The Distress Vocalization: Is It an Adequate Index of Fear in Precocial Birds?

Previously, we have measured daily changes (developmental patterns) in embryonic heart rate (fh) in altricial and semi-altricial (ASA) birds (range of mean fresh egg mass approximately 1–20 g), semi-precocial seabirds (egg mass approximately 38–288 g) and precocial birds (egg mass approximately 6–1400 g). An allometric relationship between embryonic fh at 80 % of incubation duration (ID) and fresh egg mass (M) has been derived for six species of precocial bird (fh at 80 % ID=429M(−0.118)). In the present study, additional measurements of embryonic fh in three ASA species, the barn owl Tyto alba, the cattle egret Bubulcus ibis and the lanner falcon Falco biarmicus, were made to extend the egg mass range (20–41 g), and the allometric relationships of embryonic fh for these ASA birds and the precocial and semi-precocial (PSP) groups were investigated from published data. The developmental patterns of embryonic fh in three relatively large ASA species did not show a significant increase prior to the pipping period, unlike those in small ASA birds, but tended to be constant, with a subsequent increase during pipping. The allometric relationship derived for ASA birds was fh at 80 % ID=371M(−0.121) (r=−0.846, P<0.001, N=20) and that for PSP birds was fh at 80 % ID=433M(−0.121) (r=−0.963, P<0.001, N=13). The slopes were parallel, but fh of ASA embryos was low compared with that of PSP embryos with the same egg mass. In ASA birds, embyronic fh was maximal during the pipping (perinatal) period, and the maximum fh (fh(max)) was significantly related to fresh egg mass: fh(max)=440M(−0.127) (r=−0.840, P<0.001, N=20). The allometric relationships for fh at 80 % ID in PSP and fh(max) in ASA embryos were statistically identical. Accordingly, embryonic fh at 80 % ID in PSP birds and fh(max) during pipping in ASA birds can be expressed by a single allometric equation: fh=437M(−0.123) (r=−0.948, P<0.001, N=33).

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Behavioral evidence for cholecystokinin-opiate interactions in neonatal rats

AJP Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajpregu.1988.255.6.r901 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 255 (6) ◽

pp. R901-R907 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

A. Weller ◽

E. M. Blass

Keyword(s):

Dose Range ◽

Neonatal Rats ◽

Behavioral Measures ◽

Distress Vocalization ◽

Rat Pups ◽

Within Subjects ◽

Old Rats ◽

Behavioral Evidence ◽

Opioid Systems ◽

Mediated Reduction

In adult mammals, cholecystokinin (CCK)-opiate interactions are complex and task dependent. Specifically, CCK antagonizes opiate effects in some cases, yet acts similarly to opiate agonists in others. The present study used behavioral measures to determine how CCK interacts with opiates in neonatal rats. CCK, at doses of 1 microgram/kg and higher, markedly reduced isolation-induced distress vocalization in rat pups. Moreover, CCK selectively prevented naltrexone antagonism of opiate-mediated reduction in distress vocalization in 3- and 11-day-old rats. Yet CCK did not affect opiate-induced analgesia, as measured by the hot-plate paw-lift response. Thus CCK either did not interact with opiates or did so agonistically, with the same (low) dose range, and within subjects. These findings suggest independence of stress and pain systems in neonatal rats and demonstrate a functional interaction between CCK and opioid systems.

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Parental calls and the approach behavior and distress vocalization of young domestic chicken

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z73-139 ◽

1973 ◽

Vol 51 (9) ◽

pp. 961-967 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

P. J. Cowan

Keyword(s):

Discrimination Learning ◽

Auditory Discrimination ◽

Domestic Chicken ◽

Approach Behavior ◽

Approach Response ◽

Distress Vocalization ◽

Direction Of Movement ◽

Instantaneous Speed

Auditory discrimination learning of parental calls from different individual hens by young domestic chicken was demonstrated for both approach behavior and distress vocalization. Using cinematography, it was tested whether individual parental calls, after training, affect the instantaneous speed, orientation, and direction of movement of a chick during, or the latency of, an approach response. The familiar parental call causes an earlier (at onset more directly oriented towards) but initially slower, approach response than a novel call. This result is discussed in terms of arousal habituation.

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Distress Vocalization

Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology ◽

10.1007/978-3-540-68706-1_277 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 410-413

Author(s):

Nicola Simola ◽

Micaela Morelli ◽

Tooru Mizuno ◽

Suzanne H. Mitchell ◽

Harriet de Wit ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Distress Vocalization

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Incubation temperature affects the expression of young precocial birds’ fear-related behaviours and neuroendocrine correlates

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-018-20319-y ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Aline Bertin ◽

Ludovic Calandreau ◽

Maryse Meurisse ◽

Marion Georgelin ◽

Rupert Palme ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Incubation Temperature ◽

Precocial Birds

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Do small precocial birds enter torpor to conserve energy during development?

Journal of Experimental Biology ◽

10.1242/jeb.231761 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 223 (21) ◽

pp. jeb231761

Author(s):

Yaara Aharon-Rotman ◽

Gerhard Körtner ◽

Chris B. Wacker ◽

Fritz Geiser

Keyword(s):

Body Temperature ◽

Metabolic Rate ◽

Surface Temperature ◽

Heat Loss ◽

Body Mass ◽

Infrared Thermometer ◽

Common Strategy ◽

Energy Conserving ◽

Altricial Birds ◽

Precocial Birds

ABSTRACTPrecocial birds hatch feathered and mobile, but when they become fully endothermic soon after hatching, their heat loss is high and they may become energy depleted. These chicks could benefit from using energy-conserving torpor, which is characterised by controlled reductions of metabolism and body temperature (Tb). We investigated at what age the precocial king quail Coturnix chinensis can defend a high Tb under a mild thermal challenge and whether they can express torpor soon after achieving endothermy to overcome energetic and thermal challenges. Measurements of surface temperature (Ts) using an infrared thermometer showed that king quail chicks are partially endothermic at 2–10 days, but can defend high Tb at a body mass of ∼13 g. Two chicks expressed shallow nocturnal torpor at 14 and 17 days for 4–5 h with a reduction of metabolism by >40% and another approached the torpor threshold. Although chicks were able to rewarm endogenously from the first torpor bout, metabolism and Ts decreased again by the end of the night, but they rewarmed passively when removed from the chamber. The total metabolic rate increased with body mass. All chicks measured showed a greater reduction of nocturnal metabolism than previously reported in quails. Our data show that shallow torpor can be expressed during the early postnatal phase of quails, when thermoregulatory efficiency is still developing, but heat loss is high. We suggest that torpor may be a common strategy for overcoming challenging conditions during development in small precocial and not only altricial birds.

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Gosling Growth and Survival in Relation to Brood Movements in Greater Snow Geese (Chen Caerulescens Atlantica)

The Auk ◽

10.1093/auk/123.4.1077 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 123 (4) ◽

pp. 1077-1089 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Julien Mainguy ◽

Gilles Gauthier ◽

Jean-François Giroux ◽

Joël Bêty

Keyword(s):

Selective Advantage ◽

Nest Site Selection ◽

High Quality ◽

Growth And Survival ◽

Chen Caerulescens ◽

Brood Rearing ◽

Snow Geese ◽

Movement Distance ◽

Chen Caerulescens Atlantica ◽

Precocial Birds

Abstract Post-hatch brood movements to high-quality foraging sites are common in precocial birds but may entail costs for young. We assessed effects of overland movements of broods between the nesting and rearing areas in Greater Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens atlantica) breeding on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada, to determine whether these movements affected gosling survival and growth. We monitored 51 radiomarked females over five years to quantify movement distance, movement duration, and gosling survival. Gosling growth was compared over four years using a sample of web-tagged broods recaptured shortly before fledging among adults that (1) nested and reared their young in a dense colony, (2) left the colony and moved ≈30 km to reach the main brood-rearing area, or (3) nested and reared their young in the main brood-rearing area. Brood movements by radio-marked birds were highly variable (2.6-52.5 km, depending on rearing areas used) and fairly rapid (≤6 days after hatch for 72% of the females). Gosling survival was not related to distance moved between nesting and brood-rearing areas. However, gosling growth was influenced by areas used and whether or not they had to move to reach their brood-rearing area. Geese nesting at the main brood-rearing area generally reared heavier and larger goslings than those that moved ≈30 km from the main nesting colony to rear their brood at the main brood-rearing area. On the other hand, goslings leaving the nesting colony after hatch were heavier and larger than those that stayed there throughout brood rearing in one of two years. Although brood movements allow goslings access to high-quality habitats, they entail some costs. Thus, minimizing such movements through nest-site selection should provide a selective advantage by allowing goslings to maximize their growth. Croissance et Survie des Oisons en Relation avec les Déplacements des Familles chez Chen caerulescens atlantica

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