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PubMed2000

Pup age and aggressive behavior in lactating rats.

High levels of aggressive behaviors against intruders in the nest area are displayed by female rats during the first 10 days after delivery, declining thereafter to very low levels, even though lactation continues. Cross-fostering experiments were undertaken to test the hypothesis that pup age may affect aggression in lactating rats. The behavior of females on the 8th day after delivery when raising fostered 8-day-old pups was compared to that of females on the 8th postpartum day raising older pups (18 days old) for the last 5 days, and females on the 18th day after delivery raising fostered 18-day-old pups were compared to females in the same postpartum period nursing younger pups (8 days of age at the time of the maternal aggression test) for 5 days. Pup retrieval activity and plasma prolactin level were also analyzed. Females on the 8th postpartum day nursing 18-day-old pups were less aggressive than females in the same postpartum period, but with 8-day-old pups. Likewise, females on the 18th postpartum day nursing younger pups were more aggressive and presented higher levels of prolactin than females nursing older pups. Thus, pup development can alter the natural decline of maternal aggressive behavior.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1998

Circulating prolactin levels at the end of the photophase and the end of the scotophase throughout the reproductive cycle of the turkey hen.

Plasma prolactin (PRL) levels rise following long daily photostimulation and increase dramatically at the onset of incubation behavior. Previous work has shown that a daily rhythm in PRL secretion may occur, with the lowest PRL levels found prior to lights out and the highest levels found prior to lights on. It has been suggested that an early event in the onset of incubation behavior may be an increase in nocturnal PRL levels. A retrospective study was conducted to contrast the morning and evening PRL secretion patterns at weekly intervals throughout the reproductive cycle in birds that exhibited: 1) incubation behavior; 2) high egg production and low nesting frequency for the last 16 wk of a 21-wk reproductive cycle; 3) high egg production while nesting frequently; or 4) photorefractoriness (defined by a cessation of egg production without incubation behavior). All hens showed an increase in PRL levels following photostimulation. When day and night PRL levels for each hen were compared over the entire reproductive cycle, more than 50% of those studied had significantly higher PRL levels at the end of the scotophase than at the end of the photophase. Circulating PRL levels increased greatly with the onset of incubation behavior, but morning and evening PRL levels changed in parallel. Good layers had moderate PRL levels throughout egg production, but PRL levels did not differ among laying hens with high or low nesting frequency. Plasma PRL levels declined to low levels in photorefractory hens. These results show that daytime PRL measurements accurately reflect reproductive state, and that moderate PRL levels seem consistent with optimum egg production.

Aging↗
PubMed1989

Histochemical study of the biphasic cellular pattern of tubular adenoid cystic carcinoma with azophloxine, amidoblack and acid blue.

A tubular adenoid cystic carcinoma of the soft palate was studied histochemically using tannic acid-phosphomolybdic acid-Azophloxine (TPAzf), tannic acid-phosphomolybdic acid-Amidoblack (TPA) and tannic acid-phosphomolybdic acid-Acid Blue techniques. At the periphery of some tumor nests a few spindle cells were noted stained intensely red, blue-green and dark blue with TPAzf, TPA and TPAcB respectively. The apical portion or the whole cytoplasm of the cuboidal, eosinophilic cells that lined the central lumina of most neoplastic nests showed a similar tinctorial behavior. On the basis of their location and staining properties, the spindle cells were recognized as myoepithelial. On the other hand, the tinctorial behavior of eosinophilic cells was attributed to the dye binding by a conspicuous terminal bar-terminal web system or by tonofibrils accumulated in their cytoplasm as a result of squamous metaplasia. An inverse relation between the presence of myoepithelial cells at the periphery of tumor nests and the increasing thickness of terminal bar-terminal web system or the appearance of numerous tonofibrils in the eosinophilic cells was also noted.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Maternal separation alters maternal care, but has minor effects on behavior and brain opioid peptides in adult offspring.

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of repeated maternal separation (MS; 4 hr per day) during postnatal Days 1 to 15 on emotionality and voluntary ethanol intake in adult male and female Wistar rat offspring relative to controls exposed to a brief (5-min) daily handling procedure. Brain immunoreactive opioid peptide levels and plasma levels of corticosterone also were measured. There were mainly no alterations in any of the tested behaviors (i.e., fleeing and freezing responses, exploratory behavior, spontaneous and amphetamine-induced locomotor activity and competitive behavior), ethanol intake, or immunoreactive opioid peptide levels in MS offspring, either in males or females, compared to their respective controls nor were there any differences in plasma corticosterone between groups. In addition, the dams' retrieval behavior of the pups also was studied, showing that MS dams spent more time in the nest with the pups after the 4-hr separation period compared to control dams. With respect to the used protocol of the MS procedure in the present study, our results do not provide support for the suggestion that this procedure is a relevant model for studying development of psychopathology and vulnerability to drug abuse.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Varroa destructor infestation in untreated honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies selected for hygienic behavior.

Honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies bred for hygienic behavior were tested in a large field trial to determine if they were able to resist the parasitic mite Varroa destructor better than unselected colonies of"Starline" stock. Colonies bred for hygienic behavior are able to detect, uncap, and remove experimentally infested brood from the nest, although the extent to which the behavior actually reduces the overall mite-load in untreated, naturally infested colonies needed further verification. The results indicate that hygienic colonies with queens mated naturally to unselected drones had significantly fewer mites on adult bees and within worker brood cells than Starline colonies for up to 1 yr without treatment in a commercial, migratory beekeeping operation. Hygienic colonies actively defended themselves against the mites when mite levels were relatively low. At high mite infestations (>15% of worker brood and of adult bees), the majority of hygienic colonies required treatment to prevent collapse. Overall, the hygienic colonies had similar adult populations and brood areas, produced as much honey, and had less brood disease than the Starline colonies. Thus, honey bees bred for hygienic behavior performed as well if not better than other commercial lines of bees and maintained lower mite loads for up to one year without treatment.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Are the ants capable to learn the nest-building activity atypical to the species? (A study of Formica cinerea Mayr.).

Formica cinerea ants are the species digging their nests in the ground, so they never handle thicker building materials. Under conditions unfavorable to their normal existence, brought about by several years of continued meteorological disturbances, one colony of ants established itself in an atypical and unique in this species mound-shaped nest, similar to the nests of the hill-building species of Formica. On the basis of observations of individual building workers it was determined that most of the F. cinerea ants failed, during the whole summer, to achieve improvement in the technique of carrying building material. Moreover, they all used to drop it loosely, which is done only by the naive individuals of the hill-building species of Formica. It is suggested that the deficiency in manipulatory learning in F. cinerea is due to the lack of hereditary elements of hill-building behavior.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

The effects of adrenalectomy and corticosterone replacement on maternal behavior in the postpartum rat.

It is well known that the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is activated during stress. Recent work suggests it is also implicated in the regulation of "normal" behaviors. The present studies investigated the effects of adrenalectomy and of varying glucocorticoid concentrations on adult maternal behavior in primiparous rats. In two studies, rats in late pregnancy were adrenalectomized or given sham surgeries and were tested for maternal behavior. In the first study, primiparous rats were given 0, 25, 100, 300, or 500 microg/ml of corticosterone in their drinking water. In the second study, primiparous rats were given either control or corticosterone time-release pellets. Blood samples were taken to ensure that rats demonstrated levels of corticosterone in blood that were relative to doses received. In studies one and two, primiparous adrenalectomized rats showed slightly, but significantly, lower levels of some maternal behaviors, including licking and time in nest, than primiparous sham rats. Primiparous rats given higher doses of corticosterone replacement showed higher levels of these maternal behaviors than primiparous rats given lower doses of corticosterone. In conclusion, adrenalectomy decreases, but does not abolish, maternal behavior. Corticosterone replacement reverses these effects. Corticosterone is not necessary for the initiation or maintenance of maternal behavior but plays a role in the modulation of ongoing maternal behavior.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2006

Early social enrichment augments adult hippocampal BDNF levels and survival of BrdU-positive cells while increasing anxiety- and "depression"-like behavior.

Early experiences affect brain function and behavior at adulthood. Being reared in a communal nest (CN), consisting of a single nest where three mothers keep their pups together and share care-giving behavior from birth to weaning (postnatal day [PND] 25), provides an highly socially stimulating environment to the developing pup. Communal nest characterizes the natural ecologic niche of many rodent species including the mouse. At adulthood, CN reared mice, compared to mice reared in standard nesting laboratory condition (SN), show an increase in BDNF protein levels and longer survival of BrdU-positive cells in the hippocampus. Open field and elevated plus maze results indicate that CN mice, although showing levels of exploratory and locomotor activity similar to those of SN mice, displayed increased anxiety-like behavior, performing more thigmotaxis in the open field and spending less time in the open arms of the plus maze. Furthermore, CN mice displayed higher levels of immobility behavior in the forced swim test. Overall, these findings show that CN, an highly stimulating early social environment, increases adult neuronal plasticity, as suggested by high BDNF levels and augmented number of newly generated cells in the hippocampus, which is associated to an increased anxiety- and "depression"-like behavior. These findings are discussed in the framework of the neurotrophin hypothesis of depression.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1996

Phylogeography and population structure of the Atlantic and Mediterranean green turtle Chelonia mydas: a mitochondrial DNA control region sequence assessment.

Mitochondrial (mt) DNA sequences were analysed to resolve the phylogeography and population genetic structure of Atlantic and Mediterranean populations of green turtles (Chelonia mydas). Analysis of sequence variation over 487 base pairs of the control (D-loop) region identified 18 haplotypes among 147 individuals from nine nesting populations. Pairwise comparisons of haplotype frequencies distinguished most nesting colonies, indicating significant genetic differentiation among rookeries and a strong propensity for natal homing behaviour by nesting females. Comparison of control region sequence data to earlier restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) data for the same individuals demonstrates approximately a sixfold higher substitution rate in the 5' end of the control region. The sequence data provide higher resolution both in terms of the number of mtDNA genotype variants and the phylogeographic relationships detected within the Atlantic region, and reveal a gene genealogy that distinguishes two groups of haplotypes corresponding to (i) the western Caribbean and Mediterranean, and (ii) eastern Caribbean, South Atlantic and West Africa. The data suggest that phylogeographic patterns in the Atlantic Ocean may be interpreted in terms of female nest site fidelity and episodic dispersal events. The distribution of mtDNA haplotypes within the region is thus explained by the geological and climatic alternations (glacial and interglacial) over the last million years.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

The pharmacological effect of fractions obtained by smoking cannabis through a water-pipe. II. A second fractionation step.

The catatonic activity, prolongation of phenobarbital sleeping-time, convulsant action and disruption of nest-building activity was assessed in mice subjected to 4 cannabis pyrolysis products and their tobacco analogues. All but one of the cannabis fractions prolonged the pentobarbital sleeping-time and disrupted the nest-building activity of mice in a way not related to their content in the main cannabinoids. Nest-building activity seems to be the most valid assay we have used so far.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Prehibernating aggregations of Polistes dominulus: an occasion to study early dominance assessment in social insects.

At a very early age several mammals establish a first dominance hierarchy, which often persists into adulthood. Social wasps offer an excellent opportunity to study such a phenomenon in insects. Indeed, foundresses of several paper wasps meet in clusters to hibernate from September to March. In spring, wasps found new associative nests where linear hierarchies occur. In the first phase of hibernation, clustering Polistes dominulus wasps show most of the social interactions occurring on the nest 6 months later. At the emergence from diapause, some females already show some behavioral and physiological traits typical of dominant individuals. Here, we investigated the significance of the interactions in the autumnal clusters. We demonstrated that in a given pair, it is more likely that the dominant wasp in autumn becomes the alpha female in spring after the nest foundation phase occurred. Moreover, we showed that dominant females in clusters have both larger body size and ovaries. As ovarian development mainly depends on the social context, our findings seem to indicate that social factors affect the tendency to dominate in aggregations. Furthermore, we suggest that some females may reinforce their physiological status by dominating in clusters, thus increasing the probability to become dominant in spring.

Aggression↗
PubMed1982

Influence of pinealectomy and photoperiod on courtship and nest-building in male doves.

Sham-operated male doves displayed greater nesting activity under long days (16L:8D) than under short days (8L:16D). This difference was abolished by pinealectomy--the activity of long-day pinealectomized birds dropped to a level comparable to that seen on short days. Removal of the pineal had no effect under the short photoperiod. These results are not due to changes in peripheral androgen production as castrated, testosterone-implanted males also exhibited higher levels of nest-building on long days if sham-operated, but not if they were pinealectomized. Neither treatment had a significant effect on courtship or copulatory behavior. It is suggested that the pineal mediates the stimulatory effect of long photoperiods on hormonally-induced nest-building in doves.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Genetic mating patterns studied in pools with manipulated nest site availability in two populations of Pomatoschistus minutus.

Pomatoschistus minutus show paternal care in a resource defence mating system. We investigated the effect of nest-site availability on parasitic spawning. Each experimental pool contained four potentially nest-building males, four females and nests-sites in shortage (2) or excess (6). Both treatments were conducted in two populations; one with natural nest-sites in excess, one with a nest-site shortage. Microsatellite-DNA revealed that all nest-holders had fertilized most of the eggs they tended. Yet, 35% of the nests contained eggs fertilized by another male and 14.4% of the males had performed parasitic spawning. There was no site or treatment effect. Several females spawned in two nests, which coincided with parasitic spawnings, suggesting a cost to the nest-holder in terms of lost mating success. Nest-holders with and without eggs and non-nesting males all spawned parasitically, generating a significantly lower opportunity for sexual selection compared to if there had been no parasitic spawning.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Plasma prolactin levels in incubating turkey hens during pipping of the eggs and after introduction of poults into the nest.

Plasma levels of prolactin (Prl) associated with incubation and maternal behavior were compared in turkey hens allowed to incubate 10 fertile eggs (Group I, n = 9) or 10 infertile eggs (Group II, n = 7) in open nest boxes. At the end of the day that the first egg hatched, all unhatched eggs were removed from Group I hens and each hen was given 10 poults. At the end of the following day, infertile eggs were removed from Group II hens and each hen was given 10 poults. Although pipping of the eggs changed the incubation behavior of Group I hens, it had no effect on plasma Prl. Subsequent hatch of the eggs and/or presence of poults resulted, within 24 h, in a sharp fall in Prl levels, abandonment of the nests, and a shift to maternal behavior. Visual and auditory exposure to Group I poults had no effect on plasma Prl or incubation behavior of Group II hens incubating infertile eggs in adjacent pens. However, within 24 h after the infertile eggs were exchanged for newly hatched poults, Prl levels in Group II hens declined sharply and the hens abandoned the nests and showed maternal behavior similar to that observed in Group I hens. No significant relationships were found in either group between plasma Prl levels and quality of incubation or maternal behavior.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Courtship behavior of captive American kestrels (Falco sparverius) exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) adversely affect reproduction in birds. Captive adult male and female American kestrels (Falco sparverius) were studied to investigate the potential behavioral and hormonal alterations during the courtship period resulting from clinical exposure to PCBs. American kestrels ingested 7 mg/kg/body weight/bird/day of a 1:1:1 mixture of Aroclors 1248, 1254, and 1260 through their diet of day-old cockerels. The dietary dosage of Aroclors resulted in environmentally relevant total PCB residues in the eggs, averaging 34.1 microg/g wet weight (geometric mean). There was no difference between treatment and control birds in the circulating levels of total androgens (p = 0.44) or in 17 beta-estradiol (p = 0.29), one week following pairing. Male kestrels exposed to dietary PCBs exhibited significantly more sexual behaviors (p = 0.034) and flight behaviors (p = 0.026) than the control males. Sexual behaviors of male kestrels included; nest-box inspections, solicitation of copulation, the offer of food to the female, and giving the female food. The flight behaviors of the male included; flying from one perch to another and aerial display. In addition, the frequency of male sexual behaviors were correlated (r = 0.605, p = 0.001) with total PCB residues in the eggs of their mates. A concurrent study found that these same PCB-exposed kestrels experienced a delay in clutch initiation as well as a greater number of completely infertile clutches.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Reinitiation of ovulatory cycles in incubating female turkeys by an inhibitor of serotonin synthesis, P-chlorophenylalanine.

Nest deprivation of incubating turkeys caused a decrease in serum prolactin (Prl) levels from 1184.5 +/- 116.4 ng/ml to 896.8 +/- 83.0 ng/ml 1 day after initiation of deprivation, with a further decline to 156.5 +/- 111.7 ng/ml at the end of the 22-day experimental period. Serum luteinizing hormone (LH), progesterone and estradiol levels following nest deprivation were similar to those in birds allowed to incubate (controls). Oral administration of p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA, 50 mg/kg) to incubating turkeys for 3 consecutive days reduced nesting frequency (P less than 0.05) on the 4th day after initiation of treatment and the nesting virtually ceased by the 9th day. Pretreatment Prl was 1655 +/- 210 ng/ml and declined (P less than 0.05) after PCPA administration to a low of 28.6 +/- 2.8 ng/ml. In addition, PCPA caused a sustained rise in serum LH peaking (5.59 +/- 1.09 ng/ml) 3 days after treatment initiation. Contrary to nest deprivation, serum levels of progesterone and estradiol increased (P less than 0.05) as a consequence of PCPA treatment. Seven of 8 PCPA-treated birds later came into lay when their Prl levels and nesting frequency increased again. The results suggest a role for serotonin (5-HT) in incubation behavior, and Prl and LH secretion in turkeys.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Trophic status drives interannual variability in nesting numbers of marine turtles.

Large annual fluctuations are seen in breeding numbers in many populations of non-annual breeders. We examined the interannual variation in nesting numbers of populations of green (Chelonia mydas) (n = 16 populations), loggerhead (Caretta caretta) (n = 10 populations), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) (n = 9 populations) and hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) (n = 10 populations). Interannual variation was greatest in the green turtle. When comparing green and loggerhead turtles nesting in Cyprus we found that green turtles were more likely to change the interval between laying seasons and showed greater variation in the number of clutches laid in a season. We suggest that these differences are driven by the varying trophic statuses of the different species. Green turtles are herbivorous, feeding on sea grasses and macro-algae, and this primary production will be more tightly coupled with prevailing environmental conditions than the carnivorous diet of the loggerhead turtle.

Animals↗