Bio 281 2011 Lecture 4 - Imprinting and Kin Recognition

Imprinting and kin recognition Imprinting Konrad Lorenz Filial imprinting Filial imprinting Multiple cues strengthen imprinting response Critical period Sensitive period Experimental approaches Hours after hatching precocial altricial Filial imprinting Timing of critical period Locomotion-fear dichotomy Tolerance of novel objects Locomotor performance Hours after hatching 1 Sexual imprinting Sexual imprinting Process of learning characteristics of future mates Recognition of appropriate mates Preferred humans ring dove Reared by hand Reared with conspecifics Preferred doves acquisition stage consolidation stage hatching sexual maturity time Sexual imprinting Sexual imprinting as evolutionary force Sexual imprinting as way to strike balance between species recognition and inbreeding Male Japanese quail raised with females preferred… < < …slightly similar over identical over dissimilar females. Mate assortatively when placed together Assortative mating due to sexual imprinting Sexual imprinting as evolutionary force Sexual imprinting as evolutionary force Pairs of benthic (top) and limnetic (bottom) of sticklebacks Divergent selection Heterospecific father Conspecific father Heterospecific odor No father Tested female mate preferences as adults Parental care exclusively by male 2 Sexual imprinting as evolutionary force Prefer conspecific male benthics limnetics Sexual imprinting as evolutionary force benthics limnetics heterospecific conspecific biological Strength of imprinting correlated with father’s parental care Prefer heterospecific male Imprinting and conservation Imprinting and conservation Captive breeding, reintroduction of whooping cranes sandhill crane whooping crane Imprinting and conservation Imprinting and conservation Used to teach migratory routes to juveniles Used to teach migratory routes to juveniles 3 Habitat imprinting Salmon life cycle Ecologically relevant stimuli anadromous salmon sockeye salmon monarch butterfly Typically occurs in species with no overlap of generations Habitat imprinting in salmon Habitat imprinting How do they find them? How do salmon find their way to natal stream? common cuckoo Time looking Cuckoos must find mates raised by same host species Is it important that they do? Kin recognition Cuckoos raised in 6 habitat types Measured time spent looking at habitats Familiar Natal Others Modes of kin recognition Vocal recognition in terns Visual recognition in primates Olfactory recognition in ungulates 4 Kin recognition Environmental labels Olfactory recognition in social insects • Production component • Perception component • Action component hydrocarbon “signature” Environmental labels Environmental labels Paper wasp Polistes fuscatus Can be age, sex, caste, or species specific Environmental labels Environmental labels “Home field advantage” N U U U N N1 U N2 N N N1 U N2 U Control Treatment Nestmates more tolerant of each other than non-nestmates Nestmates and non-nestmates similarly tolerant Production component not affected Learned perception of nest odor is affected N U N1 U U N2 N1 N U N2 5 Environmental labels Genetic labels …but genetic relatedness does affect some interactions Cross-fostering studies: nonsibs raised together are less aggressive than sibs raised apart… pairs reared apart Belding’s ground squirrel Belding’s ground squirrel Paul Sherman Jill Mateo Role of major histocompatibility complex? Genetic labels Role of MHC in Arctic charr Role of MHC in Arctic charr MHC class II B gene sequenced Individuals genotyped Preferences tested in fluviarium A1=water A2=water Genetic labels Mother 2 A1=S++ or S-A2=S++ or S-- A1=S++ A2=S-- A1=S-A2=N-- A1=S-A2=N+- Genetic labels Cross-fostering design Mother 1 A1=S++ or S-A2=water Cross-fostering design Mother 3 Mother 1 Scent marking by females Tested female responses to: Familiar nonkin vs. Unfamiliar kin vs. Unfamiliar nonkin vs. Mother 2 Mother 3 Nonsibs raised together Sibs raised apart Nonsibs raised apart How do we interpret these data? 6 Genetic labels Can we conclude that females cannot discriminate female odors? Nonsibs raised together Sibs raised apart Nonsibs raised apart Kin recognition in tadpole morphs of spadefoot toad Omnivores Carnivores Proportion of prey that were siblings Genetic labels Proportion of time with siblings Genetic labels 24-hrs food deprivation 48-hrs food deprivation Carnivorous morphs minimize contact with siblings, but sometimes they can’t help themselves… Genetic labels Can nepotistic species discriminate among degrees of relatedness? Habituation: Control Referent Time spent investigating odor Genetic labels Belding’s ground squirrel Ref trial 1 Ref trial 2 Ref trial 3 Mother Grandmother Half-aunt Non-kin Dishabituation: Control Belding’s ground squirrel ? What did authors conclude about S. lateralis and why is it important? 7