Habituation to humans affects yolk steroid levels and offspring phenotype in quail

Bertin, Aline; Richard‐Yris, Marie‐Annick; Houdelier, Cécilia; Lumineau, Sophie; Möstl, Erich; Kuchar, Alexandra; Hirschenhauser, Katharina; Kotrschal, Kurt

doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2008.04.012

Cited by 54 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Jayakody et al (2008) found that deer exposed to a similar amount of disturbance increased their vigilance, a behaviour that can be associated with physiological stress (Monclus et al 2005;Deiss et al 2009). Symptoms of stress have been found in several species following human disturbance, for example penguins (Ellenberg et al 2009), quail (Bertin et al 2008), wolves and elk (Creel et al 2002), although welfare is not necessarily affected (Creel et al 2002;Martin and Reale 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of red deer (Cervus elaphus) to regular disturbance by hill walkers

et al. 2011

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Disturbance to wildlife from human recreational activities is increasing as remote areas become accessible to greater numbers of people. We used Global Positioning System tracking collars to monitor the movements of red deer (Cervus elaphus) stags (n=8) in a herd whose feeding grounds lie close to a popular walking track in the Highlands of Scotland. The track is used by around 20,000 walkers per year and is busiest in summer and at weekends. In a 2-year study, the locations of collared deer were recorded at 2-h intervals on typically busy days (Sundays: mean number of walkers=204) and quiet days (Wednesdays: mean number of walkers=49) during May and June. The deer were consistently further from the track on Sundays than Wednesdays (371 vs 286 m) and moved greater distances between fixes (365 vs 308 m). The amount of time spent (percentage of total fixes) in the small area of grassland closest to the track was lower on Sundays than Wednesdays (6% vs 13%). Although 97% of walkers use the track during the day (between 0800 and 2000 h), there was no evidence of compensatory use of grassland at night, when the deer moved to higher ground dominated by heather moorland. The results demonstrate that animals which appear to be habituated to regular disturbance within their home territory may nevertheless alter their behaviour and potentially diet composition, as a result of that disturbance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of red deer (Cervus elaphus) to regular disturbance by hill walkers

et al. 2011

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“…However, other potential stressors have replaced the natural ones, such as crowding [1,2], human presence and handling [3][4][5][6], artificial light [7] and lack of out-door space. The stressors affecting domestic animals in the human-controlled environment are therefore different than for the wild ancestors, and the ability and strategy to cope with various types of stressors may have been modified during domestication.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Domestication effects on behavioural and hormonal responses to acute stress in chickens

Ericsson

Fallahsharoudi

Bergquist

et al. 2014

Physiology & Behavior

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Comparative studies have shown that alterations in physiology, morphology and behaviour have arisen due to the domestication. A driving factor behind many of the changes could be a shift in stress responses, with modified endocrine and behavioural profiles. In the present study we compared two breeds of chicken (Gallus gallus), the domestic White Leghorn (WL) egg laying breed and its ancestor, the Red Junglefowl (RJF). Birds were exposed to an acute stress event, invoked by three or ten minutes of physical restraint. They were then continuously monitored for the effects on a wide range of behaviours during a 60 min recovery phase. Blood samples were collected from the chicken at baseline, and after 10 and 60 min following a similar restraint stress, and the samples were analyzed for nine endogenous steroids of the HPA and HPG axis. Concentration of the steroids was determined using validated liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry methods. In RJF, an immediate behavioural response was observed after release from restraint in several behaviours, with a relatively fast return to baseline within one hour. In WL, some behaviours were affected for a longer period of time, and others not at all. Concentrations of corticosterone increased more in RJF, but returned faster to baseline compared to WL. A range of baseline levels for HPG-related steroids differed between the breeds, and they were generally more affected by the stress in WL than in RJF. In conclusion, RJF reacted stronger both behaviourally and physiologically to the restraint stress, but also recovered faster. This would appear to be adaptive under natural conditions, whereas the stress recovery of domesticated birds has been altered by domestication and breeding for increased reproductive output.

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“…In addition, progesterone is an androgen precursor and the most abundant steroid in avian yolks surrounding avian embryos during the early developmental stages [23,24]. Moreover, yolk progesterone levels vary in relation to females' living conditions (relationship with humans) [26] and phenotypes (birds selected for a high or low level of fearfulness) [27], thus reinforcing the idea of a potential role of this steroid on offspring phenotype. Thus, a more general analysis of hormonal modulation in eggs should provide a better understanding of prenatal influences in birds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trans-generational effects of prenatal stress in quail

et al. 2013

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The prenatal environment is a source of phenotypic variability influencing the animal's characteristics. Prenatal stress affects not only the development of offspring, but also that of the following generation. Such effects have been best documented in mammals but can also be observed in birds, suggesting common processes across phylogenetic orders. We found previously that Japanese quail females stressed during laying produced offspring with higher fearfulness, probably related to modulation of testosterone levels in their eggs. Here, we evaluated long-term effects of prenatal stress by analysing reproductive traits of these F 1 offspring and, then, the development of their subsequent (F 2 ) offspring. The sexual behaviour of F 1 prenatally stressed (F1PS) males was impaired. F1PS females' eggs contained less yolk and more albumen, and higher yolk testosterone and progesterone levels than did F 1 prenatal control females. The fearfulness of F 2 prenatally stressed quail was greater than that of F 2 prenatal control quail. These F 2 behavioural differences paralleled those evidenced by their parents, suggesting trans-generational transmission of prenatal stress effects, probably mediated by egg compositions of F1PS females.

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Habituation to humans affects yolk steroid levels and offspring phenotype in quail

Cited by 54 publications

References 51 publications

Responses of red deer (Cervus elaphus) to regular disturbance by hill walkers

Responses of red deer (Cervus elaphus) to regular disturbance by hill walkers

Domestication effects on behavioural and hormonal responses to acute stress in chickens

Trans-generational effects of prenatal stress in quail

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