Growing up with feces: benefits of allo-coprophagy in families of the European earwig

Körner, Maximilian; Diehl, Janina M. C.; Meunier, Joël

doi:10.1093/beheco/arw113

Cited by 22 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…After egg laying, females stop their foraging activity and provide extensive forms of egg care until hatching (Gingras and Tourneur , Boos et al , Koch and Meunier , Thesing et al , Diehl and Meunier , Körner et al ). The eggs of this first clutch hatch in spring and mothers remain with their newly hatched larvae for several weeks, during which mothers provide larvae with multiple forms of care (Gingras and Tourneur , Kölliker et al , Kramer et al ) and larvae exhibit forms of sibling cooperation (Falk et al , Kramer et al , Kramer and Meunier , Körner et al ). A few weeks later, the family unit is naturally disrupted.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variations in seasonal (not mean) temperatures drive rapid adaptations to novel environments at a continent scale

Tourneur

Meunier

2020

Ecology

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The recent development of human societies has led to major, rapid, and often inexorable changes in the environment of most animal species. Over the last decades, a growing number of studies formulated predictions on the modalities of animal adaptation to novel or changing environments, questioning how and at what speed animals should adapt to such changes, discussing the levels of risks imposed by changes in the mean and/or variance of temperatures on animal performance, and exploring the underlying roles of phenotypic plasticity and genetic inheritance. These fundamental predictions, however, remain poorly tested using field data. Here, we tested these predictions using a unique continental‐scale data set in the European earwig Forficula auricularia L., a univoltine insect introduced in North America one century ago. We conducted a common garden experiment, in which we measured 13 life‐history traits in 4,158 field‐sampled earwigs originating from 19 populations across North America. Our results first demonstrate that 10 of the 13 measured life‐history traits are associated with two sets of variations in seasonal temperatures, that is, winter–summer and autumn–spring. We found, however, no association with the overall mean monthly temperatures of the invaded locations. Furthermore, our use of a common garden setup reveals that the observed patterns of variation in earwigs’ life‐history traits are not mere plastic responses to their current environment, but are either due to their genetic background and/or to the environmental conditions they experienced during early life development. Overall, these findings provide continent‐scale support to the claims that adaptation to thermal changes can occur quickly (in less than 100 generations), even in insects with long life cycles, and emphasize the importance of variation in seasonal temperature over mean population temperatures in climate adaptation.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variations in seasonal (not mean) temperatures drive rapid adaptations to novel environments at a continent scale

Tourneur

Meunier

2020

Ecology

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“…Although not fully studied, scientists believed that coprophagy helps piglets to prevent anaemia 3,[6][7][8][9][10][11] . In a previous study, we found that piglets deprived of maternal faeces for their first seven days of age had lower growth rate than those exposed to maternal faeces early in life 12 .…”

Section: Identification Of Faecal Maternal Semiochemicals In Swine (Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of Faecal Maternal Semiochemicals in Swine (Sus scrofa) and their Effects on Weaned Piglets

Aviles-Rosa

Surowiec

McGlone

2020

Sci Rep

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Faeces nutritional value. Even when sows were given the same amount of feed, gestating sows had higher feed intake than lactating sows. Faecal dry matter, acid detergent fibre, ashes, true protein (TP), Ca, Mg, K, Zn, Cu, and Mn changed with sow reproductive state. During lactation, faecal dry matter, ash, TP, Mg, Zn, and Cu increased whereas the acid detergent fibre, Ca, and K decreased (Table 1). No differences in faecal crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre, fat, P, Na, Fe, Mn, and Mo were observed.

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“…This behaviour is typically observed during periods when microbiome enhancement may be most critical, such as during early development (by eating mother or sibling excretions (e.g. [62]) and in response to environmental stressors (e.g. [63]).…”

Section: Early Life Effects On the Microbiome And Cognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The gut microbiome as a driver of individual variation in cognition and functional behaviour

Davidson

Cooke

Johnson

et al. 2018

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

119

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Research into proximate and ultimate mechanisms of individual cognitive variation in animal populations is a rapidly growing field that incorporates physiological, behavioural and evolutionary investigations. Recent studies in humans and laboratory animals have shown that the enteric microbial community plays a central role in brain function and development. The 'gut-brain axis' represents a multi-directional signalling system that encompasses neurological, immunological and hormonal pathways. In particular it is tightly linked with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), a system that regulates stress hormone release and influences brain development and function. Experimental examination of the microbiome through manipulation of diet, infection, stress and exercise, suggests direct effects on cognition, including learning and memory. However, our understanding of these processes in natural populations is extremely limited. Here, we outline how recent advances in predominantly laboratory-based microbiome research can be applied to understanding individual differences in cognition. Experimental manipulation of the microbiome across natal and adult environments will help to unravel the interplay between cognitive variation and the gut microbial community. Focus on individual variation in the gut microbiome and cognition in natural populations will reveal new insight into the environmental and evolutionary constraints that drive individual cognitive variation.This article is part of the theme issue 'Causes and consequences of individual differences in cognitive abilities'.

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Growing up with feces: benefits of allo-coprophagy in families of the European earwig

Cited by 22 publications

References 49 publications

Variations in seasonal (not mean) temperatures drive rapid adaptations to novel environments at a continent scale

Variations in seasonal (not mean) temperatures drive rapid adaptations to novel environments at a continent scale

Identification of Faecal Maternal Semiochemicals in Swine (Sus scrofa) and their Effects on Weaned Piglets

The gut microbiome as a driver of individual variation in cognition and functional behaviour

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