Search Results (12)

Parental care increases offspring survival but is typically costly to the parent providing it. Understanding diversity in parental care across animals is a timely topic in evolutionary ecology. Fishes are particularly well suited for studies aimed at understanding the diversity of parental care because parental care in fishes is highly variable across species. In most fish species, no care is provided. When parental care is provided, it is often paternal, although biparental and maternal care occur in some fish species as well. Parental care in fishes ranges from simple guarding of eggs in a territory to prolonged care of young after hatching. Within fishes, gobies are thought to exhibit diverse parental care. In the current manuscript, we begin to synthesize our knowledge of patterns of parental care in gobies by providing a review of the parental care strategies that are exhibited by gobiid species. Our review reveals that parental care in gobies most often includes guarding, fanning, and cleaning, although some species engage in other types of care such as larval release, the production of antimicrobial substances, and the construction of post-mating mounds. Care in gobies is most often paternal, but maternal and biparental care have been documented in some species. Full article

IMC has been reported to influence embryo implantation negatively in animals including rats. While EBN has been known to have a potential protective effect against reproductive toxicity, there is limited study on the effect of EBN on IMC toxicity in reproduction. This study aimed to ascertain whether pretreatment with a natural substance, Edible Bird’s Nest (EBN), will reduce IMC-induced toxicity in pregnant rats. Thirty Sprague-Dawley rats divided into five equal groups were treated with EBN and IMC as follows: G1 = Control, G2 = IMC (4.33 mg/kg), G3 = IMC + EBN (4.33 mg/kg + 60 mg/kg), G4 = IMC + EBN (4.33 mg/kg + 90 mg/kg), and G5 = IMC + EBN (4.33 mg/kg +120 mg/kg). EBN was administered once daily for 8 weeks while IMC was injected subcutaneously. On day 8 after mating, all rats were sacrificed for blood sampling and embryo implantation rate (EIR) assessment; the uterine tissues were also subjected to immunohistochemical and histological analyses. G5 recorded significantly higher EIR, fertility index, and expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in the uterine section, across stroma cells, the glandular epithelium, and the luminal epithelium compared to control and other groups. IMC-induced inflammatory alterations, endometrial atrophy, vacuolar degeneration, and atrophy were not detected in uterine tissue sections in G4 and G5, with the latter group demonstrating the highest EIR with protective effects on uterine tissues. Thus, EBN supplementation might be of great benefit in guarding the fertility of individuals who depend on IMC for the treatment of chronic inflammatory illness. Full article

Tree swallow nest boxes were deployed at sites proximal to two putative aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) sources in the Duluth, MN area, as well as along the St. Louis River and a reference lake for comparative purposes in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The two AFFF sites were the current Duluth Air National Guard Base (ANG) and the Lake Superior College Emergency Response Training Center. Between 13 and 40 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), depending on year, were detected and quantified in tree swallow egg, nestling carcasses, and stomach contents. Assessments were made of oxidative stress and ethoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase activity in liver tissue, thyroid hormone levels in plasma and thyroid glands, DNA damage in red blood cells, and two measures of immune response (haptoglobin-like activity and immunoglobulin) in plasma of the nestlings. Additionally, other contaminants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls, legacy organochlorine pesticides, and trace elements, were assessed at sites with no previous data. Total egg PFAS concentrations at the ANG site and north of that site were 30–40 times higher than at the reference lake, while nestling PFAS concentrations were 10–15 times higher. In contrast, the St. Louis River sites had slightly, but non-statistically significant, elevated egg and nestling PFAS concentrations relative to the reference lake (2–5 times higher). One PFAS, perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), was higher, as a proportion of total PFAS, at sites with a known AFFF source compared to the reference lake, as well as compared to sites along the St. Louis River with mainly urban and industrial sources of PFAS. The ratio of total carboxylates to total sulfonates also distinguished between PFAS sources. There were few to no differences in biomarker responses among sites, and no association with PFAS exposure. Full article

(1) Background: International cancer treatment guidelines recommend low-threshold psycho-oncological support based on nurses’ routine distress screening (e.g., via the distress thermometer and problem list). This study aims to explore factors which are associated with declining psycho-oncological support in order to increase nurses’ efficiency in screening patients for psycho-oncological support needs. (2) Methods: Using machine learning, routinely recorded clinical data from 4064 patients was analyzed for predictors of patients declining psycho-oncological support. Cross validation and nested resampling were used to guard against model overfitting. (3) Results: The developed model detects patients who decline psycho-oncological support with a sensitivity of 89% (area under the cure of 79%, accuracy of 68.5%). Overall, older patients, patients with a lower score on the distress thermometer, fewer comorbidities, few physical problems, and those who do not feel sad, afraid, or worried refused psycho-oncological support. (4) Conclusions: Thus, current screening procedures seem worthy to be part of daily nursing routines in oncology, but nurses may need more time and training to rule out misconceptions of patients on psycho-oncological support. Full article

Background and Objectives: Sjögren’s Syndrome (SS) is a common extra-articular feature among subjects with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). While Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been used to treat symptoms of RA for many years, few studies have examined its efficacy in guarding against the SS onset. This study aimed to compare risk of SS for RA patients with and without use of CHM. Materials and Methods: Data obtained for this nested case-control study were retrieved from Taiwanese nationwide insurance database from 2000–2013. Cases with SS claims were defined and matched to two randomly selected controls without SS from the recruited RA cohorts. Risk of SS in relation to CHM use was estimated by fitting multiple conditional logistic regression. Results: Patients aged between 20 and 80 years were included and 916 patients with incident SS were matched to 1832 non-SS controls by age, sex and index year. Among them, 28.1% and 48.4% cases ever received CHM therapy, respectively. After adjusting for baseline characteristics, CHM use was found to be related to a lower risk of SS among them (adjusted odds ratio = 0.40, 95% confidence interval: 0.34–0.47). A dose-dependent, reverse association, was further detected between the cumulative duration of CHM use and SS risk. Those receiving CHM therapy for more than 730 days showed a significantly reduced risk of SS by 83%. Conclusions: Findings of this study indicated that the add-on CHM formula, as part of RA care, may be a beneficial treatment for prevention against the incident SS. Full article

Flamingos (Phoenicopteriformes) are obligate colonial species that nest in large colonies, with monogamous pairs rearing a single chick following a synchronised group courtship display. Within this relatively simplistic behavioural description, deviations from these social and reproductive norms are apparent. Same sex pairings, multi-bird relationships and extra pair copulations are documented in the literature. Flamingos display highly sexually selected characteristics of plumage colour, carotenoid accumulation and diversity of display movements that underpin mate choice decisions. The brightest birds in best body condition are more successful at breeding. Therefore, documented mate guarding of female birds by male partners, is a relevant response to maximise investment in a pair bond. Limited information that describes the action of forced copulation by the male flamingo and the response of the female bird is available in the literature. This paper describes an occurrence of an attempted forced copulation by an older male Greater Flamingo to a younger female bird. Such behaviour may be an artefact of the captive environment, and limited mate choice when compared to the sizes of wild flocks, or it could be regularly apparent in the wild and therefore worthy of more scrutiny and empirical study. Full article

Studies of dietary preferences of migratory species are of great importance as these species connect food webs of habitats across the migration route and thus represent trophic relationships between the spatially disjointed communities. Here we described the dietary preferences of threespine stickleback G. aculeatus in the White Sea during the spawning season using stable isotope and stomach content analyses. The two analyses suggested that during the spawning season, when sticklebacks spend the majority of their time inshore, their diet consists mostly of benthic species, while at the beginning of the spawning season when fish migrating from the offshore were feeding on plankton. Additionally, we demonstrated that stickleback eggs contributed greatly to the diet of both male and female fish. Using Bayesian mixing modeling, we showed that dietary preferences in females were broader than in males, and more variable during the spawning season. While guarding their nests, males fed almost exclusively on eggs. Both stomach contents and isotope signatures demonstrate that by the end of the spawning season sticklebacks again increase the consumption of plankton. Isotope analysis proved to be a more reliable tool to trace this change than stomach content analysis. Our results show that stable isotope and stomach content analyses are complementary in understanding seasonal changes in the dietary composition of stickleback. Full article

Cichlids are social fishes well known for their complex behaviour. The chameleon cichlid, Autraloheros facetus, is native to South American river drainages and is currently established in several Mediterranean-type drainages in southern Portugal as an invasive species. Their high local recruitment, territorially, and parental care activities are possible advantages in competing with native fish and achieving high reproductive success. The main objective of this work was to characterise the behaviours of the males and females of the species A. facetus upon pair formation and their roles during parental behaviour at different stages of offspring development for the purpose of gathering important basic knowledge on fish biology to apply in the control of the species’ populations. To attain this initial goal, we used observation techniques and video recording protocols to characterise the specific activities performed by each individual during reproductive and parental stages (pair formation, eggs, attached larvae, and free-swimming larvae), identifying the main tasks, and assessing the time spent on each task by each member of the reproductive pair. The breeding pairs were obtained as a result of the social hierarchy formed in each social group: groups of six individuals of similar size were placed in individual tanks fitted with a bottom biological filter, in which the temperature was increased to 24 °C at an expanded photoperiod. Social behaviours were recorded and characterised, expanded on a previously established ethogram. The results obtained so far allow us to establish a set of aggressive behaviours towards other fish (striking, chasing, biting), nest preparing behaviours (digging, cleaning), caring (caring, fetching), and guarding behaviours towards the offspring (hovering, patrolling). Concerning the rate of occurrence of social behaviours in randomised 5 min periods (frequency of specific behaviours per each 5 min period) show that in the pair formation stage, males present a more aggressive nature with frequent occurrence of striking (r_striking = 1) and biting (r_biting = 0.31). On the other hand, at the egg stage, the rate of occurrence of parental behaviours shows the dominance of females to prepare the nest (r_digging = 0.91) and caring for the eggs (r_caring = 3.64), while males are more vigilant (r_{parental hovering} = 0.95). At the attached larvae stage, this tendency continues with higher occurrence rates: males focus on vigilance (r_{parental hovering} = 1.6) and patrolling (r_patrolling = 2), and females care for the recently hatched larvae (r_fetching = 4). Finally, at the free-swimming larvae stage, there is a turn and a small decrease in the occurrence of these activities: males oversee nest maintenance (r_digging = 1.09), and females patrol the tank (r_patrolling = 0.71) and care for the larvae (r_fetching = 2.02). These preliminary data suggest differential roles for male and female A. facetus, that evolve during parental behaviour, for which further experimental paradigms will be designed to explore underlying proximate causes. Full article

Flower visiting stingless bees store collected pollen and nectar for times of scarcity. This stored food is of high value for the colony and should be protected against con- and heterospecifics that might rob them. There should be high selective pressure on the evolution of mechanisms to discriminate nestmates from non-nestmates and to defend the nest, i.e., resources against intruders. Multimodal communication systems, i.e., a communication system that includes more than one sensory modality and provide redundant information, should be more reliable than unimodal systems. Besides olfactory signals, vibrational signals could be used to alert nestmates. This study tests the hypothesis that the vibrational communication mode plays a role in nest defense and nestmate recognition of Axestotrigona ferruginea. Substrate vibrations induced by bees were measured at different positions of the nest. The experiments show that guarding vibrations produced in the entrance differ in their temporal structure from foraging vibrations produced inside the nest. We show that guarding vibrations are produced during non-nestmate encounters rather than nestmate encounters. This further supports the idea that guarding vibrations are a component of nest defense and alarm communication. We discuss to whom the vibrations are addressed, and what their message and meaning are. Full article

Yellow-naped amazons, Amazona auropalliata, have experienced a dramatic population decline due to persistent habitat loss and poaching. In 2017, BirdLife International changed the species’ status from threatened to endangered and estimated that between 10,000 and 50,000 individuals remained in the wild. An accurate estimate of the number of remaining wild individuals is critical to implementing effective conservation plans. Wright et al. conducted roost count surveys in Costa Rica and Nicaragua during 2016 and published their data in 2019; however, no population data exists for the rest of the range. We conducted roost counts at 28 sites across Mexico, Guatemala, and the Bay Islands in Roatan during 2018 and 2019. We counted 679 birds and combined our data with the published Wright et al. (2019) data for a total of 2361 wild yellow-naped amazons observed across the species’ range. There were fewer roosts detected in the northern region of the range than in the southern region. We found that roosts were most likely to occur in built-up rural and pasture habitat, with 71% found within 100 m of human habitation. Our results illustrate the need for immediate conservation action to mitigate decline, such as enforced legal action against poaching, nest guarding, and increased community education efforts. Full article

The wasp Trypoxylon lactitarse Saussure is a bivoltine trap-nesting species that possesses a non-overwintering generation (G1) and a generation that overwinters as a prepupa (G2). Thus, the nutritional needs of the G1 individuals were predicted to be different than the G2 because the latter generation needs to store energy prior to diapause. Trap-nesting Trypoxylon are also of interest because, unlike most Hymenoptera, the males guard the nest while females forage. Thus, males may lose nutrients as they stay and guard the nest. In this study, a nutritional profile was created for T. lactitarse to compare the macronutrient (protein, carbohydrates, and lipids) and micronutrient (Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, and Zn) levels of the different life stages of the wasp and compare individuals of the G1 and G2 generations. There were distinct changes in the nutrient levels relative to the original food source as individuals metamorphosed into larvae, pupae, and adults. G1 larvae had higher levels of carbohydrates than G2 larvae. G2 larvae had higher levels of lipids and K than G1 larvae, indicating possible differences in energy storage. In adults, there was an increase in levels of carbohydrates and Mn. Parental males, which stay and guard the nest, were found to have higher levels of carbohydrates at the end of the nesting period than females and emerging adults. One possible implication is that females may feed males during the nesting period, as the females are the only individuals to forage. Full article

We investigated intraspecific aggression in experimental nests (expN₁, expN₂) of the giant honey bee Apis dorsata in Chitwan (Nepal), focusing on interactions between surface bees and two other groups of bees approaching the nest: (1) homing “nestmate” foragers landing on the bee curtain remained unmolested by guards; and (2) supposed “non-nestmate” bees, which were identified by their erratic flight patterns in front of the nest, such as hovering or sideways scanning and splaying their legs from their body, and were promptly attacked by the surface bees after landing. These supposed non-nestmate bees only occurred immediately before and after migration swarms, which had arrived in close vicinity (and were most likely scouting for a nesting site). In total, 231 of the “nestmate” foragers (fb) and 102 approaches of such purported “non-nestmate” scouts (sc) were analysed (total observation time expN₁: 5.43 min) regarding the evocation of shimmering waves (sh). During their landing the “nestmate” foragers provoked less shimmering waves (_reln_sh[fb] = 23/231 = 0.0996, _reln_sh[sc] = 75/102 = 0.7353; p <0.001, χ²-test) with shorter duration (D_sh[fb] = 197 ± 17 ms, D_sh[sc] = 488 ± 16 ms; p <0.001; t-test) than “non-nestmates”. Moreover, after having landed on the nest surface, the “non-nestmates” were attacked by the surface bees (expN₁, expN₂: observation time >18 min) quite similarly to the defensive response against predatory wasps. Hence, the surface members of settled colonies respond differently to individual giant honey bees approaching the nest, depending on whether erratic flight patterns are displayed or not. Full article