Records |
Author |
Touma, C.; Palme, R. |
Title |
Measuring fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in mammals and birds: the importance of validation |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
Ann N Y Acad Sci |
Volume |
1046 |
Issue |
|
Pages |
54-74 |
Keywords |
Animals; Birds/*metabolism; Circadian Rhythm; Feces/*chemistry; Glucocorticoids/*analysis; Mammals/*metabolism; Reproducibility of Results; Seasons; Sex Factors |
Abstract |
In recent years, the noninvasive monitoring of steroid hormone metabolites in feces of mammals and droppings of birds has become an increasingly popular technique. It offers several advantages and has been applied to a variety of species under various settings. However, using this technique to reliably assess an animal's adrenocortical activity is not that simple and straightforward to apply. Because clear differences regarding the metabolism and excretion of glucocorticoid metabolites (GCMs) exist, a careful validation for each species and sex investigated is obligatory. In this review, general analytical issues regarding sample storage, extraction procedures, and immunoassays are briefly discussed, but the main focus lies on experiments and recommendations addressing the validation of fecal GCM measurements in mammals and birds. The crucial importance of scrutinizing the physiological and biological validity of fecal GCM analyses in a given species is stressed. In particular, the relevance of the technique to detect biologically meaningful alterations in adrenocortical activity must be shown. Furthermore, significant effects of the animals' sex, the time of day, season, and different life history stages are discussed, bringing about the necessity to seriously consider possible sex differences as well as diurnal and seasonal variations. Thus, comprehensive information on the animals' biology and stress physiology should be carefully taken into account. Together with an extensive physiological and biological validation, this will ensure that the measurement of fecal GCMs can be used as a powerful tool to assess adrenocortical activity in diverse investigations on laboratory, companion, farm, zoo, and wild animals. |
Address |
Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, Kraepelinstrasse 2-10, D-80804 Munich, Germany. touma@mpipsykl.mpg.de |
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0077-8923 |
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PMID:16055843 |
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no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4073 |
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Author |
Mostl, E.; Rettenbacher, S.; Palme, R. |
Title |
Measurement of corticosterone metabolites in birds' droppings: an analytical approach |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
Ann N Y Acad Sci |
Volume |
1046 |
Issue |
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Pages |
17-34 |
Keywords |
Animals; Birds/*metabolism; Corticosterone/*analysis/metabolism; Feces/*chemistry; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Immunoassay; Molecular Structure; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity |
Abstract |
Fecal steroid analyses are becoming increasingly popular among both field and laboratory scientists. The benefits associated with sampling procedures that do not require restraint, anesthesia, and blood collection include less risk to subject and investigator, as well as the potential to obtain endocrine profiles that are not influenced by the sampling procedure itself. In the feces, a species-specific pattern of metabolites is present, because glucocorticoids are extensively metabolized. Therefore, selection of adequate extraction procedures and immunoassays for measuring the relevant metabolites is a serious issue. In this review, emphasis is placed on the establishment and analytical validation of methods to measure glucocorticoid metabolites for a noninvasive evaluation of adrenocortical activity in droppings of birds. |
Address |
Institute of Biochemistry, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Veterinarplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, Austria. erich.moestl@vu-wien.ac.at |
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0077-8923 |
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PMID:16055841 |
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no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4082 |
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Author |
Palme, R.; Rettenbacher, S.; Touma, C.; El-Bahr, S.M.; Mostl, E. |
Title |
Stress hormones in mammals and birds: comparative aspects regarding metabolism, excretion, and noninvasive measurement in fecal samples |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
Ann N Y Acad Sci |
Volume |
1040 |
Issue |
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Pages |
162-171 |
Keywords |
Adrenal Glands/chemistry/metabolism; Animals; Birds; Catecholamines/analysis/chemistry/*metabolism; Feces/*chemistry; Glucocorticoids/analysis/chemistry/*metabolism; Hormones/analysis/metabolism; Mammals; Species Specificity; Stress/*metabolism |
Abstract |
A multitude of endocrine mechanisms are involved in coping with challenges. Front-line hormones to overcome stressful situations are glucocorticoids (GCs) and catecholamines (CAs). These hormones are usually determined in plasma samples as parameters of adrenal activity and thus of disturbance. GCs (and CAs) are extensively metabolized and excreted afterwards. Therefore, the concentration of GCs (or their metabolites) can be measured in various body fluids or excreta. Above all, fecal samples offer the advantages of easy collection and a feedback-free sampling procedure. However, large differences exist among species regarding the route and time course of excretion, as well as the types of metabolites formed. Based on information gained from radiometabolism studies (reviewed in this paper), we recently developed and successfully validated different enzyme immunoassays that enable the noninvasive measurement of groups of cortisol or corticosterone metabolites in animal feces. The determination of these metabolites in fecal samples can be used as a powerful tool to monitor GC production in various species of domestic, wildlife, and laboratory animals. |
Address |
Institute of Biochemistry, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria. rupert.palme@vu-wien.ac.at |
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0077-8923 |
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PMID:15891021 |
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no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4083 |
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Author |
Hampton, R.R.; Shettleworth, S.J. |
Title |
Hippocampus and memory in a food-storing and in a nonstoring bird species |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
1996 |
Publication |
Behavioral neuroscience |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav Neurosci |
Volume |
110 |
Issue |
5 |
Pages |
946-964 |
Keywords |
Animals; Appetitive Behavior/*physiology; Attention/physiology; Birds/*physiology; Brain Mapping; Feeding Behavior/*physiology; Mental Recall/*physiology; Organ Size/physiology; Orientation/*physiology; Retention (Psychology)/physiology; Species Specificity |
Abstract |
Food-storing birds maintain in memory a large and constantly changing catalog of the locations of stored food. The hippocampus of food-storing black-capped chickadees (Parus atricapillus) is proportionally larger than that of nonstoring dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis). Chickadees perform better than do juncos in an operant test of spatial non-matching-to-sample (SNMTS), and chickadees are more resistant to interference in this paradigm. Hippocampal lesions attenuate performance in SNMTS and increase interference. In tests of continuous spatial alternation (CSA), juncos perform better than chickadees. CSA performance also declines following hippocampal lesions. By itself, sensitivity of a given task to hippocampal damage does not predict the direction of memory differences between storing and nonstoring species. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. robert@ln.nimh.nih.gov |
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0735-7044 |
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PMID:8918998 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
375 |
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Author |
Hampton, R.R.; Shettleworth, S.J. |
Title |
Hippocampal lesions impair memory for location but not color in passerine birds |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
1996 |
Publication |
Behavioral neuroscience |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav Neurosci |
Volume |
110 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
831-835 |
Keywords |
Animals; Appetitive Behavior/physiology; Birds/*physiology; Brain Mapping; Color Perception/*physiology; Discrimination Learning/physiology; Hippocampus/*physiology; Long-Term Potentiation/physiology; Mental Recall/*physiology; Orientation/*physiology; Species Specificity |
Abstract |
The effects of hippocampal complex lesions on memory for location and color were assessed in black-capped chickadees (Parus atricapillus) and dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis) in operant tests of matching to sample. Before surgery, most birds were more accurate on tests of memory for location than on tests of memory for color. Damage to the hippocampal complex caused a decline in memory for location, whereas memory for color was not affected in the same birds. This dissociation indicates that the avian hippocampus plays an important role in spatial cognition and suggests that this brain structure may play no role in working memory generally. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
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0735-7044 |
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PMID:8864273 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
376 |
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Author |
Bergmann, H.H.; Klaus, S.; Muller, F.; Wiesner, J. |
Title |
[Individuality and type specificity in the songs of a population of hazel grouse (Bonasa bonasia bonasia L., Tetraoninae, Phasianidae)] |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
1975 |
Publication |
Behaviour |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behaviour |
Volume |
55 |
Issue |
1-2 |
Pages |
94-114 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Birds; Female; *Individuality; Male; Time Factors; *Vocalization, Animal |
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German |
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Individualitat und Artspezifitat in den Gesangsstrophen einer Population des Haselhuhns (Bonasa bonasia bonasia L., Tetraoninae, Phasianidae) |
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0005-7959 |
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PMID:1191217 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4152 |
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Author |
Salzen, E.A.; Cornell, J.M. |
Title |
Self-perception and species recognition in birds |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
1968 |
Publication |
Behaviour |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behaviour |
Volume |
30 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
44-65 |
Keywords |
Animals; Birds; Color Perception; Discrimination Learning; Generalization, Response; Imprinting (Psychology); *Perception; *Self Concept; Social Isolation; *Species Specificity; Water |
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0005-7959 |
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PMID:5644775 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4154 |
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Author |
Macphail, E.M.; Boldhuis, J.J |
Title |
The evolution of intelligence: adaptive specializations versusgeneral process |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2001 |
Publication |
Biological Reviews |
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76 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
341-364 |
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biological constraints, corvids, ecology, food-storing birds, hippocampal size, parids, spatial learning, spatial memory, spatial module. |
Abstract |
Darwin argued that between-species differences in intelligence were differences of degree, not of kind. The contemporary ecological approach to animal cognition argues that animals have evolved species-specific and problem-specific processes to solve problems associated with their particular ecological niches: thus different species use different processes, and within a species, different processes are used to tackle problems involving different inputs. This approach contrasts both with Darwin's view and with the general process view, according to which the same central processes of learning and memory are used across an extensive range of problems involving very different inputs. We review evidence relevant to the claim that the learning and memory performance of non-human animals varies according to the nature of the stimuli involved. We first discuss the resource distribution hypothesis, olfactory learning-set formation, and the 'biological constraints' literature, but find no convincing support from these topics for the ecological account of cognition. We then discuss the claim that the performance of birds in spatial tasks of learning and memory is superior in species that depend heavily upon stored food compared to species that either show less dependence upon stored food or do not store food. If it could be shown that storing species enjoy a superiority specifically in spatial (and not non-spatial) tasks, this would argue that spatial tasks are indeed solved using different processes from those used in non-spatial tasks. Our review of this literature does not find a consistent superiority of storing over non-storing birds in spatial tasks, and, in particular, no evidence of enhanced superiority of storing species when the task demands are increased, by, for example, increasing the number of items to be recalled or the duration of the retention period. We discuss also the observation that the hippocampus of storing birds is larger than that of non-storing birds, and find evidence contrary to the view that hippocampal enlargement is associated with enhanced spatial memory; we are, however, unable to suggest a convincing alternative explanation for hippocampal enlargement. The failure to find solid support for the ecological view supports the view that there are no qualitative differences in cognition between animal species in the processes of learning and memory. We also argue that our review supports our contention that speculation about the phylogenetic development and function of behavioural processes does not provide a solid basis for gaining insight into the nature of those processes. We end by confessing to a belief in one major qualitative difference in cognition in animals: we believe that humans alone are capable of acquiring language, and that it is this capacity that divides our intelligence so sharply from non-human intelligence. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4797 |
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Author |
Nakagawa, S.; Waas, J.R. |
Title |
'O sibling, where art thou?' – A review of avian sibling recognition with respect to the mammalian literature |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society |
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Volume |
79 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
101-119 |
Keywords |
Birds; Direct familiarisation; Indirect familiarisation; Individual recognition; Kin discrimination; Kin recognition; Mammals; Sibling recognition |
Abstract |
Avian literature on sibling recognition is rare compared to that developed by mammalian researchers. We compare avian and mammalian research on sibling recognition to identify why avian work is rare, how approaches differ and what avian and mammalian researchers can learn from each other. Three factors: (1) biological differences between birds and mammals, (2) conceptual biases and (3) practical constraints, appear to influence our current understanding. Avian research focuses on colonial species because sibling recognition is considered adaptive where 'mixing potential' of dependent young is high; research on a wider range of species, breeding systems and ecological conditions is now needed. Studies of acoustic recognition cues dominate avian literature; other types of cues (e.g. visual, olfactory) deserve further attention. The effect of gender on avian sibling recognition has yet to be investigated; mammalian work shows that gender can have important influences. Most importantly, many researchers assume that birds recognise siblings through 'direct familiarisation' (commonly known as associative learning or familiarity); future experiments should also incorporate tests for 'indirect familiarisation' (commonly known as phenotype matching). If direct familiarisation proves crucial, avian research should investigate how periods of separation influence sibling discrimination. Mammalian researchers typically interpret sibling recognition in broad functional terms (nepotism, optimal outbreeding); some avian researchers more successfully identify specific and testable adaptive explanations, with greater relevance to natural contexts. We end by reporting exciting discoveries from recent studies of avian sibling recognition that inspire further interest in this topic. |
Address |
Department of Biological Sciences, University Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand |
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Cited By (since 1996): 9; Export Date: 23 October 2008; Source: Scopus |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4567 |
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Author |
Shettleworth, S.J. |
Title |
Memory and hippocampal specialization in food-storing birds: challenges for research on comparative cognition |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Brain, behavior and evolution |
Abbreviated Journal |
Brain Behav Evol |
Volume |
62 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
108-116 |
Keywords |
Animals; Birds/*physiology; Cognition/*physiology; Color Perception/physiology; Feeding Behavior/*physiology; Hippocampus/*physiology; Memory/*physiology; Species Specificity |
Abstract |
The three-way association among food-storing behavior, spatial memory, and hippocampal enlargement in some species of birds is widely cited as an example of a new 'cognitive ecology' or 'neuroecology.' Whether this relationship is as strong as it first appears and whether it might be evidence for an adaptive specialization of memory and hippocampus in food-storers have recently been the subject of some controversy [Bolhuis and Macphail, 2001; Macphail and Bolhuis, 2001]. These critiques are based on misconceptions about the nature of adaptive specializations in cognition, misconceptions about the uniformity of results to be expected from applying the comparative method to data from a wide range of species, and a narrow view of what kinds of cognitive adaptations are theoretically interesting. New analyses of why food-storers (black-capped chickadees, Poecile Atricapilla) respond preferentially to spatial over color cues when both are relevant in a memory task show that this reflects a relative superiority of spatial memory as compared to memory for color rather than exceptional spatial attention or spatial discrimination ability. New studies of chickadees from more or less harsh winter climates also support the adaptive specialization hypothesis and suggest that within-species comparisons may be especially valuable for unraveling details of the relationships among ecology, memory, and brain in food-storing species. |
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Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont., M5S 3G3, Canada. shettle@psych.utoronto.ca |
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0006-8977 |
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PMID:12937349 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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367 |
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