Acute aggressive behavior perturbates the oxidative status of a wild bird independently of testosterone and progesterone

Mentesana, Lucía; Adreani, Nicolas M.

doi:10.1101/2020.04.06.027029

“…However, fewer studies have evaluated relationships between oxidative stress and endogenous androgen levels. Recently, Mentesana and Adreani (2021) reported no relationship between plasma testosterone levels and circulating concentrations of OXY, ROMs, or glutathione peroxidase in wild rufous horneros ( Furnarius rufus ). While we also found no relationship between plasma testosterone and circulating OXY or ROMs, we observed lower levels of global DNA damage ( i.e ., in the blood) in individuals with high testosterone levels, irrespective of their social rank.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social rank influences relationships between hormones and oxidative stress in a cichlid fish

Culbert

¹

,

Border

²

,

Fialkowski

³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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An individual's social environment can have widespread effects on their physiology, including effects on oxidative stress and hormone levels. Many studies have posited that variation in oxidative stress experienced by individuals of different social ranks might be due to endocrine differences, however, few studies have evaluated this hypothesis. Here, we assessed whether a suite of markers associated with oxidative stress in different tissues (blood, plasma, liver, or gonads) had social rank-specific relationships with circulating testosterone or cortisol levels in males of a cichlid fish,Astatotilapia burtoni. Across all fish, blood DNA damage (a global marker of oxidative stress) and gonadal synthesis of reactive oxygen species (as indicated by NADPH-oxidase (NOX) activity) were lower when testosterone was high. High DNA damage in both the blood and gonads was associated with high cortisol in subordinates, but low cortisol in dominants. Additionally, high cortisol was associated with greater production of reactive oxygen species (greater NOX activity) in both the gonads (dominants only) and liver (dominants and subordinates). In general, high testosterone was associated with lower oxidative stress across both social ranks, whereas high cortisol was associated with lower oxidative stress in dominants and higher oxidative stress in subordinates. Taken together, our results show that differences in the social environment can lead to contrasting relationships between hormones and oxidative stress.

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Defending as a unit: sex- and context-specific territorial defence in a duetting bird

Mentesana

¹

,

Moiron

²

,

Guedes

³

et al. 2020

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Behaviours such as territorial defence represent functionally integrated traits that underlie multiple behavioural variables such as physical and acoustic responses. Characterizing the multivariate structure of such traits is fundamental to understand their evolution. In bird species that form stable pair bonds and are territorial year-round, both sexes are expected to defend their territory; however, the role that each sex plays in defending their shared territory remains largely unknown. Evidence for the sex-roles during territorial defence is mixed and sex-and context-specific characterizations of territorial defence embracing the multivariate nature of the trait are currently lacking. Here we investigated sex-and context-specific variation in a hypothesised latent variable called "territorial defence" and tested whether duets were part of territorial defence in a wild population of rufous hornero (Furnarius rufus). To do so, we combined a simulated territorial intrusion approach during nest building and provisioning contexts with a structural equation modelling approach. Our results showed that, in males and females, the six measured behavioural variables were linked by a single latent trait, territorial defence, in both contexts. Flights over the decoy and duet songs were equally good proxies of territorial defence. Although males were defending more the territory than females, pair members showed a positive correlation in their behaviour. The structural equation modelling framework enabled us to capture a complex correlation pattern among behavioural variables, expanding upon a classic body of research on territorial defence. Thus, the combination of classical behavioural approaches with sophisticated statistical analyses brings new exciting possibilities to the field of behavioural ecology.

show abstract

Defending as a unit: sex- and context-specific territorial defence in a duetting bird

Mentesana

¹

,

Moiron

²

,

Guedes

³

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Behaviours such as territorial defence represent functionally integrated traits that underlie multiple behavioural variables such as physical and acoustic responses. Characterizing the multivariate structure of such traits is fundamental to understand their evolution. In bird species that form stable pair bonds and are territorial year-round, both sexes are expected to defend their territory; however, the role that each sex plays in defending their shared territory remains largely unknown. Evidence for the sex-roles during territorial defence is mixed and sex- and context-specific characterizations of territorial defence embracing the multivariate nature of the trait are currently lacking. Here we investigated sex- and context-specific variation in a hypothesised latent variable called “territorial defence” and tested whether duets were part of territorial defence in a wild population of rufous hornero (Furnarius rufus). To do so, we combined a simulated territorial intrusion approach during nest building and provisioning contexts with a structural equation modelling approach. Our results showed that, in males and females, the six measured behavioural variables were linked by a single latent trait, territorial defence, in both contexts. Flights over the decoy and duet songs were equally good proxies of territorial defence. Although males were defending more the territory than females, pair members showed a positive correlation in their behaviour. The structural equation modelling framework enabled us to capture a complex correlation pattern among behavioural variables, expanding upon a classic body of research on territorial defence. Thus, the combination of classical behavioural approaches with sophisticated statistical analyses brings new exciting possibilities to the field of behavioural ecology.Significance statementTerritorial defence is a key behaviour in territorial species as it plays a major role in an individual’s reproductive success and survival. Additionally, territorial defence has been proposed as one possible evolutionary driver of duetting behaviour, one of the most fascinating vocal behaviours in birds. As behaviours are evolutionary characters, they must be studied in a multivariate framework. In this study we focused on characterizing territorial defence during a simulated territorial intrusion in an integrative manner using a classical territorial intrusion framework. We did so in male and female rufous horneros (Aves: Furnaridae) across two breeding contexts, while simultaneously testing theoretical predictions about the role of duetting behaviour as key part of territorial defence. Overall, our study provides for the first time a sex- and context-comparison of the multivariate, latent variable “territorial defence” in duetting birds, while highlighting the potential of combining field behavioural approaches with structural equation modelling.

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Acute aggressive behavior perturbates the oxidative status of a wild bird independently of testosterone and progesterone

Cited by 3 publications

References 84 publications

Social rank influences relationships between hormones and oxidative stress in a cichlid fish

Social rank influences relationships between hormones and oxidative stress in a cichlid fish

Defending as a unit: sex- and context-specific territorial defence in a duetting bird

Defending as a unit: sex- and context-specific territorial defence in a duetting bird

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