite-free conditions. In mite-infested nests, male nestlings hatched at larger sizes, completed growth earlier, and had faster initial growth compared with mite-free nests, whereas mite-infested females grew more slowly but for a longer period of time. A combination of heavily sex-biased laying order and sex differences in growth patterns lowered mite-induced mortality by >10% in both sexes. Thus, strong maternal effects can account for frequently observed, but theoretically unexpected, concordance of mortality risks and growth patterns, especially under fluctuating ecological conditions.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Artificial larviposition sites for field collections of the puparia of tsetse flies Glossina pallidipes and G. m. morsitans (Diptera: Glossinidae).

Tsetse flies Glossina pallidipes Austen and G. morsitans morsitans Westwood deposit their larvae in warthog burrows, in August-November, at Rekomitjie Research Station, Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe. Artificial burrows, made from 200-l steel drums, were used to sample these flies and to collect their puparia. Sand-filled plastic trays in the burrows served as a substrate for larval deposition. The sand was covered with c. 2 cm of leaf litter after it was shown that only 3% of larvae were deposited on bare sand if both substrates were available. Other burrow modifications - artificially shading the burrow entrance, increasing the relative humidity inside the burrow, or reducing the size of the burrow entrance - significantly decreased deposition rates. The use of burrows in the hot season results in a reduction in the temperature experienced by the puparium towards an assumed optimum level of 26 degrees C. Artificial burrows maintained a mean temperature of 28.5 degrees C during October-November 1998, c. 2.5 degrees C cooler than ambient; earlier work has shown that natural burrows can be c. 5 degrees C cooler than ambient at these times. This may explain why natural burrows in full sunlight were used for larviposition, whereas artificial burrows were used only when they were in deep shade, and why significantly higher proportions of G. pallidipes were found in natural (66%) than in artificial burrows (34%). Better-insulated artificial burrows might produce more puparia with higher proportions of G. pallidipes. Burrows become waterlogged during the rains and may be too cool for optimum puparial development during the rest of the year. The percentages of G. m. morsitans in catches of females from artificial burrows, refuges and odour-baited traps were 34, 26 and < 10% respectively. Traps are biased in favour of G. pallidipes; artificial burrows may show a bias in favour of G. m. morsitans that is a function of temperature. Artificial warthog burrows provide a convenient way of studying the puparial stage in tsetse and for the first time facilitate the capture of females as they deposit their larvae.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Frustrated nesting behaviour: relation to extra-cuticular shell calcium and bone strength in White Leghorn hens.

1. The inability of hens to express normal nesting behaviour in battery cages results in frustration, manifesting itself as stereotyped pacing. Frustration can cause hens to retain their eggs beyond the expected time of lay, resulting in an extra-cuticular layer of calcium on eggshells. 2. This study investigated whether frustrated nesting behaviour caused extra-cuticular calcification of eggshells and whether this loss of non-structural calcium to eggshells may have subsequently contributed to weak bones in spent hens. 3. One hundred and twenty hens were assigned to one of three treatments: NB (hens given nest boxes in their cages), NN (no nest box) and R (access to nest box periodically restricted). 4. NB hens spent the least amount of time pacing in the hour before oviposition. NN and R hens spent similar amounts of time pacing. 5. Contrary to expectation, eggshells from hens under different treatments yielded the same amount of extra-cuticular calcium. Similarly tibia strength did not significantly differ among treatments.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Design of laying nests in furnished cages: influence of nesting material, nest box position and seclusion.

(1) Preferences for three nesting materials and nest box positions were investigated simultaneously in two trials using a furnished cage: one with 18 individual laying hens and one with 18 groups of 5 hens. Following a habituation period in pre-test cages, every hen or group of hens was tested for 2 d: once without and once with plastic flaps at the entrance of the nest boxes. (2) Hens preferred peat and artificial turf to coated wire mesh for egg laying. (3) One nest box position was clearly preferred to both other nest boxes. The hens' choice of nest box position was influenced by the pre-test cage in which they had been habituated. (4) The presence of plastic flaps at the entrance of the nest boxes had no influence on the proportion of eggs laid on the different nesting materials or on the proportion of floor eggs. (5) Individual and group testing resulted in the same overall results despite the presence of a distinct group effect.

Animal Husbandry↗