Milk composition in a wild mammal: a physiological signature of phenological changes

Renaud, Limoilou‐Amelie; Rousseu, François; Blanchet, F. Guillaume; Cohen, Alan A.; Festa‐Bianchet, Marco; Pelletier, Fanie

doi:10.1007/s00442-020-04684-y

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…A long time interval between vegetation green-up and senescence (i.e. a long 'summer') increases milk fatty acid concentrations (Renaud et al, 2020), providing another pathway by which vegetation phenology can influence lamb growth. Early-born lambs are heavier at weaning (Feder et al, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here, we evaluate the match-mismatch hypothesis in bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), which rely on both stored resources and new vegetation in spring to sustain lactation (Festa-Bianchet et al, 2019;Renaud et al, 2020). Lambs begin to forage at about 3 weeks of age, thus do not entirely depend on maternal milk for growth.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lambs begin to forage at about 3 weeks of age, thus do not entirely depend on maternal milk for growth. Milk composition is affected by vegetation phenology, as longer vegetative seasons increase milk fatty acid concentrations (Renaud et al, 2020). Weaning is gradual and is assumed to occur in mid-September, with later suckles being rare and very short (Festa-Bianchet, 1988a).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Testing the match–mismatch hypothesis in bighorn sheep in the context of climate change

Renaud

Festa-Bianchet

Pelletier

2021

Global Change Biology

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Climate change is expected to shift both the timing and duration of vegetation growth in temperate environments (Thackeray et al., 2010). Facing these changes, wild animals can modify their reproductive phenology to track vegetation availability (Parmesan, 2006;Walther et al., 2002) and match the greatest reproductive expenditure with the best food conditions, but only if cues for anticipated environmental conditions remain reliable. Mismatch refers to the desynchronized timing of critical events between interacting species (Kharouba & Wolkovich, 2020). The match-mismatch hypothesis was first proposed to explain how the growth and survival of larval cod (Gadus morhua) varied according to their synchrony with their food, plankton (Cushing, 1990). The hypothesis was extended to terrestrial environments to explain how seasonal cycles drive synchrony between different trophic levels (Stenseth & Mysterud,

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Testing the match–mismatch hypothesis in bighorn sheep in the context of climate change

Renaud

Festa-Bianchet

Pelletier

2021

Global Change Biology

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Sporadic events have a greater influence on the dynamics of small isolated populations than density-dependence and environmental conditions

Turgeon,

Pelletier,

D. Côté

et al. 2024

The American Naturalist

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Chronic Stress Decreases Lactation Performance

Josefson

Pereira

Skibiel

2023

Integrative and Comparative Biology

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The ability to provision offspring with milk is a significant adaptive feature of mammals that allows for considerable maternal regulation of offspring beyond gestation, as milk provides complete nutrition for developing neonates. For mothers, lactation is a period of marked increases in energetic and nutritive demands to support milk synthesis; because of this considerable increase in demand imposed on multiple physiological systems, lactation is particularly susceptible to the effects of chronic stress. Here, we present work that explores the impact of chronic stress during lactation on maternal lactation performance (i.e., milk quality and quantity) and the expression of key milk synthesis genes in mammary tissue using a Sprague-Dawley rat model. We induced chronic stress using a well-established, ethologically-relevant novel male intruder paradigm for ten consecutive days during the postpartum period. We hypothesized that the increased energetic burden of mounting a chronic stress response during lactation would decrease lactation performance. Specifically, we predicted that chronic exposure to this social stressor would decrease either milk quality (i.e., composition of proximate components and energy density) or quantity. We also predicted that changes in proximate composition (i.e., lipid, lactose, and protein concentration) would be associated with changes in gene expression levels of milk synthesis genes. Our results supported our hypothesis that chronic stress impairs lactation performance. Relative to the controls, chronically-stressed rats had lower milk yields. We also found that milk quality was decreased; milk from chronically-stressed mothers had lower lipid concentration and lower energy density, though protein and lactose concentrations were not different between treatment groups. Although there was a change in proximate composition, chronic stress did not impact mammary gland expression of key milk synthesis genes. Together, this work demonstrates that exposure to a chronic stressor impacts lactation performance, which in turn has the potential to impact offspring development via maternal effects.

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Milk composition in a wild mammal: a physiological signature of phenological changes

Cited by 4 publications

References 47 publications

Testing the match–mismatch hypothesis in bighorn sheep in the context of climate change

Testing the match–mismatch hypothesis in bighorn sheep in the context of climate change

Sporadic events have a greater influence on the dynamics of small isolated populations than density-dependence and environmental conditions

Chronic Stress Decreases Lactation Performance

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