Effects of the social environment on vertebrate fitness and health in nature: Moving beyond the stress axis

Lemonnier, Camille; Bize, Pierre; Boonstra, Rudy; Dobson, F. Stephen; Criscuolo, François; Viblanc, Vincent A.

doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105232

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 306 publications

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“…Therefore, the bulk of vertebrate ‘stress’ research, including that on social stress, has focused on HPA axis activity alone ( MacDougall-Shackleton et al, 2019 ; Sapolsky, 2021 ). However, recent years have seen an increase in more integrative studies including a broader range of measures of animal health ( Snyder-Mackler et al, 2020 ; Lemonnier et al, 2022 ).…”

Section: A History Of Social Stress Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This supports the idea that social stressors can induce adaptive changes to behaviour through neuronal plasticity. Testing this in more ecologically relevant systems and non-model organisms is challenging, but potentially a rich area for further study ( Lemonnier et al, 2022 ).…”

Section: Social Stress Across the Lifespanmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In wild populations, studies have largely focused on describing associations between different social stressors and the HPA axis. However, to understand the fitness consequences, eco-evolutionary research needs to take a broader view of different physiological pathways associated with social stressors ( Lemonnier et al, 2022 ).…”

Section: A Framework For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Third, we need to study a wider range of physiological, neurological and behavioural mechanisms in wild populations. Such mechanisms have been thoroughly studied in model organisms, where it has been shown how cellular metabolism, oxidative stress, cellular senescence, immunity, brain function and the regulation of biological rhythms are key physiological responses affected by social stress, sometimes independently of the HPA axis response ( Lemonnier et al, 2022 ). Broadening our approach in this way would help us to better understand the pathways mediating the effects of social stress and buffering on individual health and population demography.…”

Section: A Framework For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stress in the social context: a behavioural and eco-evolutionary perspective

MacLeod,

English,

Ruuskanen

et al. 2023

Journal of Experimental Biology

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The social environment is one of the primary sources of challenging stimuli that can induce a stress response in animals. It comprises both short-term and stable interactions among conspecifics (including unrelated individuals, mates, potential mates and kin). Social stress is of unique interest in the field of stress research because (1) the social domain is arguably the most complex and fluctuating component of an animal's environment; (2) stress is socially transmissible; and (3) stress can be buffered by social partners. Thus, social interactions can be both the cause and cure of stress. Here, we review the history of social stress research, and discuss social stressors and their effects on organisms across early life and adulthood. We also consider cross-generational effects. We discuss the physiological mechanisms underpinning social stressors and stress responses, as well as the potential adaptive value of responses to social stressors. Finally, we identify outstanding challenges in social stress research, and propose a framework for addressing these in future work.

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Section: A History Of Social Stress Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Social Stress Across the Lifespanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Framework For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Framework For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stress in the social context: a behavioural and eco-evolutionary perspective

MacLeod,

English,

Ruuskanen

et al. 2023

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Stressors can be abiotic or biotic, ranging from extreme temperatures to predator attacks or social stressors such as aggressive conflicts. An adequate response to a stressor, the so-called stress response, has major fitness consequences because it is of utmost importance for the survival of the individual (Lemonnier et al, 2022; McEwen and Wingfield, 2003; Romero et al, 2009; Sopinka et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the stress axis mediate behavioural flexibility in a social cichlid,Neolamprologus pulcher?

Fischer,

Ferlinc,

Hirschenhauser

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Behavioural flexibility plays a major role in the way animals cope with novel situations, and physiological stress responses are adaptive and highly efficient mechanisms to cope with unpredictable events. Previous studies investigating the role of stress responses in mediating behavioural flexibility were mostly done in laboratory rodents using stressors and cognitive challenges unrelated to the ecology of the species. To better understand how stress mediates behavioural flexibility in a natural context, direct manipulation of the stress response and cognitive tests in ecologically relevant contexts are needed. To this aim, we pharmacologically blocked glucocorticoid receptors (GR) in adult cichlid fish using a minimally invasive application of a GR antagonist. GRs blockade prevents the termination of the stress response, which we predicted to impair behavioural flexibility. After the application of the GR antagonist, we repeatedly exposed fish to a predator and tested their behavioural flexibility using a detour task, i.e. fish had to find a new, longer route to the shelter when the shortest route was blocked. While the latencies to find the shelter were not different between treatments, GR blocked fish showed more failed attempts during the detour tasks than control fish. Furthermore, reduced performance was accompanied by an increase of fear related behaviours. This suggests that blocking GRs plays an important role in determining perceived fear and resulted in an impaired behavioural flexibility. We confirm a causal role of terminating the stress response in mediating behavioural flexibility with potential consequences for an effective and adaptive coping with changing environments.

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