Guillem Masó, Emili García-Berthou, Roberto Merciai, Dani Latorre, Anna Vila-Gispert
Captive breeding and stocking are commonly employed strategies for enhancing fisheries and conserving endangered fish species. However, hatchery-raised fish often exhibit reduced performance in the wild, displaying alterations in physiological, morphological, and behavioral traits. We tested for differences in swimming capacity and metabolic traits between wild and hatchery-reared individuals of the Spanish toothcarp (Aphanius iberus) from two different populations. Furthermore, we experimentally tested if these changes translated into fitness differences after their stocking into the wild. There were significant differences in swimming capacity and metabolic traits between wild and hatchery-reared individuals and also between the two populations. Captive-bred individuals displayed consistently lower metabolic rates than wild individuals from the same population (30-76% lower). Critical swimming speed rather differed between the two populations. Sex-specific differences were observed in maximum and standard metabolic rates, with wild individuals and females generally exhibiting higher values but with some exceptions. During a three-month experiment, survival rates did not significantly differ between wild and captive-bred fish. Captive-bred individuals started smaller but exhibited rapid growth during the experiment. Initially, larger captive-bred fish had lower body condition than their wild counterparts, but these differences progressively diminished. In summary, captive-bred individuals of this fish species showed lower metabolic rates, although the differences with wild individuals slightly depended on sex and size.
{"title":"Effects of captive-breeding conditions on metabolic and performance traits in an endangered, endemic cyprinidontiform fish","authors":"Guillem Masó, Emili García-Berthou, Roberto Merciai, Dani Latorre, Anna Vila-Gispert","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoae018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoae018","url":null,"abstract":"Captive breeding and stocking are commonly employed strategies for enhancing fisheries and conserving endangered fish species. However, hatchery-raised fish often exhibit reduced performance in the wild, displaying alterations in physiological, morphological, and behavioral traits. We tested for differences in swimming capacity and metabolic traits between wild and hatchery-reared individuals of the Spanish toothcarp (Aphanius iberus) from two different populations. Furthermore, we experimentally tested if these changes translated into fitness differences after their stocking into the wild. There were significant differences in swimming capacity and metabolic traits between wild and hatchery-reared individuals and also between the two populations. Captive-bred individuals displayed consistently lower metabolic rates than wild individuals from the same population (30-76% lower). Critical swimming speed rather differed between the two populations. Sex-specific differences were observed in maximum and standard metabolic rates, with wild individuals and females generally exhibiting higher values but with some exceptions. During a three-month experiment, survival rates did not significantly differ between wild and captive-bred fish. Captive-bred individuals started smaller but exhibited rapid growth during the experiment. Initially, larger captive-bred fish had lower body condition than their wild counterparts, but these differences progressively diminished. In summary, captive-bred individuals of this fish species showed lower metabolic rates, although the differences with wild individuals slightly depended on sex and size.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140629086","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Davinder Kaur, Koushik Das, Jan Kubec, Miloš Buřič
Maternal care in crayfish has been extensively studied, but little is known of its response to environmental factors. We studied the duration of maternal care and its association with the juvenile development of marbled crayfish Procambarus virginalis in adverse environmental conditions. We exposed females with developmental stage 3 juveniles to environments of low water volume (LW) with food provided, low water volume with no feed (starvation) (LWS), and low water volume without feeding plus an intruder (red swamp crayfish male) (LWSI). A control group with standard water level/feed conditions was included for comparison. Groups were monitored for up to 90 days. The LWS group showed significantly prolonged maternal care (~65 days) as indicated by an extended attachment phase, delayed moulting of mothers (~53 days), and retarded juvenile development. In the LWSI group, conflict precluded extended maternal care. Low use of shelter and feeding was evident under all stress conditions. The results showed that crayfish females modify maternal care in accordance with conditions, providing a longer period of safety for offspring under adverse circumstances. It is possible that the expression of maternal pheromones can manipulate the developmental rate in juveniles, a topic for future research.
{"title":"Stress conditions extend maternal care and delay juvenile development in crayfish","authors":"Davinder Kaur, Koushik Das, Jan Kubec, Miloš Buřič","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoae017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoae017","url":null,"abstract":"Maternal care in crayfish has been extensively studied, but little is known of its response to environmental factors. We studied the duration of maternal care and its association with the juvenile development of marbled crayfish Procambarus virginalis in adverse environmental conditions. We exposed females with developmental stage 3 juveniles to environments of low water volume (LW) with food provided, low water volume with no feed (starvation) (LWS), and low water volume without feeding plus an intruder (red swamp crayfish male) (LWSI). A control group with standard water level/feed conditions was included for comparison. Groups were monitored for up to 90 days. The LWS group showed significantly prolonged maternal care (~65 days) as indicated by an extended attachment phase, delayed moulting of mothers (~53 days), and retarded juvenile development. In the LWSI group, conflict precluded extended maternal care. Low use of shelter and feeding was evident under all stress conditions. The results showed that crayfish females modify maternal care in accordance with conditions, providing a longer period of safety for offspring under adverse circumstances. It is possible that the expression of maternal pheromones can manipulate the developmental rate in juveniles, a topic for future research.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140587439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bite force is an important performance indicator of individual fitness that is closely related to food acquisition, male competition, and mating selection. It is also affected by a variety of factors and different mechanisms. Therefore, it is relatively difficult to understand the evolutionary driving forces of changes in bite force. In this study, the driving factors affecting the bite force of wild-derived red junglefowl (Gallus gallus jabouillei) were investigated from the aspects of morphological indicators and physiological characteristics. Results showed that the bite force of wild-derived red junglefowl was directly related to sex, showing obvious sexual differences. However, there was no correlation between the plasma testosterone level and bite force. The bite force of males was significantly greater than that of females, and the body index (i.e., PC1 of five body measures, namely body mass, body length, wing length, tail length and tarsus length), the grasp index (i.e., tomial length × bill width) of males were significantly greater than those of females. Sexual selection may have played a key role in the evolution of bite force in the red junglefowl. Future studies should examine other key factors affecting changes in bite force, to verify the correlation between secondary sexual characteristics and bite force in red junglefowls.
{"title":"Sexual differences in bite force are not related to testosterone level in the wild-derived red junglefowl","authors":"Xiaodong Rao, Daiping Wang, Wei Liang","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoae016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoae016","url":null,"abstract":"Bite force is an important performance indicator of individual fitness that is closely related to food acquisition, male competition, and mating selection. It is also affected by a variety of factors and different mechanisms. Therefore, it is relatively difficult to understand the evolutionary driving forces of changes in bite force. In this study, the driving factors affecting the bite force of wild-derived red junglefowl (Gallus gallus jabouillei) were investigated from the aspects of morphological indicators and physiological characteristics. Results showed that the bite force of wild-derived red junglefowl was directly related to sex, showing obvious sexual differences. However, there was no correlation between the plasma testosterone level and bite force. The bite force of males was significantly greater than that of females, and the body index (i.e., PC1 of five body measures, namely body mass, body length, wing length, tail length and tarsus length), the grasp index (i.e., tomial length × bill width) of males were significantly greater than those of females. Sexual selection may have played a key role in the evolution of bite force in the red junglefowl. Future studies should examine other key factors affecting changes in bite force, to verify the correlation between secondary sexual characteristics and bite force in red junglefowls.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140587585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Iveta Štolhoferová, Veronika Rudolfová, Hana Skalíková, Barbora Vobrubová, Daniel Frynta
The black rat (Rattus rattus) is a unique model for studying exploratory tactics due to its enormous colonizing potential. Considerable behavioral variability and consistent interindividual differences might help populations inhabit new environments and persist there even under intense pressure. Additionally, the affinity of the black rat for climbing might be another advantage, widening their potential niche. In this study, we describe the exploratory tactics of the black rats when introduced to a novel environment. In the first experiment, we tested 12 rats and calculated repeatability of their behaviors across 12 sessions of an enriched open field test. We concluded that climbing is a highly repeatable behavior that serves as an important source of interindividual variability. In the second experiment, we tested 24 black rats in a unique L-shaped arena. Each rat was tested twice. We found that the majority of rats distributed their activity evenly, exploring each part of the apparatus for a similar amount of time, thus maximizing their chances of finding resources. Nevertheless, these ‘even’ explorers still greatly differed in their level of activity, orderliness and affinity for climbing, generating large variability. In contrast, the minority of rats concentrated their activity only on a section of the new environment and were therefore characterized as selective explorers. Overall, we concluded that a combination of such exploratory tactics as well as a bias for even explorers enables black rats to quickly colonize new environments and persist there even under unfavorable conditions.
{"title":"How to explore a new environment: exploratory tactics of the black rat (Rattus rattus)","authors":"Iveta Štolhoferová, Veronika Rudolfová, Hana Skalíková, Barbora Vobrubová, Daniel Frynta","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoae015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoae015","url":null,"abstract":"The black rat (Rattus rattus) is a unique model for studying exploratory tactics due to its enormous colonizing potential. Considerable behavioral variability and consistent interindividual differences might help populations inhabit new environments and persist there even under intense pressure. Additionally, the affinity of the black rat for climbing might be another advantage, widening their potential niche. In this study, we describe the exploratory tactics of the black rats when introduced to a novel environment. In the first experiment, we tested 12 rats and calculated repeatability of their behaviors across 12 sessions of an enriched open field test. We concluded that climbing is a highly repeatable behavior that serves as an important source of interindividual variability. In the second experiment, we tested 24 black rats in a unique L-shaped arena. Each rat was tested twice. We found that the majority of rats distributed their activity evenly, exploring each part of the apparatus for a similar amount of time, thus maximizing their chances of finding resources. Nevertheless, these ‘even’ explorers still greatly differed in their level of activity, orderliness and affinity for climbing, generating large variability. In contrast, the minority of rats concentrated their activity only on a section of the new environment and were therefore characterized as selective explorers. Overall, we concluded that a combination of such exploratory tactics as well as a bias for even explorers enables black rats to quickly colonize new environments and persist there even under unfavorable conditions.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140587119","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The theoretical trade-off between immune and endocrine investment in mating animals has received mixed empirical support, particularly in reptiles. We investigated the relationship between male sexual characteristics, diet, and immune response to stress in an island population of tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) across two mating seasons. Tuatara are promiscuous with a highly skewed mating system where males face significant competition for access to mates and post-copulatory competition for fertilisation success. We found that tuatara sperm viability and swim speed were negatively associated with the ratio of heterophils to lymphocytes and with male body condition. Additionally, sperm swim speed was negatively associated with spine area, mite load, and the total number of circulating white blood cells, but was positively associated with tick number, likely a function of social dynamics in this system where larger male size predicts greater spatial overlap with potential rivals and increased tick load. Because the production of sexual characteristics may be costly, we also investigated the effect of diet on sperm quality. We did not identify an association between diet and sperm viability. However, sperm swim speed was negatively associated with carbon-13 and positively associated with nitrogen-15. We suspect that these results reflect the influence of seabird-based nutrients in this island ecosystem, particularly poly-unsaturated fatty acids, and antioxidant damage on this tuatara sperm. In total, these results provide evidence of a trade-off between pre- and post-copulatory sexual characteristics and the immune and endocrine systems in male tuatara.
{"title":"Immune stress and diet influence reproductive fitness in male tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus)","authors":"Sarah K Lamar, Diane K Ormsby, Nicola J Nelson","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoae012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoae012","url":null,"abstract":"The theoretical trade-off between immune and endocrine investment in mating animals has received mixed empirical support, particularly in reptiles. We investigated the relationship between male sexual characteristics, diet, and immune response to stress in an island population of tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) across two mating seasons. Tuatara are promiscuous with a highly skewed mating system where males face significant competition for access to mates and post-copulatory competition for fertilisation success. We found that tuatara sperm viability and swim speed were negatively associated with the ratio of heterophils to lymphocytes and with male body condition. Additionally, sperm swim speed was negatively associated with spine area, mite load, and the total number of circulating white blood cells, but was positively associated with tick number, likely a function of social dynamics in this system where larger male size predicts greater spatial overlap with potential rivals and increased tick load. Because the production of sexual characteristics may be costly, we also investigated the effect of diet on sperm quality. We did not identify an association between diet and sperm viability. However, sperm swim speed was negatively associated with carbon-13 and positively associated with nitrogen-15. We suspect that these results reflect the influence of seabird-based nutrients in this island ecosystem, particularly poly-unsaturated fatty acids, and antioxidant damage on this tuatara sperm. In total, these results provide evidence of a trade-off between pre- and post-copulatory sexual characteristics and the immune and endocrine systems in male tuatara.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140587288","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Group living may engender conflict over food, reproduction, or other resources and individuals must be able to manage conflict for social groups to persist. Submission signals are an adaptation for establishing and maintaining social hierarchy position, allowing a subordinate individual to avoid protracted and costly aggressive interactions with dominant individuals. In the daffodil cichlid fish (Neolamprologus pulcher), subordinates may use submission signals to resolve conflicts with dominant individuals and maintain their social status within the group. The complexity of the physical environment may affect the value of submission signals compared to fleeing or avoidance, which may require certain physical features such as shelters to be effective. We investigated how the ecological context affected the expression of submission in subordinate daffodil cichlids by examining their behaviour under different arrangements of the physical environment within their territories. We altered the number of shelters provided to daffodil cichlid groups and compared the interactions between dominant and subordinate individuals under each shelter condition by scoring the social and cooperative behaviours of the group members. We found that behaviours of group members were modulated by the environment: subordinates displayed fewer submission and fleeing behaviours in more structurally complex environments and dominants were more aggressive to subordinates when more shelters were present. Our results help to elucidate the role of the physical environment in the modulation of social interactions in group-living animals and may have implications for the welfare of captively housed social cichlid groups.
{"title":"Submissive behaviour is affected by territory structure in a social fish","authors":"Tommaso Ruberto, William T. Swaney, A. Reddon","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoae014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoae014","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Group living may engender conflict over food, reproduction, or other resources and individuals must be able to manage conflict for social groups to persist. Submission signals are an adaptation for establishing and maintaining social hierarchy position, allowing a subordinate individual to avoid protracted and costly aggressive interactions with dominant individuals. In the daffodil cichlid fish (Neolamprologus pulcher), subordinates may use submission signals to resolve conflicts with dominant individuals and maintain their social status within the group. The complexity of the physical environment may affect the value of submission signals compared to fleeing or avoidance, which may require certain physical features such as shelters to be effective. We investigated how the ecological context affected the expression of submission in subordinate daffodil cichlids by examining their behaviour under different arrangements of the physical environment within their territories. We altered the number of shelters provided to daffodil cichlid groups and compared the interactions between dominant and subordinate individuals under each shelter condition by scoring the social and cooperative behaviours of the group members. We found that behaviours of group members were modulated by the environment: subordinates displayed fewer submission and fleeing behaviours in more structurally complex environments and dominants were more aggressive to subordinates when more shelters were present. Our results help to elucidate the role of the physical environment in the modulation of social interactions in group-living animals and may have implications for the welfare of captively housed social cichlid groups.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140361689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The composition of assemblages, diet and behaviour of waterbird species with similar ecological features are important aspects in the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. Closely-related animal species often share resources such as space and food in ways that reduce competition, but if the diets of different species strongly overlap, interspecific competition may intensify. This analysis examined behavioural data relating to Great Egret, Little Egret and Squacco Heron in order to explore their foraging efficiencies in rich aquatic habitats in an arid zone during post-breeding movements. The fieldwork was carried out in small estuaries of a wadi on the southern coast of Oman. The frequency of interactions was the highest in Squacco Heron and the lowest in Great Egret. However, the differences in the numbers of inter- and intraspecific interactions between the three species were significant. Activity indices calculated for a five-minute period, i.e. the number of interactions (interaction index) and times of flying and walking (movement index) differed among the three species. The number of successful attacks was the highest in Squacco Heron, while the foraging effectiveness of Great Egret and Little Egret was similar. GLM analysis showed that only the movement index was significant, as it had a positive impact on individual foraging success. Great Egret caught more fish than the other two heron species which, in turn, caught a greater number of smaller prey items, mostly invertebrates. This study shows that heron species in the same rich habitat employ different foraging tactics. In comparison to the other two heron species, the foraging tactics of Squacco Heron seem to be the most susceptible to competition. However, its greater mobility and using different foraging tactics, enhance its foraging success.
{"title":"Comparative foraging behaviour of three heron species in small standing-water ecosystems in the arid zone of Oman","authors":"Z. Kasprzykowski, Artur Golawski","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoae011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoae011","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The composition of assemblages, diet and behaviour of waterbird species with similar ecological features are important aspects in the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. Closely-related animal species often share resources such as space and food in ways that reduce competition, but if the diets of different species strongly overlap, interspecific competition may intensify. This analysis examined behavioural data relating to Great Egret, Little Egret and Squacco Heron in order to explore their foraging efficiencies in rich aquatic habitats in an arid zone during post-breeding movements. The fieldwork was carried out in small estuaries of a wadi on the southern coast of Oman. The frequency of interactions was the highest in Squacco Heron and the lowest in Great Egret. However, the differences in the numbers of inter- and intraspecific interactions between the three species were significant. Activity indices calculated for a five-minute period, i.e. the number of interactions (interaction index) and times of flying and walking (movement index) differed among the three species. The number of successful attacks was the highest in Squacco Heron, while the foraging effectiveness of Great Egret and Little Egret was similar. GLM analysis showed that only the movement index was significant, as it had a positive impact on individual foraging success. Great Egret caught more fish than the other two heron species which, in turn, caught a greater number of smaller prey items, mostly invertebrates. This study shows that heron species in the same rich habitat employ different foraging tactics. In comparison to the other two heron species, the foraging tactics of Squacco Heron seem to be the most susceptible to competition. However, its greater mobility and using different foraging tactics, enhance its foraging success.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140362379","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Selection of a suitable habitat by animals before settlement is critical for their survival and reproduction. In silk spinning arthropods like spider mites, denser webs offer protection from predation and serve as a dispersal mode. Settling in habitats with the presence of conspecifics and silk webs can benefit the habitat-searching females. Silk and conspecifics usually coexist, but their distinct effects on female colonization have received little attention. In this study, we used a haplodiploid spider mite, Tetranychus ludeni Zacher (Acari: Tetranychidae), to examine the impact of conspecific cues, including cues from ovipositing conspecifics and silk, on habitat selection and subsequent reproductive performance of females. Results show that females significantly preferred habitats with cues from neighbouring conspecifics and silk, and neighbouring conspecifics induced additive effect to that of silk on habitat selection. Conspecific cues did not boost female reproduction but facilitated females laying larger eggs that were more likely to be fertilised and to develop to daughters. When given a choice between silk-covered and clean habitats, females preferred silk-covered habitat, laid a similar number of eggs with similar size, but produced more daughters, suggesting that T. ludeni females can adjust the size threshold for fertilization in response to the current social environment. Knowledge of this study improves our understanding of spider mite habitat selection and post-settlement reproductive performance behaviours.
{"title":"Conspecific cues mediate habitat selection and reproductive performance in a haplodiploid spider mite","authors":"Nuwan Weerawansha, Qiao Wang, Xiong Zhao He","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoae013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoae013","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Selection of a suitable habitat by animals before settlement is critical for their survival and reproduction. In silk spinning arthropods like spider mites, denser webs offer protection from predation and serve as a dispersal mode. Settling in habitats with the presence of conspecifics and silk webs can benefit the habitat-searching females. Silk and conspecifics usually coexist, but their distinct effects on female colonization have received little attention. In this study, we used a haplodiploid spider mite, Tetranychus ludeni Zacher (Acari: Tetranychidae), to examine the impact of conspecific cues, including cues from ovipositing conspecifics and silk, on habitat selection and subsequent reproductive performance of females. Results show that females significantly preferred habitats with cues from neighbouring conspecifics and silk, and neighbouring conspecifics induced additive effect to that of silk on habitat selection. Conspecific cues did not boost female reproduction but facilitated females laying larger eggs that were more likely to be fertilised and to develop to daughters. When given a choice between silk-covered and clean habitats, females preferred silk-covered habitat, laid a similar number of eggs with similar size, but produced more daughters, suggesting that T. ludeni females can adjust the size threshold for fertilization in response to the current social environment. Knowledge of this study improves our understanding of spider mite habitat selection and post-settlement reproductive performance behaviours.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140362901","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Isabel Damas-Moreira, B. Szabo, Georgios Drosopoulos, Carolin Stober, D. Lisičić, Barbara A. Caspers
Urbanization occurs at a global scale, imposing dramatic and abrupt environmental changes that lead to biodiversity loss. Yet, some animal species can handle these changes, and thrive in such artificial environments. One possible explanation is that urban individuals are equipped with better cognitive abilities, but most studies have focussed on birds and mammals and yielded varied results. Reptiles have received much less attention, despite some lizard species being common city dwellers. The Italian wall lizard, Podarcis siculus, and the common wall lizard, Podarcis muralis, are two successful lizards in anthropogenic habitats that thrive in urban locations. To test for differences in a cognitive skill between urban and semi-natural environments, we investigated inhibitory control through a detour task in syntopic populations of the two species, across 249 lizards that were tested in partially artificial field settings. Sophisticated inhibitory control is considered essential for higher degrees of cognitive flexibility and other higher-level cognitive abilities. In this task, we confronted lizards with a transparent barrier, separating them from a desired shelter area which they could only reach by controlling their impulse of going straight and instead detour the barrier. We found no differences between lizards in urban and semi-natural environments, nor between species, but females overall performed better than males. Moreover, 48% of the lizards in our study did not perform a correct trial in any of the five trials, hinting at the difficulty of the task for these species. This study is among the first in addressing lizard cognition, through their inhibitory control, as a potential explanation for success in cities and highlights one should be careful with assuming that urban animals generally have enhanced cognitive performance, as it might be taxa, task or condition dependent.
{"title":"Smarter in the city? Lizards from urban and semi-natural habitats do not differ in a cognitive task in two syntopic species","authors":"Isabel Damas-Moreira, B. Szabo, Georgios Drosopoulos, Carolin Stober, D. Lisičić, Barbara A. Caspers","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoae010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoae010","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Urbanization occurs at a global scale, imposing dramatic and abrupt environmental changes that lead to biodiversity loss. Yet, some animal species can handle these changes, and thrive in such artificial environments. One possible explanation is that urban individuals are equipped with better cognitive abilities, but most studies have focussed on birds and mammals and yielded varied results. Reptiles have received much less attention, despite some lizard species being common city dwellers. The Italian wall lizard, Podarcis siculus, and the common wall lizard, Podarcis muralis, are two successful lizards in anthropogenic habitats that thrive in urban locations.\u0000 To test for differences in a cognitive skill between urban and semi-natural environments, we investigated inhibitory control through a detour task in syntopic populations of the two species, across 249 lizards that were tested in partially artificial field settings. Sophisticated inhibitory control is considered essential for higher degrees of cognitive flexibility and other higher-level cognitive abilities. In this task, we confronted lizards with a transparent barrier, separating them from a desired shelter area which they could only reach by controlling their impulse of going straight and instead detour the barrier. We found no differences between lizards in urban and semi-natural environments, nor between species, but females overall performed better than males. Moreover, 48% of the lizards in our study did not perform a correct trial in any of the five trials, hinting at the difficulty of the task for these species. This study is among the first in addressing lizard cognition, through their inhibitory control, as a potential explanation for success in cities and highlights one should be careful with assuming that urban animals generally have enhanced cognitive performance, as it might be taxa, task or condition dependent.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140365549","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ivan Norscia, Martin Hecker, Marta Caselli, Edoardo Collarini, Beatriz Gallego Aldama, Santiago Borragán Santos, Giada Cordoni
In social groups, competition for individual advantage is balanced with cooperation, for the collective benefit. Selection against aggression has favoured cooperation and non-aggressive competitive strategies. Because social play is a behavioural system that fluctuates between cooperation and competition, selection against aggression might have especially influenced this behaviour. African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) are a low aggressive species, therefore suitable to investigate this aspect. We collected all occurrences observational audio-video data on social play, aggression/threats, and affiliation on an African elephant colony housed in a 25-ha open space at Parque de la Naturaleza de Cabarceno (Cantabria, Spain) and composed of four family groups (3 immature males, 3 immature females, and 7 adult females) and two adult males. Anticipating the influence of reduced aggression, we found that social play decreased with age, persisting in adults, and that it was highest in males. Social play was associated with affiliation (informing cooperation). Indeed, individuals that were central in the social play network were also central in the affiliation network. For immature subjects, we found a correlation between social play and affiliation sociomatrices. However, such correlation was absent in adults and social play mostly occurred between families. Despite the limitations related to dealing with a small captive group, this study largely supports the idea that the features of social play in African savannah elephants may be related to low aggression. This investigation hints toward a non purely cooperative use of play, possibly as a non-aggressive interaction that accommodates different levels of cooperation and competition.
在社会群体中，为了个人利益的竞争与为了集体利益的合作是平衡的。针对攻击性的选择有利于合作和非攻击性的竞争策略。由于社交游戏是一种在合作与竞争之间波动的行为系统，因此针对攻击性的选择可能会对这种行为产生特别的影响。非洲草原象（Loxodonta africana）是攻击性较低的物种，因此适合研究这方面的问题。我们收集了一个非洲象群的所有社交游戏、攻击/威胁和隶属关系的音频视频观察数据，该象群位于西班牙坎塔布里亚卡巴塞诺自然公园（Parque de la Naturaleza de Cabarceno）的一个25公顷的空地上，由4个家庭群（3个未成年雄象、3个未成年雌象和7个成年雌象）和2个成年雄象组成。我们发现，随着年龄的增长，社交游戏会减少，但成年后仍会持续，而且雄性的社交游戏最多。社交游戏与隶属关系（合作信息）有关。事实上，在社交游戏网络中处于中心位置的个体在附属关系网络中也处于中心位置。对于未成年被试，我们发现社交游戏和从属关系社会矩阵之间存在相关性。然而，这种相关性在成年人中并不存在，而且社交游戏大多发生在家庭之间。尽管这项研究受到圈养小象群体的限制，但它在很大程度上支持了非洲草原象的社交游戏特征可能与低攻击性有关的观点。这项调查暗示了游戏的非纯粹合作性使用，可能是一种非攻击性的互动，可容纳不同程度的合作和竞争。
{"title":"Social Play In African Savannah Elephants May Inform Selection Against Aggression","authors":"Ivan Norscia, Martin Hecker, Marta Caselli, Edoardo Collarini, Beatriz Gallego Aldama, Santiago Borragán Santos, Giada Cordoni","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoae009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoae009","url":null,"abstract":"In social groups, competition for individual advantage is balanced with cooperation, for the collective benefit. Selection against aggression has favoured cooperation and non-aggressive competitive strategies. Because social play is a behavioural system that fluctuates between cooperation and competition, selection against aggression might have especially influenced this behaviour. African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) are a low aggressive species, therefore suitable to investigate this aspect. We collected all occurrences observational audio-video data on social play, aggression/threats, and affiliation on an African elephant colony housed in a 25-ha open space at Parque de la Naturaleza de Cabarceno (Cantabria, Spain) and composed of four family groups (3 immature males, 3 immature females, and 7 adult females) and two adult males. Anticipating the influence of reduced aggression, we found that social play decreased with age, persisting in adults, and that it was highest in males. Social play was associated with affiliation (informing cooperation). Indeed, individuals that were central in the social play network were also central in the affiliation network. For immature subjects, we found a correlation between social play and affiliation sociomatrices. However, such correlation was absent in adults and social play mostly occurred between families. Despite the limitations related to dealing with a small captive group, this study largely supports the idea that the features of social play in African savannah elephants may be related to low aggression. This investigation hints toward a non purely cooperative use of play, possibly as a non-aggressive interaction that accommodates different levels of cooperation and competition.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140107687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：