scholarly journals Prolactin mediates behavioural rejection responses to avian brood parasitism

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Ruiz-Raya ◽  
Juan Diego Ibáñez-Álamo ◽  
Charline Parenteau ◽  
Olivier Chastel ◽  
Manuel Soler
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Prolactin Secretion ◽  
Host Responses ◽  
Plasma Prolactin ◽  
Physiological Mechanisms ◽  
Parental Behaviour ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
Egg Ejection ◽  
Avian Brood Parasitism

Adaptations resulting from co-evolutionary interactions between avian brood parasites and their hosts have been extensively studied, yet the physiological mechanisms underlying antiparasitic host defences remain little known. Prolactin, one of the main hormones involved in the regulation of avian parental behaviour, might play a key role in the orchestration of the host responses to avian brood parasitism. Given the positive association between prolactin and parental behaviour during incubation, decreasing prolactin levels are expected to facilitate egg-rejection decisions. We tested this prediction by implanting Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula) females with an inhibitor of prolactin secretion, bromocriptine mesylate, to experimentally decrease their plasma prolactin levels. Bromocriptine-implanted individuals ejected mimetic model eggs at higher rates, and showed shorter latency to egg ejection, than placebo-treated birds. To our knowledge, this is the first experimental evidence that behavioural host defences against avian brood parasitism are mediated by prolactin.

scholarly journals Prolactin mediates behavioural rejection responses to avian brood parasitism

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Ruiz-Raya ◽  
Juan Diego Ibáñez-Álamo ◽  
Charline Parenteau ◽  
Olivier Chastel ◽  
Manuel Soler
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Parental Attachment ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Prolactin Secretion ◽  
Host Responses ◽  
Plasma Prolactin ◽  
Egg Rejection ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
Avian Brood Parasitism

AbstractEven though adaptations resulting from co-evolutionary interactions between avian brood parasites and their hosts have been well studied, the hormonal mechanisms underlying behavioural host defences remain largely unexplored. Prolactin, the main hormone mediating avian parental behaviour, has been hypothesized to play a key role in the orchestration of host responses to brood parasitic eggs. Based on the positive association between plasma prolactin and parental attachment to eggs, decreasing levels of this hormone are expected to facilitate egg-rejection decisions in parasitized clutches. We tested this prediction by implanting Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula) females with an inhibitor of prolactin secretion, bromocriptine mesylate, to experimentally low their prolactin levels. We found that bromocriptine-treated females rejected mimetic model eggs at higher rates than placebo-treated individuals. To our knowledge, this is the first experimental evidence that host responses to brood parasitism are mediated by the primary endocrine pathway that orchestrates the expression of avian parental care.

scholarly journals Host defences against avian brood parasitism: an endocrine perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1886) ◽  
pp. 20180980 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikus Abolins-Abols ◽  
Mark E. Hauber
Keyword(s):  
Host Responses ◽  
Avian Host ◽  
Shape Variation ◽  
Physiological Mechanisms ◽  
Arms Races ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
Avian Brood Parasitism ◽  
Endocrine Factors ◽  
Host Parasite ◽  
Response Traits

Host defences against avian brood parasites are the outcome of well-documented coevolutionary arms races, yet important questions about variation in hosts' antiparasitic response traits remain poorly understood. Why are certain defences employed by some species or individuals and not by others? Here, we propose that understanding variability in and the evolution of host defences can be facilitated by the study of the underlying physiological mechanisms. Specifically, because antiparasitic strategies involve behaviours that have been shown to be hormonally regulated in other contexts, we hypothesize that host responses to brood parasites are likely to be mediated by related endocrine mechanisms. We outline the hallmarks of the endocrine bases of parasite defence-related avian behaviours, review the current understanding of antiparasitic host tactics and propose testable hypotheses about the hormonal mechanisms that may mediate host defences. We consider these mechanisms in a life-history framework and discuss how endocrine factors may shape variation in host defences. By providing a hypothesis-driven mechanistic framework for defences against parasitism, this perspective should stimulate the study of their endocrine bases to enhance our understanding of the intricate arms races in avian host–parasite systems.

scholarly journals The costs of avian brood parasitism explain variation in egg rejection behaviour in hosts

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 20150296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iliana Medina ◽  
Naomi E. Langmore
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Host Species ◽  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Egg Rejection ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
Avian Brood Parasitism ◽  
First Time ◽  
Rejection Rates

Many bird species can reject foreign eggs from their nests. This behaviour is thought to have evolved in response to brood parasites, birds that lay their eggs in the nest of other species. However, not all hosts of brood parasites evict parasitic eggs. In this study, we collate data from egg rejection experiments on 198 species, and perform comparative analyses to understand the conditions under which egg rejection evolves. We found evidence, we believe for the first time in a large-scale comparative analysis, that (i) non-current host species have rejection rates as high as current hosts, (ii) egg rejection is more likely to evolve when the parasite is relatively large compared with its host and (iii) egg rejection is more likely to evolve when the parasite chick evicts all the host eggs from the nest, such as in cuckoos. Our results suggest that the interactions between brood parasites and their hosts have driven the evolution of egg rejection and that variation in the costs inflicted by parasites is fundamental to explaining why only some host species evolve egg rejection.

scholarly journals Coevolution of acoustical communication between obligate avian brood parasites and their hosts

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiaojiao Wang ◽  
Qihong Li ◽  
Canchao Yang
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Competitive Strategies ◽  
Acoustic Characteristics ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
Avian Brood Parasitism ◽  
Extensive Body

Abstract The mutually antagonistic processes producing adaptations and counter-adaptations in avian brood parasites and their hosts provide a model system for the study of coevolution; this topic has long been an area of focus in ornithology and evolutionary biology. Although there is an extensive body of literature dealing with avian brood parasitism, few empirical studies have considered the effects of the coevolutionary processes associated with brood parasitism on the acoustic characteristics of parent–offspring communication. Under the strong selection pressures associated with brood parasitism, parasitic birds may, for instance, produce deceptive songs. The host may in turn evolve the ability to recognize these sounds as deceptive. At present, the mechanisms underlying the different competitive strategies employed by hosts and parasitic birds remain unclear. Here, we reviewed previous studies that investigated acoustic traits in scenarios of brood parasitism, highlighting possible adaptive functions. Using a meta-analysis, we identified no heterogeneity among studies of begging call adaptations in parasitic nestlings. However, our results may have been affected by the small number of applicable papers available for analysis. Our meta-analysis also suggested that studies of acoustic communication and transmission in adult hosts were highly heterogenous, suggesting that research methods were inconsistent among studies. Finally, we identified knowledge gaps and proposed several lines of future research.

scholarly journals Egg retrieval versus egg rejection in cuckoo hosts

2019 ◽  
Vol 374 (1769) ◽  
pp. 20180200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Canchao Yang ◽  
Wei Liang ◽  
Anders P. Møller
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Egg Rejection ◽  
Egg Recognition ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
Cavity Nesting ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
Avian Brood Parasitism ◽  
Different Levels

Before complex nests evolved, birds laid eggs on the ground, and egg retrieval evolved as an adaptation against accidental displacement of eggs outside the nest. Therefore, egg retrieval is an ancient, and likely ancestral, widespread behaviour in birds. However, it has received little attention in studies of avian brood parasitism, perhaps because most parasitism occurs in species with complex nests, a context in which egg retrieval seems irrelevant. However, for cavity-nesting hosts of avian brood parasites, egg retrieval may still play an important role in the coevolutionary interactions between obligate brood parasites and hosts, because egg retrieval can be considered to be antagonistic to egg rejection behaviour in hosts, yet both may involve cognition to recognize eggs. We hypothesized that (1) cavity-nesting hosts should retrieve misplaced eggs from outside the nest cup, (2) brood parasitism has modulated egg retrieval behaviour in cavity-nesting hosts and (3) hosts use the same visual cues for decision-making during egg recognition in both egg retrieval and egg rejection actions. To test these hypotheses, we performed a series of experiments in a cavity-nesting host, the green-backed tit (Parus monticolus). Foreign eggs with different levels of mimicry were placed within or outside nest cups of hosts to test their responses. We found that host decisions about whether to retrieve or reject an egg both depended on the degree of mimicry. However, hosts sometimes first retrieved poorly mimetic foreign eggs and then rejected them. Alternatively, hosts sometimes failed to retrieve highly mimetic conspecific eggs. We suggest that egg retrieval in hosts is likely to be a result of the interaction between ancient retrieval behaviour and subsequent adaptation against brood parasitism.This article is part of the theme issue ‘The coevolutionary biology of brood parasitism: from mechanism to pattern’.

scholarly journals An Experimental Test of Defenses Against Avian Brood Parasitism in a Recent Host

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia E. Abernathy ◽  
Laura E. Johnson ◽  
Naomi E. Langmore
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasite ◽  
Parasitism Rate ◽  
Host Switch ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
Egg Ejection ◽  
Parasitism Rates ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Avian Brood Parasitism ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Nest Predator

Theoretical studies predict that hosts of avian brood parasites should evolve defenses against parasitism in a matter of decades. However, opportunities to test these predictions are limited because brood parasites rarely switch to naïve hosts. Here, we capitalize on a recent host switch by the brood-parasitic Pacific Koel (Eudynamys orientalis) in eastern Australia, to investigate how quickly the Red Wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata), a recent host that has been annexed by the koel within the last 90 years, can learn to recognize and mob adult cuckoos and evolve the ability to eject parasite eggs. Pacific Koel nestlings kill all host young, so there should be strong selection for hosts to evolve defenses. However, low parasitism rates and high egg recognition costs might slow the spread of egg ejection in our study populations, while adult parasite recognition should be able to spread more rapidly, as this defense has been shown to be a learned trait rather than a genetically inherited defense. We tested Red Wattlebirds at two sites where parasitism rate differed. As predicted, we found that the Red Wattlebird showed little or no ability to eject foreign model eggs at either site, whereas two historical hosts showed high levels of egg ejection at both sites. However, Red Wattlebirds responded significantly more aggressively to a koel mount than to mounts of a harmless control and nest predator at the site with the higher parasitism rate and gave significantly more alarm calls overall toward the koel mount. Our results support previous evidence that recognition and mobbing of a brood parasite are learned traits and may be especially beneficial to naïve hosts that have not had enough time or a high enough selection pressure to evolve egg rejection.

The effect of ketamine hydrochloride anesthesia on basal and N-methyl-D,L-aspartate induced plasma prolactin secretion in the adult male rhesus monkey

Life Sciences ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 68 (9) ◽  
pp. 1083-1093 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.S.R. Rizvi ◽  
S. Altaf ◽  
A.A. Naseem ◽  
M. Asif ◽  
Z. Rasul ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rhesus Monkey ◽  
Adult Male ◽  
Prolactin Secretion ◽  
Plasma Prolactin ◽  
Ketamine Hydrochloride ◽  
Male Rhesus

Behavioral Defenses against Avian Brood Parasitism in Sympatric and Allopatric Host Populations

Evolution ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 334 ◽  
Author(s):  
James V. Briskie ◽  
Spencer G. Sealy ◽  
Keith A. Hobson
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Avian Brood Parasitism ◽  
Behavioral Defenses

scholarly journals Changes in prolactin secretion in the short- and long-term after adrenalectomy

2012 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 244-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Thereza C. Laguna-Abreu ◽  
Carla Germano ◽  
Ayrton C. Moreira ◽  
José Antunes-Rodrigues ◽  
Lucila Elias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hpa Axis ◽  
Plasma Corticosterone ◽  
Prolactin Secretion ◽  
Plasma Prolactin ◽  
Peptidergic Neurons ◽  
Prolactin Release ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Hypothalamus Pituitary Adrenal Axis ◽  
Pituitary Adrenal Axis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the modulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) on prolactin secretion in rats after adrenalectomy (ADX). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Plasma corticosterone, ACTH, and prolactin concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay in rats after bilateral ADX in the short- (3 hours and 1day) and long-term (3, 7, and 14 days). RESULTS: Animals that underwent ADX showed undetectable corticosterone levels and a triphasic ACTH response with a transient increase (3h), a decrease (1d), and further increase in the long-term after ADX. Sham animals showed a marked increase in corticosterone and ACTH levels three hours after surgery, with a decrease to basal levels thereafter. Plasma prolactin levels were not changed after ADX. CONCLUSION: There are different points of equilibrium in the HPA axis after the glucocorticoid negative feedback is removed. Prolactin plasma secretion is not altered in the short or long- term after ADX, suggesting that the peptidergic neurons essential for prolactin release are not activated after ADX.

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