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At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

Individual versus social pathway to honeybee worker reproduction (Apis mellifera): pollen or jelly as protein source for oogenesis?

Honeybee workers, Apis mellifera, can reproduce in queenless colonies. The production of queen-like pheromones may be associated with their reproductive activity and induce nestmates to respond by feeding them. Such frequent trophallaxis could supply their protein needs for oogenesis, constituting a social pathway to worker reproduction. However, some individuals can develop ovaries without producing queen pheromones. The consumption of protein-rich pollen could be an alternative solitary pathway for them to satisfy this dietary requirement. In order to investigate the way in which workers obtain proteins for oogenesis, we created orphaned worker groups and determined ovarian and pheromonal development in relation to pollen consumption of selected workers. Individuals that did not consume pollen had significantly more developed ovaries and produced significantly more queen mandibular pheromone than workers that fed directly on pollen. Our results suggest that workers producing queen-like secretions are fed trophallactically. However, reproductive workers that lacked queen pheromones had consumed little or no pollen, suggesting that they also obtained trophallaxis. Although pollen consumption might contribute to sustaining oogenesis, it does not appear to be sufficient. Trophallaxis as a means of obtaining proteins seems to be necessary to attain reproductive status in queenless honeybee colonies.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2004

Competing for crevices: interspecific conflict influences retreat-site selection in montane lizards.

Direct interference competition between sympatric taxa affects habitat use and shelter-site selection in species within most major vertebrate lineages. However, studies on interspecific social interference in reptiles largely have been confined to research on interactions between non-native (invasive) species and native fauna. Does interspecific interference also influence habitat use within natural assemblages of reptiles? We studied five broadly sympatric species of viviparous montane skinks within the genera Egernia and Eulamprus in southeastern Australia. Previous work has shown strong interspecific overlap in abiotic attributes of shelter-sites for these taxa, but no joint occupancy of retreats. Laboratory trials in which we manipulated the identity of co-occurring lizards revealed frequent displacement from "preferred" (hotter) shelters, with interspecific interactions more intense than intraspecific conflicts. The five species displayed a linear interspecific dominance hierarchy, with larger species displacing smaller taxa. Field manipulations confirmed that interspecific interactions between these species affect shelter-site use. We conclude that direct agonistic encounters between individuals of different species strongly influence habitat use by lizards within this assemblage.

Agonistic Behavior↗
PubMed1991

Passive immunization against chicken vasoactive intestinal polypeptide suppresses plasma prolactin and crop sac development in incubating ring doves.

Passive immunization of incubating ring doves with daily injections of sheep anti-chicken vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (cVIP) serum prevented the proliferation of crop sac tissue observed in control doves given nonimmune serum. Daily injections of anti-cVIP serum did not prevent crop sac development in nonbreeding doves simultaneously treated with ovine prolactin. The concentrations of plasma prolactin were significantly depressed in birds given anti-cVIP serum although this effect became progressively less pronounced during the course of the 7- or 14-day treatment periods. Body weights and weights of regressed reproductive organs were unaffected by treatment with anti-cVIP serum and did not differ significantly from control birds. Doves showing a decreased prolactin response to anti-cVIP serum treatment developed an immune response to sheep serum which may have immunoneutralized the administered antibody. Concentrations of plasma LH were not consistently affected by anti-cVIP serum administration and were low throughout the study. The depression in plasma LH normally seen in females after their young hatch was not observed in females treated with anti-cVIP serum. No effect of treatment was observed upon the birds' incubation behavior or in their readiness to feed and brood their young. These results suggest that in the ring dove, VIP is the physiological prolactin-releasing factor responsible for stimulating prolactin secretion and consequently the development of the crop sac, during incubation. They further indicate that increased concentrations of plasma prolactin may not be essential for gonadal regression or the maintenance of full incubation and brooding behavior in ring doves under laboratory conditions.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

At what age do rat young stop responding to the maternal pheromone?

We tested postweanling rat young to see if they would continue to respond to the maternal pheromone when pheromone-containing feces were made available in the home cage. We found that they do, and that the consumption of pheromone-containing feces is important for such sustained responsiveness. Nonetheless, interest in the pheromone does not continue past 50 days of age. The possible adaptive significance of the continuation and cessation of pheromonal responsiveness was discussed.

Adaptation, Biological↗
PubMed1992

Maternal behaviour in the Wistar rat under atypical Zeitgeber.

In previous experiments, neonatal rats subjected to atypical Zeitgeber (light and temperature) produce adult animals that present a different reactivity in some test situations. On the other hand, a great body of evidence indicates that physiological and psychological processes, including the maturation of the circadian system, are regulated by maternal behaviour. In order to investigate in which manner the atypical Zeitgeber, mentioned above, influences maternal behaviour, mothers with their young were observed systematically. More precisely, the question was: is the changed reactivity due to the fact that the young experience a situation of classical early privation (e.g., a decrease in social or other sensory stimulation or in nutrition) or is it due to a situation in which only the temporal pattern of the maternal behaviour is modified and thus disturbs the proper development of the circadian system of the young. Results tend to show that the only difference between the experimental and the control group is a modification in the circadian rhythm of several behavioural items. Only one activity (licking of the young) shows a significant difference in the overall mean value but in favour of the experimental group. We would suggest that the modified temporal pattern of the maternal care could be a poor timegiver for the young, in such a way that the development of their circadian rhythms is disturbed. The unusual reactivity in adulthood could depend on this abnormal development of the circadian system and not on a care privation.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Does extra corticosterone elicit increased begging and submissiveness in subordinate booby (Sula nebouxii) chicks?

We tested whether in two-chick broods of the blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii) elevated circulating corticosterone in the socially subordinate broodmate facilitates submissive behavior and/or enhances food solicitation. Implanting corticosterone in 17 subordinate chicks (experimental broods) produced changes in the behavior of chicks and parents over the first two days, relative to 17 matched families (control broods) where subordinate chicks were implanted with empty capsules. Experimental broods showed increased activity/wakefulness of the dominant broodmate and, consequently, increased simultaneous activity of both broodmates, but there was scant evidence that subordinates submitted more readily when attacked. Implanted subordinates increased their rate of spontaneous submission over the total observation time, but this increase was mostly explained by the additional time when both broodmates were simultaneously active. There was little sign that extra corticosterone induced more begging, except possibly by eliciting increased activity. Experimental broods increased their rate of feeding, and most if not all of the increase was due to the increased activity and increased feeding rate of dominant broodmates. On the third and fourth days after implantation all effects of implanted corticosterone disappeared, except for the elevated activity and feeding rates of dominant chicks. At the end of four days, subordinates implanted with corticosterone showed no increase in circulating corticosterone and experimental broods showed no gain in mass or body size, relative to controls. Extra corticosterone, above the high level that normally circulates in subordinate chicks, apparently does not enhance submission to aggression or food solicitation, but provokes a cascade of changes in the behavior of broodmates and parents.

Agonistic Behavior↗
PubMed1997

The behavior of the Japanese or domestic quail Coturnix japonica.

This paper reviews the literature pertaining to the behavior of the Japanese or domestic quail Coturnix japonica. Details are given of the classification, characteristics, domestication and the economic and research potential of the species. Further sections deal with sensation and perception (including taste and smell, vision and hearing), maintenance behavior (including feeding and drinking, dust bathing and thermoregulation), development and aging (including vocalization, filial imprinting, sexual imprinting, fear and avoidance responses, sexual maturation and aging), adult learning (including habituation, instrumental conditioning, Pavlovian conditioning and observational learning), photoperiodism, reproductive behavior (including courtship and mating, hormonal control and ontogeny of sexual differentiation, and male and female sexual behavior), parental behavior (including nest-site selection and nest building, incubation behavior and its hormonal control, and hen-chick relationships), and aggressive behavior and dominance (including agonistic behavior and the hormonal control of aggressive behavior).

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Mercury in feathers of Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides) chicks in relation to age, hatching order, growth, and sampling dates.

We studied the relationships between mercury content of Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides) chick body-feathers and nestling age, hatching order (seniors-juniors) and growth parameters, and the date of feather sampling in the Axios Delta, northern Greece, in 1993 (n = 75 chicks) and 1994 (n = 80). Mercury levels were not significantly correlated with chick age in either year of the study. Most of the variability in mercury (90%) was found among broods, attributable to differential prey selection and/or foraging habitat and patch utilization by parents. Within broods, juniors had significantly higher mercury loads than seniors in 1993, but there was no significant difference between the two in 1994. Correlations of nestling weight and linear measurements corrected for chick age and mercury concentrations were never significant and explained small amounts of variability in chick growth. However, linear measurements corrected for age were significantly higher among seniors in 1993, when those nestlings had lower mercury loads than their siblings. Mercury levels were unaffected by the date of feather collection in 1993, but exhibited a significant increase over time in 1994. This can be attributed to a shift towards more highly contaminated habitats and prey types by foraging parents, resulting from seasonal changes in water level and vegetation cover in important foraging habitats. Feather collection from Squacco Heron nestlings late in the breeding season seems to be an appropriate method for biomonitoring mercury pollution in the Axios Delta.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Axon-sparing lesions of the preoptic region and substantia innominata disrupt maternal behavior in rats.

In this study we investigated the effects of axon-sparing lesions of the preoptic region on the maternal behavior of postpartum rats. The lesions were produced with the excitotoxic amino acid N-methyl-D,L-aspartic acid (NMA). The first experiment determined that bilateral injections of NMA into the medial preoptic area (MPOA) of fully maternal lactating rats disrupted maternal behavior. In a second experiment, bilateral injections of NMA into the lateral preoptic area and adjoining substantia innominata (LP/SI region) also disrupted maternal behavior. A third experiment, employing horseradish peroxidase histochemistry, provided anatomical evidence that NMA destroys neuronal cell bodies while sparing fibers of passage. These findings were discussed with respect to the view that an MPOA-to-LP/SI-to-ventral tegmental area circuit underlies maternal behavior in the rat.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Preoptic-brainstem connections and maternal behavior in rats.

This study presents evidence supporting the view that preoptic area (POA) projections through the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to lower brainstem regions are important for maternal behavior in postpartum rats. Experiment 1 demonstrated that bilateral coronal knife cuts posterior to the VTA disrupted maternal behavior, and Experiment 2 demonstrated a similar disruption when a unilateral knife cut that severed the lateral connections of the medial POA was paired with a contralateral knife cut posterior to the VTA. In a final anatomical experiment using horseradish peroxidase histochemistry, it was shown that knife cuts posterior to the VTA do sever POA efferents. However, such cuts severed other ascending and descending pathways as well, and these may also be involved in maternal behavior control.

Animals↗