The Somewhat Wild Show: Effects of feralisation on brain and behaviour in guppies
| Dates: | 9 February 2015 |
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| Times: | 12:00 - 13:00 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | Faculty of Life Sciences |
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| Who is it for: | University staff |
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| Speaker: | Will Swaney |
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Computational and Evolutionary Biology Seminar Series 2015
Predation is a critical factor affecting the success of species introduced to novel environments and the feralisation of domestic species often involves adaptation to allopatric predators despite a background of artificial selection and inbreeding. We have examined the behavioural consequences of predation and feralisation and the underlying neural mechanisms in an established population of feral guppies. Social grouping, one of the most widespread adaptations to predation, was elevated in feral guppies, but other predation-linked behaviours appeared unaffected by feral living. Across vertebrate taxa, differences in social behaviours, including grouping, have been linked to the vasopressin/oxytocin family of neuropeptides, leading us to examine the role played by the homologous nonapeptides vasotocin and isotocin in the social phenotype we observed. Feral guppies exhibit changes in both vasotocin neurons and in their behavioural sensitivity to vasotocin, however we found little evidence that the oxytocin-like nonapeptide isotocin is involved in social grouping in these fish. These effects suggest that vasotocin regulates shoaling in guppies and that changes in vasotocin signalling and vasotocin receptors may be involved in the predation linked-phenotype seen in this feral population. Our results also indicate that each nonapeptide's effects vary across taxa and caution against a simplistic narrative that nonapeptides are broadly prosocial hormones.
Speaker
Will Swaney
Organisation: Liverpool John Moores University
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Michael Smith Lecture Theatre
Michael Smith Building
Manchester
