Does Asymmetrical Gonopodium Morphology Predict Lateralized Behavior in the Fish Xenophallus umbratilis?

Why bilaterally symmetrical organisms express handedness remains an important question in evolutionary biology. In some species, anatomical asymmetries have evolved that accompany behavioral handedness, yet we know remarkably little about causal links between asymmetric morphological traits and behavior. Here, we explore if a dextral or sinistral orientation of the male intromittent organ predicts side preferences in male behaviors. Our study addresses this question in the Costa Rican livebearing fish, Xenophallus umbratilis. This fish has a bilaterally symmetrical body plan, with one exception—the male anal fin (gonopodium), used to inseminate females, terminates with a distinct left- or right-handed corkscrew morphology. We used a detour assay to test males for side biases in approach behavior when exposed to four different stimuli (predator, potential mate, novel object, empty tank control). We found that left morph males preferred using their right eye to view potential mates, predators, and the control, and that right morph males preferred to use their left eye to view potential mates and predators, and their right eye to view the control. Males of both morphs displayed no eye bias when approaching the novel object. Our results suggest that there is a strong link between behavior and gonopodium orientation, with right and left morph males responding with opposite directional behaviors when presented with the same stimuli. This presents the intriguing possibility that mating preferences—in this case constrained by gonopodial morphology—could be driving lateralized decision making in a variety of non-mating behaviors.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Audience effect alters mating preferences in a livebearing fish, the Atlantic molly, Poecilia mexicana.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.1099084.555285 ◽

2008 ◽

Author(s):

Anne Magurran

Keyword(s):

Audience Effect ◽

Mating Preferences ◽

Poecilia Mexicana ◽

Livebearing Fish

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Influence of Confucian culture on entrepreneurial decision making using data from China's floating population

Social Behavior and Personality An International Journal ◽

10.2224/sbp.9309 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 48 (7) ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Ran Xiong ◽

Ping Wei

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Floating Population ◽

Positive Role ◽

Confucian Culture ◽

Chinese Nation ◽

Using Data ◽

Entrepreneurial Decision ◽

And Behavior ◽

The Relationship

Confucian culture has had a deep-rooted influence on Chinese thinking and behavior for more than 2,000 years. With a manually created Confucian culture database and the 2017 China floating population survey, we used empirical analysis to test the relationship between Confucian culture and individual entrepreneurial choice using data obtained from China's floating population. After using the presence and number of Confucian schools and temples, and of chaste women as instrumental variables to counteract problems of endogeneity, we found that Confucian culture had a significant role in promoting individuals' entrepreneurial decision making among China's floating population. The results showed that, compared with those from areas of China not strongly influenced by Confucian culture, individuals from areas that are strongly influenced by Confucian culture were more likely to choose entrepreneurship as their occupation choice. Our findings reveal cultural factors that affect individual entrepreneurial behavior, and also illustrate the positive role of Confucianism as a representative of the typical cultures of the Chinese nation in the 21st century.

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Some Novel Cobalt Diphenylphosphine Complexes: Synthesis, Characterization, and Behavior in the Polymerization of 1,3-Butadiene

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules26134067 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (13) ◽

pp. 4067

Author(s):

Giovanni Ricci ◽

Giuseppe Leone ◽

Giorgia Zanchin ◽

Benedetta Palucci ◽

Alessandra Forni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Crystal Structure ◽

Single Crystals ◽

The Novel ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

X Ray ◽

And Behavior

Some novel cobalt diphenylphosphine complexes were synthesized by reacting cobalt(II) chloride with (2-methoxyethyl)diphenylphosphine, (2-methoxyphenyl)diphenylphosphine, and 2-(1,1-dimethylpropyl)-6-(diphenylphosphino)pyridine. Single crystals suitable for X-ray diffraction studies were obtained for the first two complexes, and their crystal structure was determined. The novel compounds were then used in association with methylaluminoxane (MAO) for the polymerization of 1,3-butadiene, and their behavior was compared with that exhibited in the polymerization of the same monomer by the systems CoCl2(PnPrPh2)2/MAO and CoCl2(PPh3)2/MAO. Some significant differences were observed depending on the MAO/Co ratio used, and a plausible interpretation for such a different behavior is proposed.

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Isolation and Characterization of Salmonella Jumbo-Phage pSal-SNUABM-04

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v13010027 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 27

Author(s):

Jun Kwon ◽

Sang Guen Kim ◽

Hyoun Joong Kim ◽

Sib Sankar Giri ◽

Sang Wha Kim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Morphological Traits ◽

Open Reading Frames ◽

Genome Comparison ◽

The Novel ◽

Promising Alternative ◽

Isolation And Characterization ◽

Global Issue ◽

Reading Frames ◽

Predicted Function

The increasing emergence of antimicrobial resistance has become a global issue. Therefore, many researchers have attempted to develop alternative antibiotics. One promising alternative is bacteriophage. In this study, we focused on a jumbo-phage infecting Salmonella isolated from exotic pet markets. Using a Salmonella strain isolated from reptiles as a host, we isolated and characterized the novel jumbo-bacteriophage pSal-SNUABM-04. This phage was investigated in terms of its morphology, host infectivity, growth and lysis kinetics, and genome. The phage was classified as Myoviridae based on its morphological traits and showed a comparatively wide host range. The lysis efficacy test showed that the phage can inhibit bacterial growth in the planktonic state. Genetic analysis revealed that the phage possesses a 239,626-base pair genome with 280 putative open reading frames, 76 of which have a predicted function and 195 of which have none. By genome comparison with other jumbo phages, the phage was designated as a novel member of Machinavirus composed of Erwnina phages.

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Knowing bears: An ethnographic study of knowledge and agency in human–bear cohabitation

Environment and Planning E Nature and Space ◽

10.1177/25148486211015037 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 251484862110150

Author(s):

Svetoslava Toncheva ◽

Robert Fletcher

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Ursus Arctos ◽

Conservation Management ◽

Ethnographic Study ◽

Human Research ◽

Research Challenges ◽

Living Together ◽

Growing Body ◽

And Behavior ◽

Attitudes And Behavior

This article explores a case of human–wildlife cohabitation in the Rodopi mountains of Bulgaria, wherein people and brown bears ( Ursus arctos) have adapted to living together in relative harmony. While this is due to a variety of factors, chief among these is the way both people and bears appear to pursue knowledge of one another and act on this knowledge so as to actively minimize potential for conflict. We draw on this case to contribute to growing discussion concerning how nonhumans should be understood and included within conservation policymaking. While conservation has conventionally been understood as something humans do on behalf of other species, a growing body of “more-than-human” research challenges this perspective as “anthropocentric” in arguing that nonhumans should be considered “co-constitutive actors” of the spaces they occupy. Based on this understanding, some go so far as to assert that a “multispecies ethics” demands that nonhumans be actively included in decision-making concerning such spaces’ governance. While our study indeed demonstrates that both humans and bears seem to mold their behavior in relation to their sensing of the other’s behavior, it also demonstrates that knowledge of bears’ behavior is ultimately always interpreted by humans in conservation management. Moreover, different groups of stakeholders hold different knowledge of bears that influence their attitudes and behavior towards the animals. The study thus raises important questions concerning how to incorporate bears (and other nonhumans) within conservation decision-making, and whose knowledge should be privileged in the process.

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Evaluating the Reaction to a Complex Rotated Object in the American Quarter Horse (Equus caballus)

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11051383 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 1383

Author(s):

Megan Elizabeth Corgan ◽

Temple Grandin ◽

Sarah Matlock

Keyword(s):

Behavioral Responses ◽

Equus Caballus ◽

T Test ◽

Complex Object ◽

The Novel ◽

Novel Object ◽

Quarter Horse ◽

First Pass ◽

Young Horses ◽

Familiar Objects

It is dangerous for both riders and horses when a horse suddenly startles. Sometimes horses do this in familiar environments because familiar objects may look different when rotated. The purpose of this study was to determine whether horses that had been habituated to a complex object (children’s playset) would react to the object as novel when rotated 90 degrees. Twenty young horses were led past the playset 15 times by a handler. Next, the rotated group was led past the rotated playset 15 times. Each time the horse was led by the object was a pass. The behavioral responses observed and analyzed were ears focused on the object, nostril flares, neck raising, snort, avoid by stopping, avoid by moving feet sideways, and avoid by flight. An increasing reactivity scale was used to quantify behavioral responses. A two-sample t-test was performed on the reactivity scores comparing the first pass by the novel object to the first pass by the rotated object. The horses in the rotated group reacted to the rotated orientation similarly to the first exposure (p = 0.001, α < 0.05). Being aware of potential reactions to changes in previously familiar environments can help keep the handler safer.

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Distinct roles for dopamine clearance mechanisms in regulating behavioral flexibility

Molecular Psychiatry ◽

10.1038/s41380-021-01194-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Clio Korn ◽

Thomas Akam ◽

Kristian H. R. Jensen ◽

Cristiana Vagnoni ◽

Anna Huber ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Behavioral Flexibility ◽

Dopamine Neurons ◽

Nucleus Accumbens Core ◽

Comt Inhibition ◽

Improved Performance ◽

Dopamine Signaling ◽

Precise Relationship ◽

And Behavior ◽

Kinetics Of

AbstractDopamine plays a crucial role in adaptive behavior, and dysfunctional dopamine is implicated in multiple psychiatric conditions characterized by inflexible or inconsistent choices. However, the precise relationship between dopamine and flexible decision making remains unclear. One reason is that, while many studies have focused on the activity of dopamine neurons, efficient dopamine signaling also relies on clearance mechanisms, notably the dopamine transporter (DAT), which predominates in striatum, and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), which predominates in cortex. The exact locus, extent, and timescale of the effects of DAT and COMT are uncertain. Moreover, there is limited data on how acute disruption of either mechanism affects flexible decision making strategies mediated by cortico-striatal networks. To address these issues, we combined pharmacological modulation of DAT and COMT with electrochemistry and behavior in mice. DAT blockade, but not COMT inhibition, regulated sub-second dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens core, but surprisingly neither clearance mechanism affected evoked release in prelimbic cortex. This was not due to a lack of sensitivity, as both amphetamine and atomoxetine changed the kinetics of sub-second release. In a multi-step decision making task where mice had to respond to reversals in either reward probabilities or the choice sequence to reach the goal, DAT blockade selectively impaired, and COMT inhibition improved, performance after reward reversals, but neither manipulation affected the adaptation of choices after action-state transition reversals. Together, our data suggest that DAT and COMT shape specific aspects of behavioral flexibility by regulating different aspects of the kinetics of striatal and cortical dopamine, respectively.

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Disfluencies signal reference to novel objects for adults but not children

Journal of Child Language ◽

10.1017/s0305000917000368 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 45 (3) ◽

pp. 581-609 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Sarah J. OWENS ◽

Justine M. THACKER ◽

Susan A. GRAHAM

Keyword(s):

Young Children ◽

Spoken Language ◽

The Novel ◽

Novel Object ◽

Filled Pauses ◽

Novel Objects ◽

Novel Targets ◽

The Way ◽

Familiar Objects

AbstractSpeech disfluencies can guide the ways in which listeners interpret spoken language. Here, we examined whether three-year-olds, five-year-olds, and adults use filled pauses to anticipate that a speaker is likely to refer to a novel object. Across three experiments, participants were presented with pairs of novel and familiar objects and heard a speaker refer to one of the objects using a fluent (“Look at the ball/lep!”) or disfluent (“Look at thee uh ball/lep!”) expression. The salience of the speaker's unfamiliarity with the novel referents, and the way in which the speaker referred to the novel referents (i.e., a noun vs. a description) varied across experiments. Three- and five-year-olds successfully identified familiar and novel targets, but only adults’ looking patterns reflected increased looks to novel objects in the presence of a disfluency. Together, these findings demonstrate that adults, but not young children, use filled pauses to anticipate reference to novel objects.

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Piano+: An Approach towards a Performance System Used within Free Improvisation

Leonardo Music Journal ◽

10.1162/lmj_a_00011 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 20 ◽

pp. 41-46

Author(s):

Sebastian Lexer

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Parameter Space ◽

Social Space ◽

Computer Performance ◽

Free Improvisation ◽

Technical Realization ◽

Acoustic Instruments ◽

Performance System ◽

And Behavior ◽

Computer Operation

This article explores the author's strategy for developing a computer performance system designed for free improvisation with acoustic instruments following a non-idiomatic approach. Philosophical considerations on potentiality and personal and social space and research into the psychology of motivation and behavior have inspired and enabled a different approach to integrating technology with improvisation. The technical realization of a parameter space, in particular utilizing contingent behavior emerging from the convergent mapping of a mixture of controller types, has proven effective for the spontaneous creative decision making required to extend the sonic potential of an acoustic piano while minimizing direct computer operation, as applied regularly in practice by the author.

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