scholarly journals Evolution of acoustic communication in blind cavefish

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carole Hyacinthe ◽  
Joël Attia ◽  
Sylvie Rétaux
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Acoustic Communication ◽  
Sound Production ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Behavioral Changes ◽  
Astyanax Mexicanus ◽  
The Social ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Blind Cave ◽  
Blind Cavefish

Abstract Acoustic communication allows the exchange of information within specific contexts and during specific behaviors. The blind, cave-adapted and the sighted, river-dwelling morphs of the species Astyanax mexicanus have evolved in markedly different environments. During their evolution in darkness, cavefish underwent a series of morphological, physiological and behavioral changes, allowing the study of adaptation to drastic environmental change. Here we discover that Astyanax is a sonic species, in the laboratory and in the wild, with sound production depending on the social contexts and the type of morph. We characterize one sound, the “Sharp Click”, as a visually-triggered sound produced by dominant surface fish during agonistic behaviors and as a chemosensory-, food odor-triggered sound produced by cavefish during foraging. Sharp Clicks also elicit different reactions in the two morphs in play-back experiments. Our results demonstrate that acoustic communication does exist and has evolved in cavefish, accompanying the evolution of its behaviors.

scholarly journals A Hypomorphic Cystathionine ß-Synthase Gene Contributes to Cavefish Eye Loss by Disrupting Optic Vasculature

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Ma ◽  
Aniket V. Gore ◽  
Daniel Castranova ◽  
Janet Shi ◽  
Mandy Ng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxygen Deficiency ◽  
Circulatory System ◽  
Astyanax Mexicanus ◽  
Transsulfuration Pathway ◽  
Key Enzyme ◽  
Surface Dwelling ◽  
Blind Cave ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
Key Indicators ◽  
Blind Cavefish

AbstractVestigial structures are key indicators of evolutionary descent but the mechanisms underlying their development are poorly understood. This study examines vestigial eye formation in the teleost Astyanax mexicanus, which consists of a sighted surface-dwelling morph and different populations of blind cave morphs. Cavefish embryos initially develop optic primordia but vestigial eyes are formed during larval development. Multiple genetic factors are involved in cavefish eye loss but none of the mutated genes have been identified. Here we identify cystathionine ß-synthase (cbsa), which encodes the key enzyme of the transsulfuration pathway, as a mutated gene responsible for eye degeneration in multiple cavefish populations. The inactivation of cbsa affects eye development by inducing accumulation of the transsulfuration intermediate homocysteine and defects in optic vasculature, including aneurysms and eye hemorrhages, leading to oxygen deficiency. Our findings suggest that localized modifications in the circulatory system and hypoxia had important roles in the evolution of vestigial eyes in blind cavefish.

scholarly journals A mutation in monoamine oxidase (MAO) affects the evolution of stress behavior in the blind cavefish Astyanax mexicanus

2020 ◽  
Vol 223 (18) ◽  
pp. jeb226092 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constance Pierre ◽  
Naomie Pradère ◽  
Cynthia Froc ◽  
Patricia Ornelas-García ◽  
Jacques Callebert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Monoamine Oxidase ◽  
Anatomical Variations ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Partial Loss ◽  
Astyanax Mexicanus ◽  
Excellent Candidate ◽  
Cave Environment ◽  
Blind Cave ◽  
Blind Cavefish ◽  
Subterranean Environment

ABSTRACTThe neurotransmitter serotonin controls a variety of physiological and behavioral processes. In humans, mutations affecting monoamine oxidase (MAO), the serotonin-degrading enzyme, are highly deleterious. Yet, blind cavefish of the species Astyanax mexicanus carry a partial loss-of-function mutation in MAO (P106L) and thrive in their subterranean environment. Here, we established four fish lines, corresponding to the blind cave-dwelling and the sighted river-dwelling morphs of this species, with or without the mutation, in order to decipher the exact contribution of mao P106L in the evolution of cavefish neurobehavioral traits. Unexpectedly, although mao P106L appeared to be an excellent candidate for the genetic determinism of the loss of aggressive and schooling behaviors in cavefish, we demonstrated that it was not the case. Similarly, the anatomical variations in monoaminergic systems observed between cavefish and surface fish brains were independent from mao P106L, and rather due to other, morph-dependent developmental processes. However, we found that mao P106L strongly affected anxiety-like behaviors. Cortisol measurements showed lower basal levels and an increased amplitude of stress response after a change of environment in fish carrying the mutation. Finally, we studied the distribution of the P106L mao allele in wild populations of cave and river A. mexicanus, and discovered that the mutant allele was present – and sometimes fixed – in all populations inhabiting caves of the Sierra de El Abra. The possibility that this partial loss-of-function mao allele evolves under a selective or a neutral regime in the particular cave environment is discussed.

scholarly journals Evolutionary increases in catecholamine signaling may underlie the emergence of adaptive traits and behaviors in the blind cavefish, Astyanax mexicanus

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Gallman ◽  
Daihana Rivera ◽  
Daphne Soares
Keyword(s):  
Olfactory System ◽  
Adaptive Traits ◽  
Astyanax Mexicanus ◽  
Catecholaminergic Neurons ◽  
Defensive Responses ◽  
Evolutionary Changes ◽  
Blind Cave ◽  
Food Seeking ◽  
Blind Cavefish ◽  
The Brain

AbstractEvolutionary changes in catecholamine neurotransmitters such as dopamine and noradrenaline can lead to habitat specific behaviors. We used tyrosine hydroxylase, a conserved precursor to the biosynthesis of dopamine and noradrenaline, to compare catecholaminergic neurons in the brain of a species undergoing allopatric speciation. The teleost fish Astyanax mexicanus is extant in two readily available forms, an ancestral river dwelling form (surface) and various derived blind cave forms (cavefish). Adaptation to nutrient poor cave life without predation has led to marked differences in the behavior of this species. The cavefish has lost defensive responses, such as stimulus aversion, found in the ancestral surface fish and instead displays enhanced food seeking behaviors. This is reflected by an increase in catecholamine immunoreactivity in the cavefish brain in regions associated with non-visual sensory perception, motor control pathways, attention, and endocrine release. These neuroanatomical regions include the olfactory system, the basal telencephalon, the preoptic nuclei, the posterior tuberculum, caudal hypothalamus, and isthmus. These results indicate that the evolutionary shift from aversive defensive responses to attractive exploratory behaviors was driven by increases in the size and/or quantity of catecholaminergic neurons in the cavefish brain.

Alcohol and Humans

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Social Bonding ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Contemporary Society ◽  
Social Functions ◽  
Social Fabric ◽  
Evolutionary Origins ◽  
The Social ◽  
In The Wild

Ethanol (or, as it is more popularly known, alcohol) use has a long and ubiquitous history. The prevailing tendency to view alcohol merely as a ‘social problem’ or the popular notion that alcohol only serves to provide us with a ‘hedonic’ high, masks its importance in the social fabric of many human societies both past and present. To understand alcohol use as a complex social practice that has been exploited by humans for thousands of years requires cross-disciplinary insight from social/cultural anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, psychologists, primatologists, and biologists. This multidisciplinary volume examines the broad use of alcohol in the human lineage and its wider relationship to social contexts such as feasting, sacred rituals, and social bonding. Alcohol abuse is a small part of a much more complex and social pattern of widespread alcohol use by humans. This alone should prompt us to explore the evolutionary origins of this ancient practice and the socially functional reasons for its continued popularity. The objectives of this volume are: (1) to understand how and why non-human primates and other animals use alcohol in the wild, and its relevance to understanding the social consumption of alcohol in humans; (2) to understand the social function of alcohol in human prehistory; (3) to understand the sociocultural significance of alcohol across human societies; and (4) to explore the social functions of alcohol consumption in contemporary society.

scholarly journals A mutation in monoamine oxidase (MAO) affects the evolution of stress behavior in the blind cavefish Astyanax mexicanus

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constance Pierre ◽  
Naomie Pradère ◽  
Cynthia Froc ◽  
Patricia Ornelas-García ◽  
Jacques Callebert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Monoamine Oxidase ◽  
Anatomical Variations ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Partial Loss ◽  
Astyanax Mexicanus ◽  
Behavioral Traits ◽  
Cave Environment ◽  
Blind Cave ◽  
Blind Cavefish ◽  
Subterranean Environment

AbstractThe neurotransmitter serotonin controls a great variety of physiological and behavioral processes. In humans, mutations affecting the monoamine oxidase or MAO, the serotonin-degrading enzyme, are highly deleterious. Yet, blind cavefish of the species A. mexicanus carry a partial loss-of-function mutation in MAO (P106L) and seem to thrive in their subterranean environment. Here, we established 4 fish lines, corresponding to the blind cave-dwelling and the sighted river-dwelling morphs of this species, with or without the mutation, in order to decipher the exact contribution of mao P106L in the evolution of cavefish neuro-behavioral traits. Unexpectedly, although mao P106L appeared as an excellent candidate for the genetic determinism of the loss of aggressive and schooling behaviors in cavefish, we demonstrated that it was not the case. Similarly, the anatomical variations in monoaminergic systems observed between cavefish and surface fish brains were independent from mao P106L, and rather due other, morph-dependent developmental processes. On the other hand, we found that mao P106L strongly affected anxiety-like behaviors. Cortisol measurements showed lower basal levels and an increased amplitude of stress response after a change of environment in fish carrying the mutation. Finally, we studied the distribution of the P106L mao allele in wild populations of cave and river A. mexicanus, and discovered that the mutant allele was present - and sometimes fixed - in all populations inhabiting caves of the Sierra de El Abra. The possibility that this partial loss-of-function mao allele evolves under a selective or a genetic drift regime in the particular cave environment is discussed.

The Social Contexts of Racial Discrimination in Sentencing

1986 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 236-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha A. Myers ◽  
Susette M. Talarico
Keyword(s):  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
The Social

Entanglements between Agency and Vulnerability in the Phenomenon of Birth. Reflections on Children’s Expressions about ‘Being Born’

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2-2020) ◽  
pp. 135-146
Author(s):  
Catrin Heite ◽  
Veronika Magyar-Haas
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
Cultural Embeddedness

Analogously to the works in the field of new social studies of childhood, this contribution deals with the concept of childhood as a social construction, in which children are considered as social actors in their own living environment, engaged in interpretive reproduction of the social. In this perspective the concept of agency is strongly stressed, and the vulnerability of children is not sufficiently taken into account. But in combining vulnerability and agency lies the possibility to consider the perspective of the subjects in the context of their social, political and cultural embeddedness. In this paper we show that what children say, what is important to them in general and for their well-being, is shaped by the care experiences within the family and by their social contexts. The argumentation for the intertwining of vulnerability and agency is exemplified by the expressions of an interviewed girl about her birth and by reference to philosophical concepts about birth and natality.

THE THE INDIGENOUS IDENTITY INTERPRETED AS A CATEGORY OF ANALYSIS IN POPULATION STUDIES

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (Especial) ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
Dante Choque-Caseres
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Indigenous Identity ◽  
Critical Thought ◽  
Northern Border ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
New Research

In Latin America, based on the recognition of Indigenous Peoples, the identification of gaps or disparities between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous population has emerged as a new research interest. To this end, capturing Indigenous identity is key to conducting certain analyses. However, the social contexts where the identity of Indigenous persons are (re)produced has been significantly altered. These changes are generated by the assimilation or integration of Indigenous communities into dominant national cultures. Within this context, limitations emerge in the use of this category, since Indigenous identity has a political and legal component related to the needs of the government. Therefore, critical thought on the use of Indigenous identity is necessary in an epistemological and methodological approach to research. This article argues that research about Indigenous Peoples should evaluate how Indigenous identity is included, for it is socially co-produced through the interaction of the State and its institutions. Thus, it would not necessarily constitute an explicative variable. By analyzing the discourse about Aymara Indigenous communities that has emerged in the northern border of Chile, this paper seeks to expose the logic used to define identity. Therefore, I conclude that the process of self-identification arises in supposed Indigenous people, built and/or reinforced by institutions, which should be reviewed from a decolonizing perspective and included in comparative research.

The Science and Art of Interviewing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Gerson ◽  
Sarah Damaske
Keyword(s):  
Social Research ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Science And Art ◽  
The Social ◽  
Interview Guide ◽  
Hidden Patterns ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
Depth Interviews

Qualitative interviewing is one of the most widely used methods in social research, but it is arguably the least well understood. To address that gap, this book offers a theoretically rigorous, empirically rich, and user-friendly set of strategies for conceiving and conducting interview-based research. Much more than a how-to manual, the book shows why depth interviewing is an indispensable method for discovering and explaining the social world—shedding light on the hidden patterns and dynamics that take place within institutions, social contexts, relationships, and individual experiences. It offers a step-by-step guide through every stage in the research process, from initially formulating a question to developing arguments and presenting the results. To do this, the book shows how to develop a research question, decide on and find an appropriate sample, construct an interview guide, conduct probing and theoretically focused interviews, and systematically analyze the complex material that depth interviews provide—all in the service of finding and presenting important new empirical discoveries and theoretical insights. The book also lays out the ever-present but rarely discussed challenges that interviewers routinely encounter and then presents grounded, thoughtful ways to respond to them. By addressing the most heated debates about the scientific status of qualitative methods, the book demonstrates how depth interviewing makes unique and essential contributions to the research enterprise. With an emphasis on the integral relationship between carefully crafted research and theory building, the book offers a compelling vision for what the “interviewing imagination” can and should be.

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