| 1. |
- Abalos, Javier, et al.
(författare)
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Viability, behavior, and color expression in the offspring of matings between common wall lizard Podarcis muralis color morphs
- 2021
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Ingår i: Current Zoology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1674-5507 .- 2396-9814. ; 68:1, s. 41-55
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Color polymorphisms are widely studied to identify the mechanisms responsible for the origin and maintenance of phenotypic variability in nature. Two of the mechanisms of balancing selection currently thought to explain the long-term persistence of polymorphisms are the evolution of alternative phenotypic optima through correlational selection on suites of traits including color and heterosis. Both of these mechanisms can generate differences in offspring viability and fitness arising from different morph combinations. Here, we examined the effect of parental morph combination on fertilization success, embryonic viability, newborn quality, antipredator, and foraging behavior, as well as inter-annual survival by conducting controlled matings in a polymorphic lacertid Podarcis muralis, where color morphs are frequently assumed to reflect alternative phenotypic optima (e.g., alternative reproductive strategies). Juveniles were kept in outdoor tubs for a year in order to study inter-annual growth, survival, and morph inheritance. In agreement with a previous genome-wide association analysis, morph frequencies in the year-old juveniles matched the frequencies expected if orange and yellow expressions depended on recessive homozygosity at 2 separate loci. Our findings also agree with previous literature reporting higher reproductive output of heavy females and the higher overall viability of heavy newborn lizards, but we found no evidence for the existence of alternative breeding investment strategies in female morphs, or morph-combination effects on offspring viability and behavior. We conclude that inter-morph breeding remains entirely viable and genetic incompatibilities are of little significance for the maintenance of discrete color morphs in P. muralis from the Pyrenees.
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| 2. |
- Acerbi, Alberto, et al.
(författare)
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Behavioral constraints and the evolution of faithful social learning
- 2012
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Ingår i: Current Zoology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1674-5507 .- 2396-9814. ; 58:2, s. 307-318
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Behavioral “traditions”, i.e. behavioral patterns that are acquired with the aid of social learning and that are relativelystable in a group, have been observed in several species. Recently, however, it has been questioned whether non-human sociallearning is faithful enough to stabilize those patterns. The observed stability could be interpreted as a result of various constraintsthat limit the number of possible alternative behaviors, rather than of the fidelity of transmission mechanisms. Those constraints canbe roughly described as “internal”, such as mechanical (bodily) properties or cognitive limitations and predispositions, and “external”, such as ecological availability or pressures. Here we present an evolutionary individual-based model that explores the relationships between the evolution of faithful social learning and behavioral constraints, represented both by the size of the behavioral repertoire and by the “shape” of the search space of a given task. We show that the evolution of high-fidelity transmission mechanisms, when associated with costs (e.g. cognitive, biomechanical, energetic, etc.), is only likely if the potential behavioral repertoire of a species is large and if the search space does not provide information that can be exploited by individual learning. Moreover we show how stable behavioral patterns (“traditions”) can be achieved at the population level as an outcome of both high-fidelity and low-fidelity transmission mechanisms, given that the latter are coupled with a small behavioral repertoire or with a search space that provide substantial feedback. Finally, by introducing the possibility of environmental change, we show that intermediaterates of change favor the evolution of faithful social learning.
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| 3. |
- Bukor, Boglárka, et al.
(författare)
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Double-brooding and annual breeding success of great tits in urban and forest habitats
- 2022
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Ingår i: Current Zoology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1674-5507 .- 2396-9814. ; 68:5, s. 517-525
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Urban areas differ from natural habitats in several environmental features that influence the characteristics of animals living there. For example, birds often start breeding seasonally earlier and fledge fewer offspring per brood in cities than in natural habitats. However, longer breeding seasons in cities may increase the frequency of double-brooding in urban compared with nonurban populations, thus potentially increasing urban birds’ annual reproductive output and resulting in lower habitat difference in reproductive success than estimated by studies focusing on first clutches only. In this study, we investigated 2 urban and 2 forests great tit Parus major populations from 2013 to 2019. We compared the probability of double-brooding and the total number of annually fledged chicks per female between urban and forest habitats, while controlling for the effects of potentially confounding variables. There was a trend for a higher probability of double-brooding in urban (44% of females) than in forest populations (36%), although this was not consistent between the 2 urban sites. Females produced significantly fewer fledglings annually in the cities than in the forest sites, and this difference was present both within single- and double-brooded females. Furthermore, double-brooded urban females produced a similar number of fledglings per season as single-brooded forest females. These results indicate that double-brooding increases the reproductive success of female great tits in both habitats, but urban females cannot effectively compensate in this way for their lower reproductive output per brood. However, other mechanisms like increased post-fledging survival can mitigate habitat differences in reproductive success.
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| 4. |
- Chouinard-Thuly, Laura, et al.
(författare)
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Technical and conceptual considerations for using animated stimuli in studies of animal behavior
- 2017
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Ingår i: Current Zoology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1674-5507 .- 2396-9814. ; 63:1, s. 5-19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rapid technical advances in the field of computer animation (CA) and virtual reality (VR) have opened new avenues in animal behavior research. Animated stimuli are powerful tools as they offer standardization, repeatability, and complete control over the stimulus presented, thereby "reducing" and "replacing" the animals used, and "refining" the experimental design in line with the 3Rs. However, appropriate use of these technologies raises conceptual and technical questions. In this review, we offer guidelines for common technical and conceptual considerations related to the use of animated stimuli in animal behavior research. Following the steps required to create an animated stimulus, we discuss (I) the creation, (II) the presentation, and (III) the validation of CAs and VRs. Although our review is geared toward computer-graphically designed stimuli, considerations on presentation and validation also apply to video playbacks. CA and VR allow both new behavioral questions to be addressed and existing questions to be addressed in new ways, thus we expect a rich future for these methods in both ultimate and proximate studies of animal behavior.
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| 5. |
- Corral-López, Alberto, et al.
(författare)
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No association between brain size and male sexual behavior in the guppy
- 2015
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Ingår i: Current Zoology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1674-5507 .- 2396-9814. ; 61:2, s. 265-273
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Animal behavior is remarkably variable at all taxonomic levels. Over the last decades, research on animal behavior has focused on understanding ultimate processes. Yet, it has progressively become more evident that to fully understand behavioral variation, ultimate explanations need to be complemented with proximate ones. In particular, the mechanisms generating variation in sexual behavior remain an open question. Variation in aspects of brain morphology has been suggested as a plausible mechanism underlying this variation. However, our knowledge of this potential association is based almost exclusively on comparative analyses. Experimental studies are needed to establish causality and bridge the gap between micro-and macroevolutionary mechanisms concerning the link between brain and sexual behavior. We used male guppies that had been artificially selected for large or small relative brain size to study this association. We paired males with females and scored the full known set of male and female sexual behaviors described in guppies. We found several previously demonstrated associations between male traits, male behavior and female behavior. Females responded more strongly towards males that courted more and males with more orange coloration. Also, larger males and males with less conspicuous coloration attempted more coerced copulations. However, courting, frequency of coerced copulation attempts, total intensity of sexual behavior, and female response did not differ between large-and small-brained males. Our data suggest that relative brain size is an unlikely mechanism underlying variation in sexual behavior of the male guppy. We discuss these findings in the context of the conditions under which relative brain size might affect male sexual behavior
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| 6. |
- Eikenaar, Cas, et al.
(författare)
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Not just fuel : energy stores are correlated with immune function and oxidative damage in a long-distance migrant.
- 2019
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Ingår i: Current Zoology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1674-5507 .- 2396-9814.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In many animals, catabolic and anabolic periods are temporally separated. Migratory birds alternate energy expenditure during flight with energy accumulation during stopover. The size of the energy stores at stopover affects the decision to resume migration and thus the temporal organization of migration. We now provide data suggesting that it is not only the size of the energy stores per se that may influence migration scheduling, but also the physiological consequences of flying. In two subspecies of the northern wheatearOenanthe oenanthe, a long-distance migrant, estimated energy stores at a stopover during autumn migration were positively related with bothconstitutive innate and acquired immune function, and negatively related with oxidative damage to lipids. In other words, migrants’ physiological condition was associated with their energetic condition. Although time spent at stopover before sampling may have contributed to this relationship, our results suggest that migrants have to trade-off the depletion of energy stores during flight withincurring physiological costs. This will affect migrants’ decisions when to start and when to terminate a migratory flight. The physiological costs associated with the depletion of energy stores may also help explaining why migrants often arrive at and depart from stopover sites with larger energy stores than expected. We propose that studies on the role of energy stores as drivers of the temporal organization of (avian) migration need to consider physiological condition, such as immunological and oxidative states.
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| 7. |
- Garcia-Longoria, Luz, et al.
(författare)
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Diversity and host assemblage of avian haemosporidians in different terrestrial ecoregions of Peru
- 2022
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Ingår i: Current Zoology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1674-5507 .- 2396-9814. ; 68:1, s. 27-40
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Characterizing the diversity and structure of host-parasite communities is crucial to understanding their eco-evolutionary dynamics. Malaria and related haemosporidian parasites are responsible for fitness loss and mortality in bird species worldwide. However, despite exhibiting the greatest ornithological biodiversity, avian haemosporidians from Neotropical regions are quite unexplored. Here, we analyze the genetic diversity of bird haemosporidian parasites (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) in 1,336 individuals belonging to 206 bird species to explore for differences in diversity of parasite lineages and bird species across 5 well-differentiated Peruvian ecoregions. We detected 70 different haemosporidian lineages infecting 74 bird species. We showed that 25 out of the 70 haplotypes had not been previously recorded. Moreover, we also identified 81 new host-parasite interactions representing new host records for these haemosporidian parasites. Our outcomes revealed that the effective diversity (as well as the richness, abundance, and Shannon-Weaver index) for both birds and parasite lineages was higher in Amazon basin ecoregions. Furthermore, we also showed that ecoregions with greater diversity of bird species also had high parasite richness, hence suggesting that host community is crucial in explaining parasite richness. Generalist parasites were found in ecoregions with lower bird diversity, implying that the abundance and richness of hosts may shape the exploitation strategy followed by haemosporidian parasites. These outcomes reveal that Neotropical region is a major reservoir of unidentified haemosporidian lineages. Further studies analyzing host distribution and specificity of these parasites in the tropics will provide important knowledge about phylogenetic relationships, phylogeography, and patterns of evolution and distribution of haemosporidian parasites.
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| 8. |
- Hellström, Gustav, et al.
(författare)
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Balancing past and present : how experience influences boldness over time in Eurasian perch
- 2017
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Ingår i: Current Zoology. - : Oxford University Press. - 1674-5507 .- 2396-9814. ; 63:2, s. 159-164
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Adapting to fluctuating predation conditions is a challenge for prey. By learning through experience, animals may adjust their anti-predator behavior to better reflect current predation risk. Although many studies show experience of predation to alter prey behavior, little is known about how prey rely on such experience over time. By comparing boldness over different temporal scales between individuals of Eurasian perch, either experienced or naive of predators, we examine how risk is traded based on past and present experience. Differences in predator exposure during the first year of life were found to lead to differences in risk-taking behavior, even after the perch been kept in a predator-free environment for 9 months. However, the response to a potential predator was quickly readjusted after increased experience of current conditions. The results highlight how prey have to balance past experiences of predators against current threat levels.
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| 9. |
- Heynen, Martina, et al.
(författare)
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Facing different predators : adaptiveness of behavioral and morphological traits under predation
- 2017
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Ingår i: Current Zoology. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS. - 1674-5507 .- 2396-9814. ; 63:3, s. 249-257
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Predation is thought to be one of the main structuring forces in animal communities. However, selective predation is often measured on isolated traits in response to a single predatory species, but only rarely are selective forces on several traits quantified or even compared between different predators naturally occurring in the same system. In the present study, we therefore measured behavioral and morphological traits in young-of-the-year Eurasian perch Perca fluviatilis and compared their selective values in response to the 2 most common predators, adult perch and pike Esox lucius. Using mixed effects models and model averaging to analyze our data, we quantified and compared the selectivity of the 2 predators on the different morphological and behavioral traits. We found that selection on the behavioral traits was higher than on morphological traits and perch predators preyed overall more selectively than pike predators. Pike tended to positively select shallow bodied and nonvigilant individuals (i.e. individuals not performing predator inspection). In contrast, perch predators selected mainly for bolder juvenile perch (i.e. individuals spending more time in the open, more active), which was most important. Our results are to the best of our knowledge the first that analyzed behavioral and morphological adaptations of juvenile perch facing 2 different predation strategies. We found that relative specific predation intensity for the divergent traits differed between the predators, providing some additional ideas why juvenile perch display such a high degree of phenotypic plasticity.
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| 10. |
- Janas, Katarzyna, et al.
(författare)
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Sexual dichromatism, size dimorphism, and microscale anatomy of white wing stripe in blue tits
- 2021
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Ingår i: Current Zoology. - : Oxford University Press. - 1674-5507 .- 2396-9814. ; 67:6, s. 585-596
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Achromatic patches are a common element of plumage patterns in many bird species and there is growing body of evidence that in many avian taxa they can play a signaling role in mate choice. Although the blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus is a well-established model species in the studies on coloration, its white wing patch has never been examined in the context of sex-specific trait expression. In this exploratory study, we examined sexual size dimorphism and dichromatism of greater covert's dots creating white wing patch and analyzed its correlations with current body condition and crown coloration-a trait with established role in sexual selection. Further, we qualitatively analyzed microstructural barb morphology underlying covert's coloration. We found significant sexual dimorphism in the dot size independent of covert size and sexual dichromatism in both white dot and blue outer covert's vane spectral characteristics. Internal structure of covert barbs within the white dot was similar to the one found in barbs from the blue part that is, with a medullary area consisting of dead keratinocytes containing channel-type beta-keratin spongy nanostructure and centrally located air cavities. However, it lacked melanosomes which was the main observed difference. Importantly, UV chroma of covert's blue vane was positively correlated with crown UV chroma and current condition (the latter only in males), which should be a premise for further research on the signal function of the wing stripe.
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