Links between fear of humans, stress and survival support a non-random distribution of birds among urban and rural habitats.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Rebolo-Ifran N
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4562227 | biostudies-other | 2015
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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Project description:Flight initiation distance (FID), a measure of an animal's tolerance to human disturbance and a descriptor of its fear of humans, is increasingly employed for conservation purposes and to predict the response of species to urbanization. However, most work devoted to understanding variability in FID has been conducted at the population level and little is still known about inter-individual variability in this behaviour. We estimated the heritability of FID, a factor fundamental to understanding the strength and evolutionary consequences of selection of particular phenotypes associated with human disturbances. We used a population of burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia) monitored long-term and for which FID was previously shown to be highly consistent across an individual's lifespan. Heritability estimates varied between 0.37 and 0.80, depending on the habitat considered (urban-rural) and method used (parent-offspring regressions or animal models). These values are unusually high compared with those previously reported for other behavioural traits. Although more research is needed to fully understand the underlying causes of this resemblance between relatives, selection pressures acting on this behaviour should be seriously considered as an important evolutionary force in animal populations increasingly exposed to human disturbance worldwide.
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Project description:Campylobacter jejuni, a common foodborne zoonotic pathogen, causes gastroenteritis worldwide and is increasingly resistant to antibiotics. We aimed to investigate the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genotypes of C. jejuni isolated from humans, poultry and birds from wild and urban Italian habitats to identify correlations between phenotypic and genotypic AMR in the isolates. Altogether, 644 C. jejuni isolates from humans (51), poultry (526) and wild- and urban-habitat birds (67) were analysed. The resistance phenotypes of the isolates were determined using the microdilution method with EUCAST breakpoints, and AMR-associated genes and single nucleotide polymorphisms were obtained from a publicly available database. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed that C. jejuni isolates from poultry and humans were highly resistant to ciprofloxacin (85.55% and 76.47%, respectively), nalidixic acid (75.48% and 74.51%, respectively) and tetracycline (67.87% and 49.02%, respectively). Fewer isolates from the wild- and urban-habitat birds were resistant to tetracycline (19.40%), fluoroquinolones (13.43%), and quinolone and streptomycin (10.45%). We retrieved seven AMR genes (tet (O), cmeA, cmeB, cmeC, cmeR, blaOXA-61 and blaOXA-184) and gyrA-associated point mutations. Two major B-lactam genes called blaOXA-61 and blaOXA-184 were prevalent at 62.93% and 82.08% in the poultry and the other bird groups, respectively. Strong correlations between genotypic and phenotypic resistance were found for fluoroquinolones and tetracycline. Compared with the farmed chickens, the incidence of AMR in the C. jejuni isolates from the other bird groups was low, confirming that the food-production birds are much more exposed to antimicrobials. The improper and overuse of antibiotics in the human population and in animal husbandry has resulted in an increase in antibiotic-resistant infections, particularly fluoroquinolone resistant ones. Better understanding of the AMR mechanisms in C. jejuni is necessary to develop new strategies for improving AMR programs and provide the most appropriate therapies to human and veterinary populations.
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Project description:Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) is a recognized risk factor for the global burden of disease in human populations. We are presenting here the application of toxicogenomics in the evaluation of the toxic effects of organic content of atmospheric particle matter (PM), from urban and rural environments (city of Barcelona and village of La Pobla, NE Spain), using the developing zebrafish embryo. The main goal is to identify the metabolic pathways involved in the adverse effects observed in zebrafish embryos exposed to PM organic content from urban and rural environments, also allowing the selection of genes of interest that are differentially expressed. The relevance of particle size to the PM toxicity is also addressed. Indeed, the zebrafish embryos were exposed to PM of aerodynamic diameter larger than 7.2 μm and smaller than 0.5 μm (PM10 and PM0.5, respectively). PM0.5 concentrated biological and toxic activities linked to organic substances. Transcriptomic analyses showed strong induction of the AhR signalling pathway (a.k.a. dioxin-like activity) for embryos exposed to both rural and urban extracts, correlating with the concentrations of PAHs. Urban extracts, with strong contribution of traffic emissions, specifically de-regulated oxidative stress-related genes, as well as pancreatic and eye-lens specific genes, two organs known to be affected by air pollution in humans. Exposure to rural extracts, with high contribution of wood burning emissions, affected genes implicated in basic cellular functions, in agreement with their strong embryotoxicity. Extracts from rural and urban samples elicited both common and specific transcriptome responses, suggesting different potentially adverse outcomes depending on PM source and composition. The authors thank the financial support of the Spanish Ministry (project TEA-PARTICLE, grant number CGL2011-29621) and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology for the doctoral grant of Sofia R. Mesquita (SFRH/BD/80710/2011) funded by the Program POPH-QREN through the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science and the European Social Fund, and support through project PEst-C/MAR/LA0015/2013.
2015-10-26 | GSE53522 | GEO
Project description:Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) is a recognized risk factor for the global burden of disease in human populations. We are presenting here the application of toxicogenomics in the evaluation of the toxic effects of organic content of atmospheric particle matter (PM), from urban and rural environments (city of Barcelona and village of La Pobla, NE Spain), using the developing zebrafish embryo. The main goal is to identify the metabolic pathways involved in the adverse effects observed in zebrafish embryos exposed to PM organic content from urban and rural environments, also allowing the selection of genes of interest that are differentially expressed. The relevance of particle size to the PM toxicity is also addressed. Indeed, the zebrafish embryos were exposed to PM of aerodynamic diameter larger than 7.2 μm and smaller than 0.5 μm (PM10 and PM0.5, respectively). PM0.5 concentrated biological and toxic activities linked to organic substances. Transcriptomic analyses showed strong induction of the AhR signalling pathway (a.k.a. dioxin-like activity) for embryos exposed to both rural and urban extracts, correlating with the concentrations of PAHs. Urban extracts, with strong contribution of traffic emissions, specifically de-regulated oxidative stress-related genes, as well as pancreatic and eye-lens specific genes, two organs known to be affected by air pollution in humans. Exposure to rural extracts, with high contribution of wood burning emissions, affected genes implicated in basic cellular functions, in agreement with their strong embryotoxicity. Extracts from rural and urban samples elicited both common and specific transcriptome responses, suggesting different potentially adverse outcomes depending on PM source and composition. The authors thank the financial support of the Spanish Ministry (project TEA-PARTICLE, grant number CGL2011-29621) and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology for the doctoral grant of Sofia R. Mesquita (SFRH/BD/80710/2011) funded by the Program POPH-QREN through the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science and the European Social Fund, and support through project PEst-C/MAR/LA0015/2013. The PM filter samples used in the present study were PM10 and PM0.5 from the urban site - total of 4 samples from 2 sampling months; and PM0.5 from the rural site - total of 2 samples from 2 sampling months (PM10 samples from the rural site were not tested due to their very low concentration in organic compounds, and insignificant biological activity, previously measured). Sampling occurred during the cold periods of the year 2012/2013. The organic fraction of PM samples was extracted by sonication using a mixture of dichloromethane:methanol. Then, the extracts were filtered, evaporated and re-dissolved in Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Zebrafish fertilized eggs were exposed to PM organic extracts (0.2% DMSO) from the urban and rural sites from 24 to 120h post-fertilization. Total RNA was isolated from whole embryos (pools of 20 individuals), using Trizol reagent protocol (Invitrogen Life Technologies, Carlsberg, CA). The microarray study was performed using the Agilent Two-colour D. rerio Oligo Microarray v3 platform, following the Agilent Microarray â?? Based Gene Expression Analysis protocol. Three biological replicates were performed for each PM sample and controls. Biological replicates, a technical replicate and a self-to-self, were simultaneously amplified and labelled using Cyanine 3 (Cy3) and Cyanine 5 (Cy5) dye. After cRNA purification (RNeasy Kit, Quiagen GmbH, Hilden, Germany), the cRNA concentration and labelling were quantified in the NanoDrop spectrophotometer, obtaining incorporation rates in the range of 15-20pmol of cyanide dye/µl cRNA and yield values > 0.825ug, as recommended. cRNA was fragmented and hybridized in 4x44K arrays, for 17h at 65oC. After the hybridization the array slides were washed, and immediately scanned using Microarray Scanner Agilent G2505C system. Data was extracted using Agilent Feature Extraction Software v10.5.1.1, and the quality of microarray data was evaluated using the Quality Control report provided by Agilent Software. Based on the microarray data analysis, 22 primers were selected and designed using Primer Express 2.0 software (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA). Genes were quantified by real-time PCR to validate the microarray data, and a subset of 13 genes were further selected by their robust behaviour in the validation assays, allowing to differentiate the toxic potential of PM from urban and rural sources.
2015-10-26 | E-GEOD-53522 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:BackgroundUrbanization is the most prevailing cause of habitat transformation worldwide, differing from others by its intense levels of human activity. Despite its obvious impact on wildlife, it is still unclear why and how some species are able to adapt to urban settings. One possibility is that fear of humans and vehicles could preclude most species from invading cities. Species entering urban environments might be those that are more tolerant of human disturbance (i.e., tame species). Alternatively or in addition, urban invaders could be a fraction of variable species, with "tame" individuals invading urban habitats and other individuals remaining in rural areas.MethodologyUsing the contemporary urban invasion by birds in a recently established South American city, we tested both hypotheses by relating interspecific differences in invasiveness to their flight initiation distances (i.e., the distances at which birds flee from approaching cars, FID), as well as to their relative brain size (RBS), a correlate of measures of behavioral flexibility.Principal findingsUrban invasiveness was not significantly related to species' average rural FIDs but positively related to their RBS and inter-individual variability in FID. Moreover, FIDs were consistently lower in urban than in rural conspecifics, and the FIDs of urban individuals were within the lower-range distribution of their rural conspecifics. RBS indirectly influenced urban invasion through its positive effect on inter-individual variability in FID.Conclusions/significanceUrban invaders do not appear to be individuals from apparently tame species, but rather tame individuals from species with a variable response regarding fear of people. Given the positive relationship between RBS and inter-individual variability in FID, our results suggest that behavioural flexibility should be regarded as a specific trait encompassing variability among individuals. Further research is needed to ascertain the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the relationship between brain size and inter-individual variability in behavioural traits.
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Project description:The molecular basis of evolutionary change is assumed to be genetic variation. However, growing evidence suggests that epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, may also be involved in evolutionary change. An important first step in evaluating this hypothesis is to test for the presence of epigenetic variation between natural populations living under different environmental conditions. In the current study we explored variation between populations of Darwin’s finches living in adjacent “urban” and “rural” environments on Santa Cruz Island in the Galápagos. We tested for morphological, genetic, and epigenetic differences between the urban and rural populations of each of two species of ground finches, Geospiza fortis and G. fuliginosa. Using data collected from more than 1000 birds, we found significant morphological differences between populations of G. fortis, but not G. fuliginosa. We did not find genetic differences between populations of either species, based on comparisons of copy number variation (CNV). In contrast, we did find epigenetic differences between the urban and rural populations of both species, based on DNA methylation analysis. We explored genomic features and gene associations of the differentially methylated regions (DMR), as well as their possible functional significance. In summary, our study documents local population epigenetic variation within species of Darwin’s finches.
2017-01-07 | GSE87825 | GEO
Project description:The life-history trade-off between self-maintenance and reproduction posits that investment in one function decreases investment in the other. Manipulating the costs and benefits of functions involved in a trade-off may alter this interaction. Here we ask whether investment in self-maintenance during a stress response alters territorial behavior in wild Dark-eyed Juncos and whether rural and urban birds, which are known to differ in the magnitude of the stress response (greater in rural), also differ in the degree to which stress reduces territorial behavior. In rural and urban habitats, we measured territorial behavior using song playback, followed by either an acute stressor (capture and collection of a blood sample) or a nonstressful control situation. The following day, we again measured territorial behavior, predicting greater reduction in territorial behavior in individuals exposed to the stressor but a lesser reduction in territorial behavior in the urban as compared to the rural environment. We further assessed individual and population differences in response to stressors by measuring flight initiation distance, breath rate, and corticosterone levels in the blood. The rural population had a higher physiological and behavioral stress response than the urban population, and acute capture stress had a lasting (24 h) negative effect on territorial behavior, but only in the rural habitat. However, individual-level differences in measures of the stress response did not explain variation in the impact of stress on territorial behavior. Our findings show that stressors can have a negative effect on territorial behavior, but that this effect may differ between populations that vary in their stress ecology.
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Project description:Considering the necessity of interdisciplinary approaches for planning and managing the expansion of urban landscapes worldwide, this study aimed to (1) assess landscape permeability for birds and people inhabiting a Neotropical city and (2) propose priority streets and areas for the implementation of a green infrastructure project that could benefit both. To reach these goals, we generated resistance surfaces using expert knowledge to simulate multiple least-cost corridors (MLCC) between parks and green spaces within an urban landscape for people and seven bird species. We compared the solutions using a corridors' spatial agreement analysis, which allow us to identify the overlap between modeled corridors for all organisms or functional groups of interest. We also identified the streets most selected by the simulated MLCC and then identified a green space which is a convergence point of corridors modeled for both people and bird species. Finally, we suggested priority streets for planting trees and proposed interventions to turn the green space into a multifunctional park, conciliating social and ecological perspectives.
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