scholarly journals Evolution of Boldness and Exploratory Behavior in Giant Mice from Gough Island

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jered A. Stratton ◽  
Mark J. Nolte ◽  
Bret A. Payseur
Keyword(s):  
Inbred Strains ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Island Population ◽  
Phenotypic Evolution ◽  
Behavioral Evolution ◽  
Island Populations ◽  
Recessive Mutations ◽  
Gough Island ◽  
Wild House Mice ◽  
Common Laboratory

AbstractIsland populations are hallmarks of extreme phenotypic evolution. Radical changes in resource availability and predation risk accompanying island colonization drive changes in behavior, which Darwin likened to tameness in domesticated animals. Although many examples of animal boldness are found on islands, the heritability of observed behaviors, a requirement for evolution, remains largely unknown. To fill this gap, we profiled anxiety and exploration in island and mainland inbred strains of house mice raised in a common laboratory environment. The island strain was descended from mice on Gough Island, the largest wild house mice on record. Experiments utilizing open environments across two ages showed that Gough Island mice are bolder and more exploratory, even when a shelter is provided. Concurrently, Gough Island mice retain an avoidance response to predator urine. F1 offspring from crosses between these two strains behave more similarly to the mainland strain for most traits, suggesting recessive mutations contributed to behavioral evolution on the island. Our results provide a rare example of novel, inherited behaviors in an island population and demonstrate that behavioral evolution can be specific to different forms of perceived danger. Our discoveries pave the way for a genetic understanding of how island populations evolve unusual behaviors.

scholarly journals Evolution of boldness and exploratory behavior in giant mice from Gough Island

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jered A. Stratton ◽  
Mark J. Nolte ◽  
Bret A. Payseur
Keyword(s):  
Inbred Strains ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Island Population ◽  
Behavioral Evolution ◽  
Laboratory Environment ◽  
Island Populations ◽  
Island Colonization ◽  
Recessive Mutations ◽  
Gough Island ◽  
Eastern Usa

Abstract Island populations are hallmarks of extreme phenotypic evolution. Radical changes in resource availability and predation risk accompanying island colonization drive changes in behavior, which Darwin likened to tameness in domesticated animals. Although many examples of animal boldness are found on islands, the heritability of observed behaviors, a requirement for evolution, remains largely unknown. To fill this gap, we profiled anxiety and exploration in island and mainland inbred strains of house mice raised in a common laboratory environment. The island strain was descended from mice on Gough Island, the largest wild house mice on record. Experiments utilizing open environments across two ages showed that Gough Island mice are bolder and more exploratory, even when a shelter is provided. Concurrently, Gough Island mice retain an avoidance response to predator urine. F1 offspring from crosses between these two strains behave more similarly to the mainland strain for most traits, suggesting recessive mutations contributed to behavioral evolution on the island. Our results provide a rare example of novel, inherited behaviors in an island population and demonstrate that behavioral evolution can be specific to different forms of perceived danger. Our discoveries pave the way for a genetic understanding of how island populations evolve unusual behaviors. Significance Organisms on islands are known to behave differently from mainland organisms. An absence of predators and a different set of natural resources are expected to make island organisms less anxious and more exploratory. We raised two groups of house mice, one from Gough Island in the South Atlantic and one from the mainland Eastern USA, in the same laboratory environment to see if behavioral differences between the two groups are heritable. Mice from both groups were placed in novel enclosures that are known to cause anxiety in rodents. We found that mice from the island are bolder and more exploratory in these enclosures but avoid predator odors in the same way as mainland mice. Our results show that boldness and exploration can evolve after island colonization.

scholarly journals Giant Island Mice Exhibit Widespread Gene Expression Changes in Key Metabolic Organs

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1277-1301
Author(s):  
Mark J Nolte ◽  
Peicheng Jing ◽  
Colin N Dewey ◽  
Bret A Payseur
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Differential Expression ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Regulatory Elements ◽  
Functional Enrichment ◽  
Differentially Expressed ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Nutrient Metabolism ◽  
Island Populations ◽  
Gough Island

Abstract Island populations repeatedly evolve extreme body sizes, but the genomic basis of this pattern remains largely unknown. To understand how organisms on islands evolve gigantism, we compared genome-wide patterns of gene expression in Gough Island mice, the largest wild house mice in the world, and mainland mice from the WSB/EiJ wild-derived inbred strain. We used RNA-seq to quantify differential gene expression in three key metabolic organs: gonadal adipose depot, hypothalamus, and liver. Between 4,000 and 8,800 genes were significantly differentially expressed across the evaluated organs, representing between 20% and 50% of detected transcripts, with 20% or more of differentially expressed transcripts in each organ exhibiting expression fold changes of at least 2×. A minimum of 73 candidate genes for extreme size evolution, including Irs1 and Lrp1, were identified by considering differential expression jointly with other data sets: 1) genomic positions of published quantitative trait loci for body weight and growth rate, 2) whole-genome sequencing of 16 wild-caught Gough Island mice that revealed fixed single-nucleotide differences between the strains, and 3) publicly available tissue-specific regulatory elements. Additionally, patterns of differential expression across three time points in the liver revealed that Arid5b potentially regulates hundreds of genes. Functional enrichment analyses pointed to cell cycling, mitochondrial function, signaling pathways, inflammatory response, and nutrient metabolism as potential causes of weight accumulation in Gough Island mice. Collectively, our results indicate that extensive gene regulatory evolution in metabolic organs accompanied the rapid evolution of gigantism during the short time house mice have inhabited Gough Island.

scholarly journals Drivers of predatory behavior and extreme size in house mice Mus musculus on Gough Island

2016 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 533-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Cuthbert ◽  
Ross M. Wanless ◽  
Andrea Angel ◽  
Marie-Helene Burle ◽  
Geoff M. Hilton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Predatory Behavior ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Mouse Population ◽  
Island Populations ◽  
Gough Island ◽  
Mammalian Predators ◽  
Island Syndrome

Abstract In comparison to the mainland, populations of rodents on islands are often characterized by a suite of life history characteristics termed the “island syndrome.” Populations of rodents introduced to islands are also well known for their impacts on native species that have evolved in the absence of mammalian predators. We studied the ecology and behavior of introduced house mice Mus musculus on Gough Island where they are the only terrestrial mammal and where their predatory behavior is having a devastating impact on the island’s burrowing petrel (order Procellariiformes ) population and the Critically Endangered Tristan albatross Diomedea dabbenena . Mice on Gough exhibit extreme features of the island syndrome, including: a body mass 50–60% greater than any other island mouse population, peak densities among the highest recorded for island populations, and low seasonal variation in numbers compared to other studied islands. Seasonal patterns of breeding and survival were linked to body condition and mass, and mice in areas with high chick predation rates were able to maintain higher mass and condition during the winter when mouse mortality rates peak. Within-site patterns of chick predation indicate that proximity to neighboring predated nests and nesting densities are important factors in determining the likelihood of predation. We conclude that selection for extreme body mass and predatory behavior of mice result from enhanced overwinter survival. Small mammal populations at temperate and high latitudes are normally limited by high mortality during the winter, but on Gough Island mice avoid that by exploiting the island’s abundant seabird chicks.

scholarly journals A semilethal t-haplotype in the Orkney Islands

1981 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. B. Dooher ◽  
R. J. Berry ◽  
K. Artzt ◽  
D. Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Microscopic Examination ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Island Population ◽  
Isolated Population ◽  
Sterile Male ◽  
Wild Mice ◽  
Orkney Islands ◽  
Histological Characteristics ◽  
Wild House Mice ◽  
T Haplotype

SUMMARYBreeding tests of wild house mice, trapped from an isolated population from Sanday in the Orkney Islands, have demonstrated the presence of a semilethal t-haplotype designated tw106. Microscopic examination of sperm and testes from a sterile male obtained from this population revealed the histological characteristics typical for homozygotes for semilethal t-haplotypes. This report is the first description of the recovery of a t-haplotype from an island population of wild mice.

Female Preference and Variability Among t-Haplotypes in Wild House Mice

1994 ◽  
Vol 143 (5) ◽  
pp. 766-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Lenington ◽  
Carol B. Coopersmith ◽  
Mark Erhart
Keyword(s):  
Female Preference ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Wild House Mice

scholarly journals A SECOND GROUP OF SIMILAR LETHALS IN POPULATIONS OF WILD HOUSE MICE

Genetics ◽  
1959 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 795-802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothea Bennett ◽  
L C Dunn ◽  
Susan Badenhausen
Keyword(s):  
House Mice ◽  
Wild House Mice

scholarly journals Insights into mammalian biology from the wild house mouse Mus musculus

eLife ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Phifer-Rixey ◽  
Michael W Nachman
Keyword(s):  
House Mouse ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Inbred Strains ◽  
Mendelian Inheritance ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Wild Mice ◽  
Wide Range

The house mouse, Mus musculus, was established in the early 1900s as one of the first genetic model organisms owing to its short generation time, comparatively large litters, ease of husbandry, and visible phenotypic variants. For these reasons and because they are mammals, house mice are well suited to serve as models for human phenotypes and disease. House mice in the wild consist of at least three distinct subspecies and harbor extensive genetic and phenotypic variation both within and between these subspecies. Wild mice have been used to study a wide range of biological processes, including immunity, cancer, male sterility, adaptive evolution, and non-Mendelian inheritance. Despite the extensive variation that exists among wild mice, classical laboratory strains are derived from a limited set of founders and thus contain only a small subset of this variation. Continued efforts to study wild house mice and to create new inbred strains from wild populations have the potential to strengthen house mice as a model system.

Potential impacts of poison baiting for introduced house mice on native animals on islands in Jurien Bay, Western Australia

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clifford Bennison ◽  
J. Anthony Friend ◽  
Timothy Button ◽  
Harriet Mills ◽  
Cathy Lambert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Rhodamine B ◽  
Native Species ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Mus Domesticus ◽  
Target Species ◽  
Island Populations ◽  
Delivery Technique ◽  
Poison Baiting ◽  
Competition For Resources

Context House mice (Mus domesticus) are present on Boullanger and Whitlock islands, Western Australia, and could potentially threaten populations of the dibbler (Parantechinus apicalis) and grey-bellied dunnart (Sminthopsis griseoventer) through competition for resources. A workshop in 2007 recommended a study to assess the feasibility of eradicating house mice from the islands by using poison baits and of the risk posed to non-target native species. Aim We aimed to assess the risk to non-target native species if poison baiting was used to eradicate house mice on Boullanger and Whitlock islands. Methods Non-toxic baits containing the bait marker rhodamine B were distributed on Boullanger Island and on the mouse free Escape Island to determine the potential for primary poisoning. Acceptance of baits by mammals was measured through sampling and analysis of whiskers, and by reptiles through observations of dye in faeces. To determine the potential for secondary exposure to poison, the response of dibblers to mouse carcasses was observed using motion-activated cameras. Bait acceptance was compared using two methods of delivery, namely, scattering in the open and delivery in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tubes. A cafeteria experiment of bait consumption by dibblers was also undertaken using captive animals held at the Perth Zoo. Ten dibblers were offered non-toxic baits containing rhodamine B in addition to their normal meals; consumption of bait and the presence of dye in whiskers were measured. Key results Bait acceptance on the islands was high for house mice (92% of individuals) and dibblers (48%) and it was independent of bait-delivery technique. There was no evidence of bait acceptance by grey-bellied dunnarts. Dibblers may consume mice carcasses if available; however, no direct consumption of mice carcasses was observed with movement sensor cameras but one dibbler was observed removing a mouse carcass and taking it away. During the cafeteria experiment, 9 of 10 captive dibblers consumed baits. Conclusions This investigation demonstrated that dibblers consume baits readily and island populations would experience high mortality if exposed to poison baits. Poison baiting could effectively eradicate mice from Boullanger and Whitlock islands but not without mortality for dibblers. Implications Toxic baits could be used to eradicate mice from Boullanger and Whitlock islands, provided that non-target species such as dibblers were temporarily removed from the islands before the application of baits.

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