Elevated basal corticosterone levels increase disappearance risk of light but not heavy individuals in a long-term monitored rodent population

Vuarin, Pauline; Pillay, Neville; Schradin, Carsten

doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.05.001

Cited by 19 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 46 publications

(73 reference statements)

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“…Genetic studies (Solmsen et al 2011) and our limited observations indicate that dispersal between populations occurs and that dispersing striped mice changed their social tactics, indicating that population differences in social organization are due to social flexibility rather than genetic differentiation. We found dispersal throughout the year, with most events in July, which corresponds to previous findings of the same population using a large sample size (Vuarin et al 2019). While more exhaustive studies are needed to understand the fitness consequences of dispersal, here we demonstrate dispersal of individuals over several kilometers between populations that differed in population density and social organization and associated reproductive tactic change in some dispersers.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Geographic intra-specific variation in social organization is driven by population density

Schradin

Drouard

Lemonnier

et al. 2020

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Geographic intra-specific variation in social organization is driven by population density

Schradin

Drouard

Lemonnier

et al. 2020

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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“…Individual changes in telomere length over the dry and moist seasons were tested using paired ttests. To test the predictive value of relative telomere length on disappearance risk of individual striped mice from the population (Vuarin et al 2019) , we used a linear mixed model with binomial distribution of the survival variable (0 and 1, the latter indicating the presence of the individual). Individuals were regarded as not having disappeared when they were still trapped in July or afterwards (monthly trapping of groups continued for 1.5 years).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of the individuals sampled in January, survived until July and disappeared. July was chosen as the censoring date, since this is when breeding dispersal peaks, such that most cases of disappearance that occur before this time can be assumed to be due to mortality (Vuarin et al 2019). Explanatory variables included in the models were telomere lengths measured in January, March and July (n=52 measures, with Individual ID as random factor).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal variation in telomere dynamics in African striped mice

et al. 2020

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Telomere shortening has been used as an indicator of aging and is believed to accelerate under harsh environmental conditions. This can be attributed to the fact that telomere shortening has often been regarded as non-reversible and negatively impacting fitness. However, studies of laboratory mice indicate that they may be able to repair telomere loss to recover from environmental harshness, as indicated by recent studies in hibernating rodents. We studied seasonal variation in telomere dynamics in African striped mice (Rhabdomys pumilio) living in a highly seasonal environment. In our annual species, individuals born in the moist spring (high food availability) need to survive the harsh dry summer (low food availability) to be able to reproduce in the following spring. We studied the effect of the harsh dry vs. the benign moist season on telomere dynamics. We also tested whether telomere length and changes in telomere length were associated with the probability that individuals disappeared form the population during the dry season. Male but not female stripped mice showed age-related telomere erosion. Telomeres were longer at the beginning of the dry season compared to the rest of the year. Telomeres increased significantly in length during the moist season. Neither telomere length at the onset of the dry season nor telomere loss over the dry season predicted whether or not individuals disappeared. In conclusion, our data suggest that seasonal attrition and restoring of telomeres also occurs in non-hibernating wild rodents living in hot food restricted environments.

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“…However, we were mindful of testing the same individual twice since some mice could have remembered the task 25 . Furthermore, it was not possible to test the same individual in both seasons because free-ranging striped mice disperse in early winter 45 or disappear due to predation. Other studies also reach conclusions about cognitive flexibility between distinct populations e.g., high versus low elevation 10 , urban versus rural area 4 , humid versus arid area 12 and between seasons (winter versus summer 25 , 46 ; breeding versus non-breeding 39 , 40 ), and the same individuals were not re-sampled.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, it would have been interesting to perform a serial reversal task and paid attention to the improvement in performance over successive reversals 47 according to the season. However, to perform a serial reversal task with free-ranging animals is challenging, it requires tracking the same individuals in space and time which is difficult with prey species showing dispersal and high predation pressure such as striped mice 45 , 48 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal variation in reversal learning reveals greater female cognitive flexibility in African striped mice

Rochais

Hotte

Pillay

2021

Sci Rep

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Cognitive flexibility describes the ability of animals to alter cognitively mediated behaviour in response to changing situational demands, and can vary according to prevailing environemental conditions and individual caracteristics. In the present study, we investigated (1) how learning and reversal learning performance changes between seasons, and (2) how cognitive flexibility is related to sex in a free-living small mammal. We studied 107 African striped mice, Rhabdomys pumilio, in an arid semi-desert, 58 during the hot dry summer with low food availability, and 49 during the cold wet winter with higher food availability. We used an escape box task to test for learning and reversal learning performance. We found that learning and reversal learning efficiency varied seasonally by sex: females tested in summer were faster at solving both learning and reversal tasks than males tested in winter. Performance varied within sex: males tested in winter showed faster learning compared to males tested in summer. During reversal learning, females tested in summer were more efficient and solve the task faster compared to females tested in winter. We suggest that seasonal cognitive performance could be related to sex-specific behavioural characteristics of the species, resulting in adaptation for living in harsh environmental conditions.

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Elevated basal corticosterone levels increase disappearance risk of light but not heavy individuals in a long-term monitored rodent population

Abstract: Elevated basal corticosterone levels increase disappearance risk of light but not heavy individuals in a longterm monitored rodent population. Hormones and Behavior, 113, 95-102.

Cited by 19 publications

References 46 publications

Geographic intra-specific variation in social organization is driven by population density

Geographic intra-specific variation in social organization is driven by population density

Seasonal variation in telomere dynamics in African striped mice

Seasonal variation in reversal learning reveals greater female cognitive flexibility in African striped mice

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