Paternal behavior by Peromyscus leucopus in enclosures

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 1184-1187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuhua Xia ◽  
John S. Millar
Keyword(s):  
Paternal Care ◽  
Parental Behavior ◽  
Peromyscus Leucopus ◽  
Nest Building ◽  
Paternal Investment ◽  
Behavioral Patterns ◽  
Natural Conditions ◽  
Natal Nest ◽  
Paternal Behavior ◽  
Food Caching

Male Peromyscus leucopus are known to exhibit well-developed paternal behavior in confined cages, but electrophoresis indicates promiscuity in this species. One explanation for this paradox is that the documented paternal behavioral patterns are laboratory artifacts. We made nocturnal observations of parental behavior in 14 families of P. leucopus in large enclosures and observed no paternal care. Males rarely entered the natal nest and when they did, remained in the nest for less than 2 min. Thus, we consider direct paternal care such as licking, retrieving, and huddling unlikely. We also failed to observe any indirect paternal investment such as nest building or food caching. The female in each of five pairs was very aggressive towards the male, continuously chasing him throughout most of the observation periods. Another three females actively prevented their mates from entering the natal nest. Paternal care probably does not contribute to the growth and survivorship of the young under natural conditions.

Parental care in the captive mandarin vole, Lasiopodomys mandarinus

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (8) ◽  
pp. 1339-1345 ◽  
Author(s):  
A V Smorkatcheva
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Paternal Care ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Direct Care ◽  
Paternal Investment ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Natal Nest ◽  
The Social ◽  
Mode Of Life ◽  
High Level

Based on the social structure of free-living mandarin voles (Lasiopodomys mandarinus), high paternal investment might be expected for this species. This prediction was tested under laboratory conditions. We observed 10 pairs rearing their first litter. All pairs exhibited permanent nest cohabitation. Females never prevented males from entering the natal nest. Males exhibited all the patterns of direct care of young except nursing: huddling over, brooding with kyphosis, grooming, manipulating, and retrieving young. There were no sex differences in total time spent in the nest or in time spent alone. Females spent more time grooming pups than did males. There was no sex difference in nest-building activity. The frequency of bringing food or nest material into the nest, as well as in digging time, was significantly greater for males than for females. In L. mandarinus the biparental rearing system with a high level of direct paternal care and some division of labour between the parents seems to be associated with the subterranean mode of life. This pattern of parental care can be predicted for other specialized fossorial voles.

scholarly journals Testosterone induces paternal behavior in sexually inexperienced males of Neotomodon alstoni (Rodentia: Muridae)

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 1419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juana Luis Diaz ◽  
Guillermo Ramos Blancas ◽  
Martín Martínez Torres ◽  
Agustín Carmona Castro ◽  
Benita Cedillo Ildefonso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aggressive Behavior ◽  
Paternal Care ◽  
Parental Behavior ◽  
Sexual Experience ◽  
Paternal Behavior ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Neuroendocrine Mechanisms ◽  
Selection Test ◽  
Behavior Test

The inhibition of infanticide can be considered a prerequisite for the onset of paternal behavior. Thus, hormones such as testosterone (T) would be expected to mediate the inhibition of aggression toward pups and the onset of paternal care. However, the effect of T in onset of this behavior seems to depend of sexual experience. The aim of this study was to determine whether T induces paternal behavior in sexually inexperienced males of the Mexican volcano mouse (Neotomodon alstoni). For this, 33 non-paternal males were selected based on paternal behavior tests. These non-paternal mice were organized in three groups: 10 males were castrated, 10 subjected to sham procedure, and 13 underwent castration and T replacement. After of these treatments, the males were again evaluated by a second paternal behavior test, and blood samples were obtained to measure plasma T levels by radioimmunoassay. Castrated males with T replacement changed their behavior; 46.2 % of these males displayed paternal behavior despite 92.3 % of these males having previously displayed aggressive behavior in the selection test. An increase in T facilitates the onset of paternal behavior in sexually inexperienced males of Mexican volcano mouse, as occurs in sexual experience males. These results support the hypothesis that an increase in T levels would be involved in the neuroendocrine mechanisms that suppress infanticide and promote the onset of parental behavior in Mexican volcano mice males. Future studies in this mouse will investigate whether T regulates the onset of paternal behavior via conversion to estradiol or whether both T metabolites are involved in its onset.

scholarly journals Prolactin action is necessary for parental behavior in male mice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina O. Smiley ◽  
Rosemary S.E. Brown ◽  
David R Grattan
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Paternal Care ◽  
Parental Behavior ◽  
Prolactin Receptor ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Retrieval Task ◽  
Paternal Behavior ◽  
Similar Action ◽  
Pup Retrieval ◽  
Forebrain Neurons

Parental care is critical for successful reproduction in mammals. In comparison to maternal care, the neuroendocrine mechanisms supporting paternal care are less well-studied. Laboratory mice show a mating-induced suppression of infanticide (normally observed in virgins) and onset of paternal behavior. Using this model, we sought to investigate whether the hormone prolactin plays a role in paternal behavior, as it does for maternal behavior. First, using c-fos immunoreactivity in Prlr-IRES-Cre-tdtomato reporter mouse sires, we show that the circuitry activated during paternal interactions contains prolactin-responsive neurons, including the medial preoptic area, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and medial amygdala. To evaluate whether prolactin action is required for the establishment and display of paternal behavior, we conditionally deleted the prolactin receptor (Prlr) from 3 distinct cell types: glutamatergic, GABAergic, and CaMKIIα-expressing forebrain neurons. Prlr-deletion from CaMKIIα-expressing forebrain neurons, but not from glutamatergic or GABAergic cells, resulted in a profound effect on paternal behavior, as none of these males completed the pup retrieval task. Finally, although sires do not show an acute increase in circulating prolactin levels in response to pups, pharmacological blockade of prolactin-release at the time of pup exposure resulted in failure to retrieve pups, similar to when the Prlr was deleted from CaMKIIα neurons, with prolactin administration rescuing this behavior. Taken together, our data show that paternal behavior in sires is dependent on basal levels of circulating prolactin acting at the Prlr on CaMKIIα-expressing neurons. These new data in male mice demonstrate that prolactin has a similar action in both sexes to promote parental care.

Alloparental Behavior and Paternal Behavior in Nonhuman Mammals

2020 ◽  
pp. 194-228
Author(s):  
Michael Numan
Keyword(s):  
Parental Behavior ◽  
Genetic Selection ◽  
Virgin Female ◽  
Ventromedial Hypothalamus ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Paternal Behavior ◽  
Mesolimbic Dopamine System ◽  
Laboratory Rats ◽  
Alloparental Behavior

Chapter 7 examines alloparental and paternal behavior. Although these behaviors are rare in mammals, their occurrence indicates that parental behavior can occur in the absence of pregnancy and parturition. For mammals of both sexes, dual brain circuits affect whether parental behavior occurs: An inhibitory defensive circuit (anterior hypothalamus/ventromedial hypothalamus projections to periaqueductal gray), and an excitatory parental circuit (medial preoptic area, mesolimbic dopamine system, and the oxytocin system). When alloparental behavior occurs, either through experimental genetic selection (virgin female laboratory house mice) or through natural selection (prairie voles, marmosets), the defensive circuit has been downregulated and the parental circuit has been upregulated by such selection. When paternal behavior occurs, either naturally (California mice, dwarf hamsters) or experimentally (laboratory rats and house mice), copulation with a female and remaining with her through parturition depresses the male’s defensive circuitry while activating his parental circuitry.

Parental Behavior

2020 ◽  
pp. 4-13
Author(s):  
Michael Numan
Keyword(s):  
Breeding System ◽  
Cooperative Breeding ◽  
Maternal Care ◽  
Parental Behavior ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Biparental Care ◽  
Dominant Form ◽  
Paternal Behavior ◽  
Alloparental Behavior ◽  
Care System

Chapter 2 describes the types of parental behavior that can occur in vertebrates: maternal, paternal, and alloparental behavior. The dominant form of parental behavior in mammals is a uniparental maternal care system, where the mother raises her offspring by herself. A mother can form either a nonselective or selective bond with her infants, depending on the maturity of her infants at birth. A biparental care system, in which both maternal and paternal behavior occur, is present in about 5% of mammalian species. Approximately 3% of mammalian species exhibit a cooperative breeding system, where some offspring remain in their social group and help their parents raise subsequent offspring. The parental behavior of these helpers is referred to as alloparental behavior. The occurrence of paternal and alloparental behavior shows that alternative mechanisms, not requiring pregnancy and parturition, can evolve which allow for these forms of parental behavior.

Paternal Behavior from a Neuroendocrine Perspective

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caleigh Guoynes ◽  
Catherine Marler
Keyword(s):  
Paternal Care ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Alloparental Care ◽  
Hormonal Changes ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
Paternal Behavior ◽  
The Social ◽  
Offspring Protection ◽  
High Degree

How hormones and neuromodulators initiate and maintain paternal care is important for understanding the evolution of paternal care and the plasticity of the social brain. The focus here is on mammalian paternal behavior in rodents, non-human primates and humans. Only 5% of mammalian species express paternal care, and many of those species likely evolved the behavior convergently. This means that there is a high degree of variability in how hormones and neuromodulators shape paternal care across species. Important factors to consider include social experience (alloparental care, mating, pair bonding, raising a previous litter), types of care expressed (offspring protection, providing and sharing food, socio-cognitive development), and timing of hormonal changes (after mating, during gestation, after contact with offspring). The presence or absence of infanticide towards offspring prior to mating may also be a contributor, especially in rodents. Taking these important factors into account, we have found some general trends across species. (1) Testosterone and progesterone tend to be negatively correlated with paternal care but promote offspring defense in some species. The most evidence for a positive association between paternal care and testosterone have appeared in rodents. (2) Prolactin, oxytocin, corticosterone, and cortisol tend to be positively correlated. (3) Estradiol and vasopressin are likely nuclei specific—with some areas having a positive correlation with paternal care and others having a negative association. Some mechanisms appear to be coopted from females and others appear to have evolved independently. Overall, the neuroendocrine system seems especially important for mediating environmental influences on paternal behavior.

Sex Difference on the Importance of Veiling: A Cross-Cultural Investigation

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 486-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farid Pazhoohi ◽  
Alan Kingstone
Keyword(s):  
Paternal Care ◽  
Child Survival ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Cultural Practice ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Paternal Investment ◽  
Retention Strategies ◽  
Mate Retention ◽  
Male Mate

Veiling is an ancient cultural practice endorsed by religion, social institutions, and laws. Recently, there have been adaptive arguments to explain its function and existence. Specifically, it is argued that veiling women is a form of male mate guarding strategy, which aims to increase sexual fidelity by decreasing overt displays of his mate’s physical attractiveness, thereby helping to secure his reproductive success. Furthermore, it is suggested that such mate retention strategies (veiling) should be more important when child survival is more precarious, as cues to sexual fidelity support higher paternal investment. Using publicly available data from the PEW Research Center encompassing 26,282 individuals from 25 countries, we tested the hypotheses that men should be more supportive of women’s veiling and this support should be more important in harsher environments, particularly those with poor health and high mortality rates, where paternal care is presumably more important. Our results show that men were more supportive of veiling than women, and this support increased as the environments became harsher. Overall, these findings support the male mate retention argument as well as the idea that the practice of veiling is sensitive to environmental differences.

Paternal care in captive collared lemmings (Dicrostonyx richardsoni) and its effect on development of the offspring

1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (11) ◽  
pp. 2740-2745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathy M. Shilton ◽  
Ronald J. Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Stress ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Weight Gain ◽  
Sexual Maturity ◽  
Paternal Care ◽  
Parental Behavior ◽  
Female Offspring ◽  
Eye Opening ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Rates Of Growth

We examined parental care in captive collared lemmings (Dicrostonyx richardsoni) to determine how this behavior differed between sexes and to test the hypothesis that presence of the male with the litter from parturition to weaning (17 d) would affect preweaning rates of growth, behavioral development, and body size and aggression at sexual maturity. Also, we tested whether stressing the litter, by removal of the female for 8 h/d, would alter the effect of the male on the development of pups. We compared four treatments: pups raised with mother only, pups raised with both parents, stressed pups raised with mother only, and stressed pups raised with both parents. Parental behavior was recorded from parturition to weaning. Preweaning development of pups was measured by rate of weight gain, age of eye opening, and development of thermoregulation and righting ability. Comparisons were made between stressed and unstressed litters raised with or without the sire. At 25 d, pups were weighed again and isolated, and at 60–75 d, their intrasexual aggressive behavior was measured. Presence of the sire did not alter behavior of the dam, and except for lactation, males and females cared equally for the pups. At weaning, stressed pups weighed less than unstressed pups, but this difference disappeared by 25 d. Presence of the sire had no effect on aggression of male or female offspring at 75 d. We concluded that the paternal care shown in this species is either an artifact of laboratory conditions or that it has effects, such as protection of offspring from infanticide or alleviation of thermal stress, that were not examined in this study.

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