Imprinting and kin recognition - amherst.edu...Kin recognition in tadpole morphs of spadefoot toad...

Imprinting and kin recognition

Imprinting

Konrad Lorenz

Hours after hatching

Critical period

Sensitive period

altricial precocial

Filial imprinting

Experimental

approaches

Filial imprinting

Multiple cues strengthen imprinting response

Filial imprinting

Hours after hatching

Locomotor

performance

Tolerance of novel objects

Locomotion-fear dichotomy

Timing of critical period

Sexual imprinting

ring dove

Reared by hand

Reared with conspecifics

Preferred humans

Preferred doves

Process of learning characteristics of future mates

hatching sexual maturity

acquisition stage consolidation stage

time

Recognition of appropriate mates

Sexual imprinting

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.

Sexual imprinting

Sexual imprinting as evolutionary force

Mate assortatively when placed together

Assortative mating due to sexual imprinting

Sexual imprinting as evolutionary force

Pairs of benthic (top) and limnetic (bottom) of sticklebacks

Parental

care

exclusively

by male

Divergent

selection

Heterospecific

father

Sexual imprinting as evolutionary force

Conspecific

father

Heterospecific

odor

No

father

Tested female mate preferences as adults

Sexual imprinting as evolutionary force

limnetics

benthics Prefer

conspecific

male

Prefer

heterospecific

male

Sexual imprinting as evolutionary force

limnetics

benthics

heterospecific

conspecific

biological

Strength of imprinting

correlated with father’s

parental care

Imprinting and conservation

sandhill crane whooping crane

Captive breeding, reintroduction

of whooping cranes

Imprinting and conservation

Used to teach migratory routes to juveniles

Imprinting and conservation

Used to teach migratory routes to juveniles

Imprinting and conservation

Ecologically relevant stimuli

Habitat imprinting

monarch butterfly

anadromous salmon

Typically occurs in species

with no overlap of generations

Salmon life cycle

sockeye salmon

Habitat imprinting in salmon

How do salmon find

their way to natal stream?

Is it important that they do?

Cuckoos must find mates

raised by same host species

How do they find them?

common cuckoo

Cuckoos raised

in 6 habitat types Measured time spent

looking at habitats Familiar Natal Others

Tim

e lookin

g

Habitat imprinting

Kin recognition

Visual recognition

in primates

Vocal recognition in terns

Olfactory

recognition

in ungulates

Modes of kin recognition

• Production component

• Perception component

• Action component

Kin recognition

Olfactory recognition in social insects

hydrocarbon “signature”

Environmental labels

Environmental labels

Can be age, sex, caste, or species specific

Environmental labels

Paper wasp Polistes fuscatus

Environmental labels

U

N

N

N1

N2 U

Control

N

U

U

N1

N2 U

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

“Home field advantage”

U

U N

N

Environmental labels

U N N1

N2 U

N1

N2 U

Belding’s ground squirrel

Cross-fostering studies:

nonsibs raised together

are less aggressive than

sibs raised apart…

Environmental labels

Belding’s ground squirrel

…but genetic relatedness

does affect some interactions

pairs reared apart

Paul Sherman

Genetic labels

Role of major histocompatibility complex?

Jill Mateo

Genetic labels

Role of MHC in Arctic charr

MHC class II B gene sequenced

Individuals genotyped

Preferences tested in fluviarium

Role of MHC in Arctic charr

A1=water

A2=water

A1=S++ or S--

A2=water

A1=S++ or S--

A2=S++ or S--

A1=S++

A2=S--

A1=S--

A2=N--

A1=S--

A2=N+-

Mother 1 Mother 2 Mother 3

Cross-fostering design

Genetic labels

Tested female responses to:

Familiar nonkin vs.

Unfamiliar nonkin vs.

Unfamiliar kin vs.

Mother 1 Mother 2 Mother 3

Cross-fostering design

Scent marking by females

Genetic labels

Nonsibs raised together

Sibs raised apart

Nonsibs raised apart

How do we

interpret these data?

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

Genetic labels

Omnivores Carnivores

Pro

port

ion o

f tim

e w

ith s

iblin

gs

24-hrs food

deprivation

48-hrs food

deprivation P

roport

ion o

f pre

y t

hat

were

sib

lings

Carnivorous morphs minimize

contact with siblings, but sometimes

they can’t help themselves…

Genetic labels

Genetic labels

Can nepotistic species discriminate

among degrees of relatedness?

Belding’s ground squirrel

Habituation:

Control Referent

Dishabituation:

Control ?

Belding’s ground squirrel

Ref trial 1 Ref trial 2

Tim

e s

pent

investigating o

dor

Ref trial 3 Mother Grandmother Half-aunt Non-kin

Genetic labels

What did authors conclude about

S. lateralis and why is it important?