Diets derived from maize monoculture cause maternal infanticides in the endangered European hamster due to a vitamin B3 deficiency

Tissier, Mathilde L.; Handrich, Yves; Dallongeville, Odeline; Robin, Jean‐Patrice; Habold, Caroline

doi:10.1098/rspb.2016.2168

Cited by 27 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…4-19 times more than other deciduous trees and conifers; Burkholder & McVeigh, 1944). Dietary content in niacin is crucial for mammal reproduction (Mishra, Aderao, Chaudhary, & Raje, 2018;Tissier, Handrich, Dallongeville, Robin, & Habold, 2017;Wang et al, 2018). Deficiencies in this vitamin lead to reproductive failure in another food-hoarding rodent, whereas dietary supplementation in this vitamin led to above-average reproductive rates (Tissier et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consumption of red maple in anticipation of beech mast‐seeding drives reproduction in eastern chipmunks

Tissier

Réale

Garant

et al. 2020

Journal of Animal Ecology

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1. Understanding the determinants of reproduction is a central question in evolutionary ecology. In pulsed-resource environments, the reproduction and population dynamics of seed consumers are driven by pulsed production of seeds by trees or mast-seeding. In Southern Québec, eastern chipmunks Tamias striatus exclusively reproduce during the summer before and the spring after a mast-seeding event of American beech. They thus seem to anticipate beech mast by reproducing during early summer, so that juveniles can emerge at the time of maximum beechnut abundance during late summer.2. However, the cues allowing chipmunks to anticipate beech mast remain unknown, and the existence of the anticipation process itself has been questioned. To tackle those issues, we investigated the links between the nutritional ecology and reproduction of adult chipmunks and compared their spring diet in mast-versus postmast years.3. We monitored female reproductive status (N = 446), analysed cheek pouch contents at capture (n = 3,761 captures) and recorded seed production by deciduous trees on three different sites in Mont-Sutton from 2006 to 2018. 4. Results revealed a systematic shift in chipmunk diet towards red maple seeds in springs preceding a beech mast, with red maple seeds composing more than 77% of chipmunk diet. However, red maple consumption was unrelated to red maple production, but was related to beech seed production in the upcoming fall. We also found that red maple consumption best predicted the proportion of females in summer oestrus. Our results confirm that chipmunks anticipate beech mast-seeding and highlighta key role of red maple consumption in that anticipation. Results also suggest that red maple seeds may contain nutrients or secondary plant components essential to sustain or trigger the summer reproduction in chipmunks, which allow them to remain synchronized with pulsed productions of both red maple and beech and improve their fitness.Additional supporting information may be found online in the Supporting Information section. How to cite this article: Tissier ML, Réale D, Garant D, Bergeron P. Consumption of red maple in anticipation of beech mast-seeding drives reproduction in eastern chipmunks. J Anim

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consumption of red maple in anticipation of beech mast‐seeding drives reproduction in eastern chipmunks

Tissier

Réale

Garant

et al. 2020

Journal of Animal Ecology

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“…Recently, there is growing literature on the intolerance to corn by female hamsters (Tissier, Handrich, Dallongeville, Robin, & Habold, ). The diet of corn led to very high rates of maternal infanticides.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Semi‐synthetic diet versus diet using natural ingredients—Comparative study in female Golden Syrian hamsters

Mohammed

Hemalatha

Qadri

et al. 2019

Animal Physiology Nutrition

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| INTRODUC TI ONLaboratory animals invariably serve as the basis for all scientific discoveries and technological advancements in the medical field including almost all medical knowledge, treatment regimes and medical device development. Proper selection of animal model for research is the key factor for extrapolation of animal research findings to humans, thus helping to improve the lives of people and other animals (Rand, 2008). Of the several factors that influence reproducibility of results, diet is an important environmental factor besides microbiological and genetic factors that affect reproduction, growth, disease and responses of laboratory animals to scientific manipulation. AbstractSemi-synthetic diets (SSD) are recommended and are widely used to carry out experiments in rodents. However, in our experiments planned to carry out generation studies in female Golden Syrian hamsters using semi-synthetic diets, it was observed that the hamsters did not conceive as a result of decreased food intake. In this paper, we present the effects of both semi-synthetic diets and natural source diets (NSD) on food intake, body weight and reproductive performance of this species. Four-weekold female hamsters were equally divided into 3 groups and initially acclimatized for 2 weeks on natural chow diet (NCD). Thereafter, they were fed either control diet, high fat diet (HFD) or low protein diet (LPD) based on semi-synthetic/natural source ingredients until 12 weeks. Daily food intake and weekly body weights were monitored. Hamsters were kept for mating for about 2 weeks from 10th week onwards, during which the pregnancy confirmation test was done using standard vaginal smear examination. In all the groups fed SSD, the food intake was very poor, hamsters lost body weight and did not conceive, thus preventing us from carrying out further experiments. Hamsters fed NCD/NSD ingested more than twice as much as hamsters fed SSD (7-8 g/day/hamster against 3 g/day/hamster on average respectively).Based on the results of the current research, we conclude that the routinely used semi-synthetic diet is not suitable for carrying out studies in female hamsters. We suggest that scientists must also consider the unusual biological characteristics of a given species besides other biological factors. It is therefore critical to select appropriate biological models and diets that provide optimal sensitivity and specificity to accomplish the research objectives. K E Y W O R D Sbody weights, female hamsters, food intake, natural source diet, reproductive performance, semi-synthetic diet

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“…We have recently highlighted that climate change and maize monoculture have played a combined role in inducing a reduction in wild hamsters' body mass at emergence by up to 21% since 1937 (Tissier et al 2016). The species has also experienced a 74% decline in all its European range since the 1970s and a decrease of 94% in its French distribution area since 1972 (Reiners et al 2014;O'Brien 2015;Surov et al 2016).…”

Section: The European Hamster As An Umbrella Species Of Farmland Wildmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, it is assumed that the loggers should not exceed 3 to 5% of the body weight of the animal (Koehler et al 1987). Hamsters' body masses are 259 ± 15 g for females and 384 ± 15 g for males (Tissier et al 2016). Both collars (Biotrack, UK, 4g [Kayser et al 2003]) and internal transmitters (Microtes, NL, 6.5 g (Villemey et al 2013) or ATS, USA, 5 g [Kourkgy, personal communication]) fit with these requirements (Fig.…”

Section: Manual Radio Tracking: Internal Transmitters and Collarsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the European hamster, this approach has allowed us to understand why maize is detrimental for hamsters. Indeed, we have shown in laboratory experiments that a maize-based diet leads to reproduction failure, due to vitamin B3 and tryptophan deficiencies (Tissier et al 2017). Currently, we are assessing the effect of different crops naturally rich in vitamin B3 and/or tryptophan that would compensate for the deficiency found in maize, before sowing them in fields.…”

Section: Laboratory Experiments: a Complementary Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A focus on the European hamster to illustrate how to monitor endangered species

Kletty

Tissier

Kourkgy³

et al. 2019

Integrative Zoology

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Agriculture intensification, marked by the generalization of crop monoculture, by the increase in plot size and by the reduction of plant diversity, has led to huge decline in wildlife in European farmlands. In such habitat, research has long been biased towards birds and invertebrates, while very few studies have investigated the effect on small mammals. Considering the European hamster, Cricetus cricetus, we therefore review the different techniques that can be used to investigate the impact of environmental changes and conservation measures in small and endangered wild mammals. We suggest that only a multidisciplinary approach will allow exploration of these effects, combining experimental laboratory work on captive‐bred animals with the monitoring of wild individuals. In particular, individual energy balance has to be investigated and measured as accurately as possible, through either biochemical or bio‐logging techniques. It is, indeed, the most affected physiological trait in a changing environment, as it determines both the reproductive output and the survival of the individual. We also discuss the inconvenience of capture–release approaches for such an endangered species and emphasize the disturbance that experimental protocols could impose on the hamster.

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Diets derived from maize monoculture cause maternal infanticides in the endangered European hamster due to a vitamin B3 deficiency

Cited by 27 publications

References 61 publications

Consumption of red maple in anticipation of beech mast‐seeding drives reproduction in eastern chipmunks

Consumption of red maple in anticipation of beech mast‐seeding drives reproduction in eastern chipmunks

Semi‐synthetic diet versus diet using natural ingredients—Comparative study in female Golden Syrian hamsters

A focus on the European hamster to illustrate how to monitor endangered species

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