Nestling corticosterone response to microclimate in an altricial bird

2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (12) ◽  
pp. 1422-1430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham D. Fairhurst ◽  
Gillian D. Treen ◽  
Robert G. Clark ◽  
Gary R. Bortolotti
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Environmental Variation ◽  
Natal Nest ◽  
Nest Box ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
Developmental Effects ◽  
Corticosterone Response ◽  
Nest Microclimate ◽  
Altricial Birds ◽  
Cross Fostering

Although altricial young are dependent on their parents during early life, they must respond to environmental variation to maintain homeostasis. The hormone corticosterone (CORT) may be an important link between environment and phenotype during early life; however, no previous study has experimentally assessed the sensitivity of CORT to nest microclimate in altricial birds beginning to thermoregulate. We tested the hypothesis that microclimate influences CORT by cross-fostering nestling Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor (Vieillot, 1808)) between thicker-walled “aspen” nest boxes and thinner-walled “plywood” nest boxes. Quantification of CORT in nestling feathers allowed us to consider hormone secreted over days, rather than instantaneously from blood samples. In agreement with our hypothesis, we detected significant positive relationships between feather CORT and increased temperature variability and maximum, but not minimum, nest box temperatures. This could reflect the energetic challenge of warmer temperatures or positive developmental effects on the nestling hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. Feather CORT was significantly lower in chicks hatched in aspen nest boxes compared with plywood ones, but cross-fostering did not influence nestling CORT. This suggests that the influence of natal nest box environment on feather CORT was likely greater than the influence of the foster nest box environment. The relationships we detected highlight the sensitivity of feather CORT to environmental variation and contribute insight into nestling responses to environmental change.

scholarly journals Effects of parental and nest-site characteristics on nestling quality in the Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilsa A. Griebel ◽  
Graham D. Fairhurst ◽  
Tracy A. Marchant ◽  
Robert G. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Random Effects ◽  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Allostatic Load ◽  
Tachycineta Bicolor ◽  
Tree Swallow ◽  
Quaking Aspen ◽  
Natal Nest ◽  
Maternal Characteristics ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
Nest Microclimate

Natal environment and parental quality can influence offspring phenotype, including physiological and morphological traits. We investigated how offspring morphology and feather corticosterone (CORTf; a physiological index of allostatic load) may be related to nest environment and parental characteristics by cross-fostering 3-day-old nestling Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor (Vieillot, 1808)) between quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) and plywood nest boxes that differed in microclimate. We evaluated the relative importance of natal influences, common rearing environment, and nest-box environment on nestling quality. Nestlings raised in quaking aspen boxes tended to have lower CORTf, although this result only approached significance. Nestling body mass was best predicted by the biological mother’s mass and random effects of natal and rearing nest identity, wing length was best predicted by random effects of rearing nest, and head–bill length was best predicted by random effects of natal nest. Therefore, nest microclimate was more important than maternal characteristics in predicting nestling physiology (CORTf), while nestling morphology was influenced by maternal morphology, as well as natal and rearing nest environments. Our study provides important information about how environmental and parental influences affect nestling phenotype and will help future studies interpret similar morphological and physiological indices of nestling quality.

scholarly journals Maternal Style Selectively Shapes Amygdalar Development and Social Behavior in Rats Genetically Prone to High Anxiety

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 203-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua L. Cohen ◽  
Matthew E. Glover ◽  
Phyllis C. Pugh ◽  
Andrew D. Fant ◽  
Rebecca K. Simmons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Developmental Trajectory ◽  
Emotional Behavior ◽  
Developmental Gene ◽  
Developmental Gene Expression ◽  
Maternal Style ◽  
Anxiety Depression ◽  
Cross Fostering

The early-life environment critically influences neurodevelopment and later psychological health. To elucidate neural and environmental elements that shape emotional behavior, we developed a rat model of individual differences in temperament and environmental reactivity. We selectively bred rats for high versus low behavioral response to novelty and found that high-reactive (bred high-responder, bHR) rats displayed greater risk-taking, impulsivity and aggression relative to low-reactive (bred low-responder, bLR) rats, which showed high levels of anxiety/depression-like behavior and certain stress vulnerability. The bHR/bLR traits are heritable, but prior work revealed bHR/bLR maternal style differences, with bLR dams showing more maternal attention than bHRs. The present study implemented a cross-fostering paradigm to examine the contribution of maternal behavior to the brain development and emotional behavior of bLR offspring. bLR offspring were reared by biological bLR mothers or fostered to a bLR or bHR mother and then evaluated to determine the effects on the following: (1) developmental gene expression in the hippocampus and amygdala and (2) adult anxiety/depression-like behavior. Genome-wide expression profiling showed that cross-fostering bLR rats to bHR mothers shifted developmental gene expression in the amygdala (but not hippocampus), reduced adult anxiety and enhanced social interaction. Our findings illustrate how an early-life manipulation such as cross-fostering changes the brain's developmental trajectory and ultimately impacts adult behavior. Moreover, while earlier studies highlighted hippocampal differences contributing to the bHR/bLR phenotypes, our results point to a role of the amygdala as well. Future work will pursue genetic and cellular mechanisms within the amygdala that contribute to bHR/bLR behavior either at baseline or following environmental manipulations.

scholarly journals Keeping Africanized Honey Bees Out of Wildlife Nest Boxes

EDIS ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 2007 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. Kern, Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Africanized Honey Bees ◽  
Nest Box ◽  
Africanized Honey Bee ◽  
Fact Sheet ◽  
Nest Boxes

ENY-838, a 4-page illustrated fact sheet by William H. Kern, Jr., provides useful information for keeping pests out of bird and mammal nest boxes, especially the Africanized honey bee, which has become established in Florida, and sets up colonies in smaller and lower locations which may displace wildlife that uses these locations as dens. Includes recommendations, what to do if bees have invaded your nest box, and references. Published by the UF Department of Entomology and Nematology, January 2007. ENY-838/IN682: Keeping Africanized Honey Bees Out of Wildlife Nest Boxes (ufl.edu)

Nest box contentions: Are nest boxes used by the species they target?

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross L. Goldingay ◽  
David Rohweder ◽  
Brendan D. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Nest Box ◽  
Nest Boxes

scholarly journals Sex-Related Natal Dispersal of Pied Flycatchers: How Far Away From Home?

The Condor ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (3) ◽  
pp. 711-717
Author(s):  
Nikita Chernetsov ◽  
Leonid V. Sokolov ◽  
Vladislav Kosarev ◽  
Dmitry Leoke ◽  
Mikhail Markovets ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Frequency Distribution ◽  
Null Model ◽  
Ficedula Hypoleuca ◽  
Dispersal Distance ◽  
Natal Dispersal ◽  
Nest Box ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
Baltic Coast ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Dispersal Distances

Abstract Over four years, nestling Pied Flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) were banded and recaptured in nest boxes at a 44 km long and 1–1.5 km wide study area along the Courish Spit on the southeast Baltic coast. The return rate for males was nearly twice as high as for females. Males settled significantly closer to their natal sites than predicted by the null model, which assumed that any nest box in the study area was selected at random. For females, the frequency distribution of natal dispersal distances was not significantly different from that predicted by the null model. The difference in average dispersal distance between the sexes was highly significant. Although some individuals settled within tens of kilometers, most male Pied Flycatchers settled within several kilometers of their natal sites. We suggest that even if females settle on average farther from their natal sites than males do, both sexes imprint on a relatively small (several kilometers in diameter) area during postfledging exploration, to which they return each spring.

Possible Predation on Feathertail Gliders (Acrobates pygmaeus) by Agile Antechinus (Antechinus agilis).

1999 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 173
Author(s):  
S.J. Ward
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Study ◽  
Nest Box ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
Faecal Analysis ◽  
Entrance Hole ◽  
Antechinus Agilis ◽  
Small Forest

A series of observations of the remains of partially eaten feathertail gliders Acrobates pygmaeus and three other small forest vertebrates is reported. All were made while checking nest-boxes erected for an ecological study of A. pygmaeus, and each nest-box had a restricted entrance hole. The delicacy with which some of these animals had been killed and eaten and the small size of the entrances to the nest-boxes indicated a small- sized predator was responsible, and the most likely species in the area is the agile antechinus Antechinus agilis. These small dasyurid marsupials were also captured from the nest-boxes on several occasions. Based on faecal analysis, they had previously been considered almost totally insectivorous.

Cross-fostering in rodents causes region-specific alterations in entorhinal cortical gamma rhythms associated with NMDA receptor dysfunction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Hall ◽  
Karen Hawkins ◽  
Grace Laws ◽  
Thomas Akitt ◽  
Anna Simon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Nmda Receptor ◽  
Life Stress ◽  
Early Life ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gamma Rhythm ◽  
Gamma Rhythms ◽  
Cross Fostering

ABSTRACTThere has recently been a large increase in the number of children placed in foster care in the United States and Europe. While this is ‘the least worst scenario’ for those with a lack of appropriate biological care, it is recognised that these children are exposed to major stressors correlated with behavioural changes, particularly in the realm of social cognition into adulthood. Here we model foster care in rodents: rat pups are removed from their biological mother and placed with a non-genetically related dam. This prevented the entorhinal cortex from generating patterns of gamma rhythms required for normal parahippocampal function relevant to social interaction. These changes correlated with a reduction in NMDA receptor-mediated excitation, and changes in parvalbumin expression in interneurons. These data suggest that early life care delivered by a non-biological parent may disrupt social behaviour but, in contrast, generate neurobiological changes antagonistic to those currently associated with psychosis.Significance StatementCross fostering is an effective approach for delineating the effect of environment from genetic influences upon behavior. This involves removal of pups from one mother and transfer to another lactating dam. This manipulation is considered as a mild form of early life stress, producing neurobehavioral changes such as alterations in social interaction. We demonstrate that cross fostering produces changes in the ability of cortical microcircuits to generate oscillatory rhythms, in particular the gamma rhythm, in brain regions important for social cognition. This reduction in gamma rhythmogenesis is related to a reduction in synaptic drive provided by the NMDA receptor. One implication of this work is that the modulation of NMDA receptors offers a potential therapeutic strategy for disorders involving impaired sociability.

Twilight transitions promote circadian entrainment to lengthening light-dark cycles

1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (3) ◽  
pp. R813-R818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Boulos ◽  
M. Macchi ◽  
M. Terman
Keyword(s):  
Activity Rhythm ◽  
Constant Darkness ◽  
Circadian Activity ◽  
Nest Box ◽  
Circadian Activity Rhythm ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
Upper Limit ◽  
Upper Limits

The upper limits of entrainment of the circadian activity rhythm were compared in hamsters initially exposed to daily light-dark (LD) cycles with either abrupt (LD-rectangular) or simulated twilight (LD-twilight) transitions. Daytime illuminance (10 lx) and the total amount of light emitted per day were the same under the two LD cycles. One-half of the animals in each condition had access to dark nest boxes. The period of the LD cycles was then increased from 24 to 26 h, by 5 min per day. All animals in LD-twilight remained entrained to the lengthening cycle, whereas 60% of those in LD-rectangular began to free run well before the period of the cycle reached 26 h. These effects were independent of nest box availability. The lengthening LD cycles exerted clear aftereffects on the period of the rhythms in constant darkness, the magnitude of which was related to the efficacy of prior entrainment. The results indicate that twilight transitions raise the upper limit of entrainment to LD cycles, suggesting that their inclusion increases the strength of the LD zeitgeber.

scholarly journals Live long and prosper: durable benefits of early-life care in banded mongooses

2019 ◽  
Vol 374 (1770) ◽  
pp. 20180114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma I. K. Vitikainen ◽  
Faye J. Thompson ◽  
Harry H. Marshall ◽  
Michael A. Cant
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Female Offspring ◽  
Evolutionary Medicine ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
Lifetime Reproductive Success ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Developmental Effects ◽  
Cooperatively Breeding ◽  
Fitness Benefits

Kin selection theory defines the conditions for which altruism or ‘helping’ can be favoured by natural selection. Tests of this theory in cooperatively breeding animals have focused on the short-term benefits to the recipients of help, such as improved growth or survival to adulthood. However, research on early-life effects suggests that there may be more durable, lifelong fitness impacts to the recipients of help, which in theory should strengthen selection for helping. Here, we show in cooperatively breeding banded mongooses ( Mungos mungo ) that care received in the first 3 months of life has lifelong fitness benefits for both male and female recipients. In this species, adult helpers called ‘escorts’ form exclusive one-to-one caring relationships with specific pups (not their own offspring), allowing us to isolate the effects of being escorted on later reproduction and survival. Pups that were more closely escorted were heavier at sexual maturity, which was associated with higher lifetime reproductive success for both sexes. Moreover, for female offspring, lifetime reproductive success increased with the level of escorting received per se , over and above any effect on body mass. Our results suggest that early-life social care has durable benefits to offspring of both sexes in this species. Given the well-established developmental effects of early-life care in laboratory animals and humans, we suggest that similar effects are likely to be widespread in social animals more generally. We discuss some of the implications of durable fitness benefits for the evolution of intergenerational helping in cooperative animal societies, including humans. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Developing differences: early-life effects and evolutionary medicine’.

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