Serge Daan

Sex identification in birds using two CHD genes

In theory, birds should control the sex ratio of the offspring they produce. In practice, we have very limited evidence to support this idea because of our difficulty in sexing nestling birds. In addition, extinction is facing an increasing number of birds. Our ability to help includes captive breeding which, again, is difficult if male and female adults cannot be recognized. Here we describe the discovery of a W-linked gene in the Great tit (Parus major). It is named CHD-W (chromodomain-helicase-DNA-binding protein W-linked), it is highly conserved and it is W-chromosome linked in a range of bird species. These birds also possess a second, non-W-linked CHD gene (CHD-NW). A single, simple polymerase chain reaction technique based on both genes can be used to identify the sex in a wide variety of birds.

Reproductive effort decreases antibody responsiveness

The prevalence and intensity of parasitic infection often increases in animals when they are reproducing. This may be a consequence of increased rates of parasite transmission due to reproductive effort. Alternatively, endocrine changes associated with reproduction can lead to immunosuppression. Here we provide support for a third potential mechanism: reduced immunocompetence as a consequence of adaptive reallocation of resources in times of increased energetic demand. In captive zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata, reproductive effort was manipulated through brood size. Enhanced effort was found to affect the production of antibodies towards sheep red blood cells. In addition, activity of zebra finches was manipulated independently of parental care. Experimentally increased daily workloads in activity reward schedules also suppressed antibody production. Thus, we show that not just the reproductive state, but the increased activity that accompanies reproduction is associated with immunocompetence. This mechanism may be sufficient to explain the increased parasitism observed in reproducing animals. We suggest that reduced immunocompetence as a consequence of increased reproductive effort may be an important pathway for the life history cost of reproduction.

Brood size manipulations in the kestrel (Falco Tinnunculus) : Effects on offspring and parent survival

(1) Brood reductions and enlargements were carried out in kestrel nests to evaluate the consequences of raising different numbers of nestlings for both the offspring and the parents. (2) Brood enlargements caused increased daily hunting activity of the parents, reduced growth rate of the nestlings, increased nestling mortality and enhanced weight loss in the female parent. Brood reductions caused an increased food intake by the nestlings, in spite of (non-significantly) reduced parental hunting activity. Local survival of the parents was negatively correlated with the experimental change in brood size. (3) A review of the literature on brood enlargements is presented, showing that parents were able to raise more young till fledging than their natural broods in twenty-nine out of forty altricial bird species investigated. Negative effects of brood enlargements on parental survival or future reproduction were established in eight out of twelve species investigated. (4) The results are consistent with the theory that parental work for the offspring entails an inherent reduction in future reproductive output and that natural broods, by being smaller than the maximum number of nestlings that can be raised, maximize the total reproductive output.

EEG Power Density during Nap Sleep : Reflection of an Hourglass Measuring the Duration of Prior Wakefulness

The relation between the duration of prior wakefulness and EEG power density during sleep in humans was assessed by means of a study of naps. The duration of prior wakefulness was varied from 2 to 20 hr by scheduling naps at 1000 hr, 1200 hr, 1400 hr, 1600 hr, 1800 hr, 2000 hr, and 0400 hr. In contrast to sleep latencies, which exhibited a minimum in the afternoon, EEG power densities in the delta and theta frequencies were a monotonic function of the duration of prior wakefulness. The data support the hypothesis that EEG power density during non-rapid eye movement sleep is only determined by the prior history of sleep and wakefulness and is not determined by clock-like mechanisms.

THE ENERGETIC COST OF FEATHER SYNTHESIS IS PROPORTIONAL TO BASAL METABOLIC-RATE

The cost of feather production, Cf (kJ · [g dry feathers]⁻¹), differs substantially between species. We studied the molt cost in one insectivorous songbird (bluethroat, Luscinia s. svecica) and one granivorous songbird (common redpoll, Carduelis f. flammea). We wanted to test whether diferences in diet, body mass (or basal metabolic rate, BMR), or the latitude of molt could explain interspecific differences. In each individual, the resting metabolism, as measured by indirect calorimetry, was positively correlated with feather production rate. The cost of feather synthesis was estimated at 836 and 683 kJ · (g dry feathers)⁻¹ in the bluethroats and redpolls, respectively. The efciency of feather production was 2.6% and 3.1%. It was concluded that neither diet nor latitudinal constraints alone could explain the differences found between species. The cost of feather production was significantly correlated with both body mass and mass-specific BMR, BMRm (kJ · g⁻¹ · d⁻¹), where BMRm currently showed the highest degree of explanation, although other factors that influence BMRm cannot be discounted. The Cf for a species with known BMRm may be estimated from the equation Cf = 270 BMRm. Species with a relatively high BMR for their size also have a relatively high Cf. The tight association of Cf and BMRm between species, and the low efciency values of feather synthesis, suggests that feather production costs include more than the costs for keratin synthesis: they mainly consist of costs of maintaining tissues necessary for feather production.

Increased daily work precipitates natural death in the kestrel

1. Costs of reproduction have been assessed experimentally by measuring subsequent survival and reproduction of parent animals raising enlarged and reduced numbers of offspring. Reported effects on survival have so far always referred to local survival of marked individuals in the study population. They do not provide definitive proof of a cost of reproduction, since reduced local survival may be due either to reduced survival or to an increased tendency to emigrate from the study area. Therefore, it is important to assess mortality rates in connection with brood size experiments. 2. We report an analysis of the time of death in 63 cases where kestrels, Falco tinnunculus L. had raised broods of manipulated size and were subsequently reported freshly dead. 60% of the parents raising two extra nestlings were reported dead before the end of the first winter, compared to 29% of those raising control or reduced broods. This result confirms our interpretation of the manipulation effects on local survival as due to mortality rather than emigration. The extra mortality occurred in the winter following the brood enlargement. 3. Kestrel parents in these experiments have been shown to adjust their daily energy expenditure to the modified brood size. Increased parental effort in this species thus entails an increased risk of death half a year later.

Comparison of the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire with the Horne‐Östberg's Morningness‐Eveningness score

We report on results from an Internet survey of sleeping habits in a Dutch population using the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ), supplemented with the Horne‐Östberg Morningness‐Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ). The MCTQ was completed by 5,055 responders, of which 2,481 also completed the MEQ. MEQ score correlated well with the MCTQ assessment of time of mid‐sleep on free days (MSF; r=− 0.73) and on workdays (MSW; r=− 0.61). MEQ was more strongly correlated with MSF (50% of sleep time) than with sleep onset (0%), rise time (100%), or with any other percentile (10 to 40, 60% to 90%) of sleep on free days. The study shows that chronotype (based on MSF as measured by the MCTQ) strongly correlates with morningness‐eveningness (as measured by the MEQ). However, the MCTQ collects additional detailed information on sleep‐wake behavior under natural conditions.

Adaptive seasonal variation in the sex ratio of kestrel broods

In contrast with the situation in mammals, sex ratio variations of offspring in birds have rarely been documented, and never been shown to be adaptively tuned to systematic differences in the prospects for daughters and sons. The sex ratio (% males) in broods of European kestrels, Falco tinnunculus L., declined with progressive date of birth. This decline enhanced reproductive prospects of the broods since the probability of breeding as yearling declined with birth date for male offspring, but not for females. The sex ratio bias of the brood was produced by non-random sex segregation at meiosis: by altering the within-clutch sequence of sexes (first male then female eggs in early clutches, the reverse in late clutches) laying kestrels assigned the sex with the better long-term reproductive prospects to the initial eggs of their clutch, which suffer least mortality in the nest. file: 1990FunctEcolDijkstraC.pdf Gebruik a.u.b. deze link om te verwijzen naar dit document: http://irs.ub.rug.nl/dbi/4e16b2d622f03

The Art of Entrainment

The circadian system actively synchronizes the temporal sequence of biological functions with the environment. The oscillatory behavior of the system ensures that entrainment is not passive or driven and therefore allows for great plasticity and adaptive potential. With the tools at hand, we now can concentrate on the most important circadian question: How is the complex task of entrainment achieved by anatomical, cellular, and molecular components? Understanding entrainment is equal to understanding the circadian system. The results of this basic research will help us to understand temporal ecology and will allow us to improve conditions for humans in industrialized societies.

Fecal corticosteroids in a territorial bird selected for different personalities: daily rhythm and the response to social stress

In this study we tested the hypothesis that in a passerine bird (great tit, Parus major) individuals differing for coping strategies differ in the magnitude of the adrenocortical response to social stress as well. Furthermore, we aimed at characterizing daily rhythms in corticosteroid release before and after social stress. We used 16 males from either of two lines bidirectionally selected for different coping strategies (fast and slow explorers). Social stress was induced by confrontation with an aggressive resident male. Corticosteroid metabolites were analyzed in feces collected at 90-min intervals from 900 to 1630 h on a baseline day, on the day of the social conflict, and on the following day. In both days and in both lines levels varied with time of day in a robust rhythm with a peak in the first sample of the morning and a trough at the end of the light phase. This rhythm correlates with activity (perch hopping). An overall increase in levels relative to baseline day was observed between 30 and 140 min after the challenge. Birds of the less aggressive and more cautious line (slow explorers) showed a trend for a higher response compared to birds of the more aggressive and bolder line (fast explorers), which showed almost no response. On the day after the challenge the birds of the slow line exhibited significantly reduced corticosteroid secretion, probably due to an increased negative feedback. The results provide evidence for a physiological basis of different coping strategies in birds, emerging in response to social stress and with a pattern similar to that in other vertebrates.