Age at first mating affects parental effort and fecundity of female Mongolian gerbils

Clark, Mertice M.; Moghaddas, Masha; Galef, Bennett G.

doi:10.1006/anbe.2002.3019

Cited by 15 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…These effects, however, are all prenatal. In species where mothers care for their offspring after birth, it is possible for females of different ages to adjust their care behavior (Cameron et al 2000;Clark et al 2002). Our research shows that different maternal effects must be considered together, because prenatal and postnatal effects may not be additive.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…One of the difficulties in generalizing about age-related maternal effects is that prenatal and postnatal maternal effects can be confounded in species with prolonged parental care because the quality of parental care can also depend on the age of the mother (Cameron et al 2000;Clark et al 2002;Weldji et al 2006). For example, in gerbils, mothers that are older at first reproduction attend young more carefully (Clark et al 2002). In birds, differences associated with smaller egg and hatchling weight disappear in older chicks after cross-fostering to unrelated caretakers (Bogdanova et al 2006).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Coadaptation of Prenatal and Postnatal Maternal Effects

Lock¹,

Smiseth²,

Moore³

2007

The American Naturalist

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abstract:In a wide variety of species, a female's age of first reproduction influences offspring size and survival, suggesting that there exists an optimal timing of reproduction. Mothers in many species also influence offspring size and survival after birth through variation in parental care. We experimentally separated these effects in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides to test for coadaptation between prenatal and postnatal maternal effects associated with age at first reproduction. Females that reproduced early produced offspring with lower birth weight. The amount of parental care depended on the age of first reproduction of the caretaker, as did the extent of offspring begging. As predicted for a coadaptation of maternal effects, prenatal and postnatal effects were opposite for different-aged mothers, and larval weight gain and survival was greatest when the age of the caretaker and birth mother matched. Thus, prenatal effects intrinsically associated with age of first reproduction can be ameliorated by innate plasticity in postnatal care. A coadaptation of prenatal and postnatal maternal effects may evolve to allow variable timing of the first reproductive attempt. Such a coadaptation might be particularly valuable when females are constrained from reproducing at an optimal age, as, for example, in species that breed on scarce and unpredictable resources.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Coadaptation of Prenatal and Postnatal Maternal Effects

Lock¹,

Smiseth²,

Moore³

2007

The American Naturalist

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“…Motivation refers to the “drive” to display a behaviour whereas performance refers to the fine motoric aspects of the behaviour. For example, internal and external states can affect the likelihood of displaying maternal behaviours (e.g., pup retrieval and grooming), and the latency and efficiency of pup-directed behaviours can vary between individuals as well as within individuals over time (Champagne et al, 2003; Clark et al, 2002; Stolzenberg et al, 2012). Both the motivation to engage in maternal behaviours and the performance of various components of maternal behaviour have important developmental consequences, and such findings highlight the importance of investigating both motivation and performance to gain a comprehensive understanding of social behaviour (Meaney, 2001; Rilling and Young, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural responses to video and live presentations of females reveal a dissociation between performance and motivational aspects of birdsong

James

Fan

Sakata

2019

Preprint

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Behavioural responses to video and live presentations4 of females reveal a dissociation between performance 5 and motivational aspects of birdsong 6 7 8 9 ABSTRACT 29Understanding the regulation of social behavioural expression requires insight into 30 motivational and performance aspects of social behaviours. While a number of studies 31 have independently investigated motivational or performance aspects of social 32 behaviours, few have examined how these aspects relate to each other. By comparing 33 behavioural variation in response to live or video presentations of conspecific females, 34we analysed how variation in the motivation to produce courtship song covaries with 35 variation in performance aspects of courtship song in male zebra finches (Taeniopygia 36 guttata). Consistent with previous reports, we observed that male zebra finches were 37 less motivated to produce courtship songs to videos of females than to live 38 presentations of females. However, we found that acoustic features that reflect song 39 performance were indistinguishable between songs produced to videos of females and 40 songs produced to live presentations of females. For example, songs directed at video 41 presentations of females were just as fast and stereotyped as songs directed at live 42 females. These experimental manipulations and correlational analyses reveal a 43 dissociation between motivational and performance aspects of birdsong and suggest a 44 refinement of neural models of song production and control. In addition, they support 45 the efficacy of videos to study both motivational and performance aspects of social 46 behaviours. 47 48The extent and quality of various social displays, including communicative and 53 courtship behaviours, reflect an individual's motivation and performance. Motivation 54 refers to the "drive" to display a behaviour whereas performance refers to the fine 55 motoric aspects of the behaviour. For example, internal and external states can affect 56 the likelihood of displaying maternal behaviours (e.g., pup retrieval and grooming), and 57 the latency and efficiency of pup-directed behaviours can vary between individuals as 58 well as within individuals over time (Champagne et al., 2003; Clark et al., 2002; 59 Stolzenberg et al., 2012). Both the motivation to engage in maternal behaviours and the 60 performance of various components of maternal behaviour have important 61 developmental consequences, and such findings highlight the importance of 62 investigating both motivation and performance to gain a comprehensive understanding 63 of social behaviour (Meaney, 2001; Rilling and Young, 2014). However, motivation and 64 performance are often studied independently, and relatively little is known about the 65 relationship between mechanisms regulating motivational and performance aspects of 66 behaviour. In particular, little is known about the extent to which factors that affect the 67 motivation to display a behaviour similarly affect the performance of the behaviour. 68 69Birdsong provides an ...

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“…Among maternally-derived hormones, testosterone (T) has received particular attention [12]–[14] since it can have profound effects on embryo development [7], [15]–[18] with short- and long-term consequences for both offspring and adult behaviour [19]–[25]. High concentrations of maternally-derived T may increase post-natal growth [17], [26]–[29] and offspring competitiveness in sibling interactions [16], [28], [30]–[33].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brood Reduction via Intra-clutch Variation in Testosterone - An Experimental Test in the Great Tit

2013

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In birds, yolk androgen concentrations in eggs can increase or decrease over the laying sequence and common hypotheses hold that this serves to favour the competitive ability of either first- or last-hatched chicks depending on the prevailing conditions, and thus promote brood reduction or maintenance of original brood size respectively. Intra-clutch variation of testosterone can shift relative competitive ability of siblings and hence competitive dynamics. In a natural population of great tits, we experimentally investigated the effects and function of maternal testosterone on offspring phenotype in relation to the laying position of the egg in a context of hatching asynchrony. To this end, we created three types of clutches where either the first three or the last three eggs of a clutch were injected with testosterone (T) dissolved in sesame oil, and the remaining eggs with sesame oil only, or where all eggs of a clutch were injected with sesame oil. Increased levels of yolk T in the last-laid eggs resulted in the last-hatched chicks being significantly lighter and smaller than their siblings, while increased levels of T in the first-laid eggs had no direct effect on the first-hatched chicks, but an indirect negative effect on their siblings. Our results suggest that females can potentially adjust offspring phenotype by modulating, over the laying sequence, the amounts of T deposited in the eggs. These results are in contradiction, however, with current hypotheses and previous findings, which suggest that under good conditions higher levels of maternally derived T in the last-laid eggs should mitigate the negative effects of hatching asynchrony.

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Age at first mating affects parental effort and fecundity of female Mongolian gerbils

Cited by 15 publications

References 29 publications

Coadaptation of Prenatal and Postnatal Maternal Effects

Coadaptation of Prenatal and Postnatal Maternal Effects

Behavioural responses to video and live presentations of females reveal a dissociation between performance and motivational aspects of birdsong

Brood Reduction via Intra-clutch Variation in Testosterone - An Experimental Test in the Great Tit

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