Stress axis regulation during social ascension in a group-living cichlid fish

Culbert, Brett M.; Gilmour, Kathleen M.; Balshine, Sigal

doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2018.06.007

Cited by 27 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Similarly, tactile stimulation was found to reduce glucocorticoid responses in fish [29,75], but we found that individuals recovering from stress received fewer affiliative acts (including affiliative touches) from their groupmates. Although N. pulcher individuals commonly engage in affiliative interactions with groupmates, subordinates typically receive far fewer affiliative acts than breeders [44,64]. Even following a territory intrusion by an unfamiliar conspecific (a stressful event that can destabilize a social group), rates of affiliation directed towards subordinates did royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspb Proc.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Circulating cortisol levels were measured using an enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (EIA; Neogen, Lexington, KY, USA) following the manufacturer's protocol; the assay was previously validated for N. pulcher [64]. Plasma samples were diluted 100× with Milli-Q water (EMD Millipore, Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada) prior to analysis.…”

Section: (F ) Cortisol Quantificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Changes in transcript abundance were assessed by semi-quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction using gene-specific primers (electronic supplementary material, table S3), as described previously [64]. In addition to the targets in the POA (avt, crf, and it), we also assessed transcript abundances of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (star) and cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme ( p450scc) in the head kidney (analogous to the adrenal gland) because they mediate the rate-limiting step in glucocorticoid synthesis [65,66].…”

Section: (G) Transcript Abundance Analysis By Real-time Polymerase Chmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social buffering of stress in a group-living fish

2019

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Living in groups affords individuals many benefits, including the opportunity to reduce stress. In mammals, such ‘social buffering’ of stress is mediated by affiliative relationships and production of the neuropeptide oxytocin, but whether these mechanisms facilitate social buffering across vertebrates remains an open question. Therefore, we evaluated whether the social environment influenced the behavioural and physiological recovery from an acute stressor in a group-living cichlid, Neolamprologus pulcher . Individual fish that recovered with their social group displayed lower cortisol levels than individuals that recovered alone. This social buffering of the stress response was associated with a tendency towards lower transcript abundance of arginine vasotocin and isotocin in the preoptic area of the brain, suggesting reduced neural activation of the stress axis. Individuals that recovered with their social group quickly resumed normal behaviour but received fewer affiliative acts following the stressor. Further experiments revealed similar cortisol levels between individuals that recovered in visual contact with their own social group and those in visual contact with a novel but non-aggressive social group. Collectively, our results suggest that affiliation and familiarity per se do not mediate social buffering in this group-living cichlid, and the behavioural and physiological mechanisms responsible for social buffering may vary across vertebrates.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: (F ) Cortisol Quantificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: (G) Transcript Abundance Analysis By Real-time Polymerase Chmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social buffering of stress in a group-living fish

2019

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“…Indeed, a recent study in a group living cichlid has shown that aggressive behaviour is associated with higher production of cortisol (Culbert, Gilmour, & Balshine, 2018). Another proteolytic product of pomca includes the alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, α-MSH, which disperses pigment-containing melanosomes in the pigment cells, thereby making fish look darker (Kobayashi, Mizusawa, Chiba, Tagawa, & Takahashi, 2012;Kobayashi, Mizusawa, Saito, & Takahashi, 2012).…”

Section: Ta B L E 1 (Continued)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Transcriptomic response to aquaculture intensification in Nile tilapia

Rodríguez‐Barreto

Rey

Uren-Webster

et al. 2019

Evolutionary Applications

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To meet future global demand for fish protein, more fish will need to be farmed using fewer resources, and this will require the selection of nonaggressive individuals that perform well at high densities. Yet, the genetic changes underlying loss of aggression and adaptation to crowding during aquaculture intensification are largely unknown. We examined the transcriptomic response to aggression and crowding in Nile tilapia, one of the oldest and most widespread farmed fish, whose social structure shifts from social hierarchies to shoaling with increasing density. A mirror test was used to quantify aggression and skin darkening (a proxy for stress) of fish reared at low and high densities, and gene expression in the hypothalamus was analysed among the most and least aggressive fish at each density. Fish reared at high density were darker, had larger brains, were less active and less aggressive than those reared at low density and had differentially expressed genes consistent with a reactive stress‐coping style and activation of the hypothalamus–pituitary–interrenal (HPI) axis. Differences in gene expression among aggressive fish were accounted for by density and the interaction between density and aggression levels, whereas for nonaggressive fish differences in gene expression were associated with individual variation in skin brightness and social stress. Thus, the response to crowding in Nile tilapia is context dependent and involves different neuroendocrine pathways, depending on social status. Knowledge of genes associated with the response to crowding may pave the way for more efficient fish domestication, based on the selection of nonaggressive individuals with increasing tolerance to chronic stress necessary for aquaculture intensification.

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“…For instance, increased familiarity among group members can allow for increased social niche specialization (Laskowski and Pruitt, 2014), reduced within-group competition (Laskowski and Pruitt, 2014), and increased group productivity (Modlmeier et al, 2012). Familiarity of groupmates can also enhance the effects of social buffering against environmental challenges (Hennessy et al, 2000; Livia Terranova et al, 1999) and decrease overall stress levels (Culbert et al, 2018; Kikusui et al, 2006; Nadler et al, 2016). Group stability also helps to reduce the costs of group living.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral and physiological evidence that increasing group size ameliorates the impacts of social disturbance

Anderson

Little

Fisher

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Intra-group social stability is important for the long-term productivity and health of social organisms. We evaluated the effect of group size on group stability in the face of repeated social perturbations using a cooperatively breeding fish, Neolamprologus pulcher. In a laboratory study, we compared both the social and physiological responses of individuals from small versus large groups to the repeated removal and replacement of the most dominant group member (the breeder male). Individuals living in large groups were overall more resistant to instability but were seemingly slower to recover from perturbation. Members of small group were more vulnerable to instability but recovered faster. Breeder females in smaller groups also showed greater physiological preparedness for instability following social perturbations. In sum, we recover both behavioral and physiological evidence that living in larger groups helps to dampen the impacts of social instability in this system.Summary StatementSocial stability is vital for group productivity and long-term persistence. Here, both behavioral and physiological evidence conveys that larger groups are less susceptible to social disturbance.

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Stress axis regulation during social ascension in a group-living cichlid fish

Cited by 27 publications

References 65 publications

Social buffering of stress in a group-living fish

Social buffering of stress in a group-living fish

Transcriptomic response to aquaculture intensification in Nile tilapia

Behavioral and physiological evidence that increasing group size ameliorates the impacts of social disturbance

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