Recent encounters with rattlesnakes enhance ground squirrel responsiveness to predator cues

Ayon, Rey E.; Putman, Breanna J.; Clark, Rulon W.

doi:10.1007/s00265-017-2378-1

Cited by 15 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…In some species, prior experience is necessary before effective antipredator behaviours are exhibited in response to indirect cues of predator presence (Apfelbach et al 2005). In addition, where predators are present in the natural surroundings of an animal, the fear of predators is continuously reinforced, enhancing the responsiveness to predator cues (Ayon et al 2017). Experiences with predators have also been shown to play a vital role in the anti-predator behaviour of wild dogs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of lion (Panthera leo) scat as a wild dog (Lycaon pictus) deterrent on game farms

et al. 2023

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Context. The conservation of the Endangered African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) poses a major challenge to conservationists because outside the boundaries of protected areas, wild dogs are prone to conflict with farmers. Mitigation measures appropriate for game farmers are scarce, leaving them with limited options to reduce wild dog impact. As a result, targeted persecution is a common occurrence. However, wild dogs are subject to intraguild competition with dominant competitors, often resulting in their suppression and spatial displacement. Therefore, olfactory cues of lion presence may trigger an adverse reaction in wild dogs, and could be a means to manage wild dog movements across the landscape to prevent conflict with farmers. Aim. We aimed to evaluate whether wild dogs can be deterred by simulating lion presence. Methods. By using translocated scent cues in the form of lion scat deployed along the perimeter of plots, lion presence was simulated on game farms where lions were absent. The rate and duration of incursions by wild dogs, collared with GPS trackers, into control and treatment plots ('group') were evaluated. Key results. Wild dog incursion rate dropped by 55.5%, and duration of incursion events dropped by 72.7%, after lion scat was deposited. Control and treatment plots were equally affected with no significant effect of the grouping on wild dog movement. The magnitude of the treatment effect differed between packs. Conclusion. The significant decline of wild dog movement after implementation of treatment suggests a deterrence effect. The insignificant effect of group on wild dog movement indicates large-scale avoidance triggered by a change in the wild dogs' risk perception across the landscape following treatment. The fact that the magnitude of the treatment effect differed between packs indicates that the response to predator cues is likely to be context-dependent. Implications. The findings present a novel approach to managing free-roaming wild dogs by utilising biologically relevant cues, which may benefit wild dog conservation. There is a need for further research to develop the emerging field of scent studies to provide non-lethal solutions and progress towards evidence-based large carnivore management practices.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2005). In addition, where predators are present in the natural surroundings of an animal, the fear of predators is continuously reinforced, enhancing the responsiveness to predator cues (Ayon et al . 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of lion (Panthera leo) scat as a wild dog (Lycaon pictus) deterrent on game farms

et al. 2023

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“…Additional details are provided in the supplementary methods, based on 65 . Freezing was defined as immobility, > 1 s, with or without small pendulum-like head movements with feet/body/neck immobility without vibrissae movement 69 , as this is indicative of fear in rats 71 and other small mammals 72 , 73 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Repeated stress exposure in mid-adolescence attenuates behavioral, noradrenergic, and epigenetic effects of trauma-like stress in early adult male rats

Chaby

Sadik

Burson

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Stress in adolescence can regulate vulnerability to traumatic stress in adulthood through region-specific epigenetic activity and catecholamine levels. We hypothesized that stress in adolescence would increase adult trauma vulnerability by impairing extinction-retention, a deficit in PTSD, by (1) altering class IIa histone deacetylases (HDACs), which integrate effects of stress on gene expression, and (2) enhancing norepinephrine in brain regions regulating cognitive effects of trauma. We investigated the effects of adolescent-stress on adult vulnerability to severe stress using the single-prolonged stress (SPS) model in male rats. Rats were exposed to either (1) adolescent-stress (33–35 postnatal days) then SPS (58–60 postnatal days; n = 14), or (2) no adolescent-stress and SPS (58–60 postnatal days; n = 14), or (3) unstressed conditions (n = 8). We then measured extinction-retention, norepinephrine, HDAC4, and HDAC5. As expected, SPS exposure induced an extinction–retention deficit. Adolescent-stress prior to SPS eliminated this deficit, suggesting adolescent-stress conferred resiliency to adult severe stress. Adolescent-stress also conferred region-specific resilience to norepinephrine changes. HDAC4 and HDAC5 were down-regulated following SPS, and these changes were also modulated by adolescent-stress. Regulation of HDAC levels was consistent with the pattern of cognitive effects of SPS; only animals exposed to SPS without adolescent-stress exhibited reduced HDAC4 and HDAC5 in the prelimbic cortex, hippocampus, and striatum. Thus, HDAC regulation caused by severe stress in adulthood interacts with stress history such that seemingly conflicting reports describing effects of adolescent stress on adult PTSD vulnerability may stem in part from dynamic HDAC changes following trauma that are shaped by adolescent stress history.

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“…The fear conditioning context was distinguished from the second context using visual, olfactory, and tactile cues (additional details in Supplementary Methods). Freezing responses were quantified as a proxy of fear (Bouton and Bolles, 1980; Knox et al, 2012); freezing was defined as immobility, lasting longer than 1 s, but allowing for small pendulum-like head movements with all four feet and the body immobile (and without vibrissae flicking), as this is also suggested to be a fear behavior in rats (Kolpakov et al, 1977) and other small mammals (Halpin, 1983; Ayon et al, 2017). To minimize disturbance, the experimenter was not in the room during testing; trials were video recorded and freezing behavior was measured by analysists blind to treatment.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive Flexibility Training Improves Extinction Retention Memory and Enhances Cortical Dopamine With and Without Traumatic Stress Exposure

Chaby

Karavidha

Lisieski

et al. 2019

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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Stress exposure can cause lasting changes in cognition, but certain individual traits, such as cognitive flexibility, have been shown to reduce the degree, duration, or severity of cognitive changes following stress. Both stress and cognitive flexibility training affect decision making by modulating monoamine signaling. Here, we test the role cognitive flexibility training, and high vs. low cognitive flexibility at the individual level, in attenuating stress-induced changes in memory and monoamine levels using the single prolonged stress (SPS) rodent model of traumatic stress in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Exposure to SPS can heighten fear responses to conditioned cues (i.e., freezing) after a fear association has been extinguished, referred to as a deficit in extinction retention. This deficit is thought to reflect an impairment in context processing that is characteristic of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). During a cognitive flexibility training we assessed individual variability in cognitive skills and conditioned rats to discriminately use cues in their environment. We found that cognitive flexibility training, alone or followed by SPS exposure, accelerated extinction learning and decreased fear responses over time during extinction retention testing, compared with rats not given cognitive flexibility training. These findings suggest that cognitive flexibility training may improve context processing in individuals with and without traumatic stress exposure. Individual performance during the reversal phase of the cognitive flexibility training predicted subsequent context processing; individuals with high reversal performance exhibited a faster decrease in freezing responses during extinction retention testing. Thus, high reversal performance predicted enhanced retention of extinction learning over time and suggests that cognitive flexibility training may be a strategy to promote context processing. In a brain region vital for maintaining cognitive flexibility and fear suppression, the prelimbic cortex (PLC), cognitive flexibility training also lastingly enhanced dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) levels, in animals with and without traumatic stress exposure. In contrast, cognitive flexibility training prior to traumatic stress exposure decreased levels of DA and its metabolites in the striatum, a region mediating reflexive decision making. Overall, our results suggest that cognitive flexibility training can provide lasting benefits by enhancing extinction retention, a hallmark cognitive effect of trauma, and prelimbic DA, which can maintain flexibility across changing contexts.

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Recent encounters with rattlesnakes enhance ground squirrel responsiveness to predator cues

Cited by 15 publications

References 69 publications

Evaluation of lion (Panthera leo) scat as a wild dog (Lycaon pictus) deterrent on game farms

Evaluation of lion (Panthera leo) scat as a wild dog (Lycaon pictus) deterrent on game farms

Repeated stress exposure in mid-adolescence attenuates behavioral, noradrenergic, and epigenetic effects of trauma-like stress in early adult male rats

Cognitive Flexibility Training Improves Extinction Retention Memory and Enhances Cortical Dopamine With and Without Traumatic Stress Exposure

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