•Re-pairing; an effective husbandry strategy for continued reproduction.•Males quicker to reproduce than females after mate loss.•Females take significantly longer to reproduce with a new ...mate.•Mating behaviors atypical to strict monogamy may be adaptive.•Continued reproduction more common than originally believed.
The strictly monogamous California mouse (Peromyscus californicus) forms life-long pair bonds and mates exclusively with a single partner. While studies in the wild indicate that individuals may re-pair with a new partner following mate loss, the preponderance of this behavior and subsequent reproductive outcomes following re-pairing are understudied. To examine reproductive outcomes following re-pairing and to look for sex-specific differences following mate loss, birth records of 584 California mouse pairs from our laboratory were analyzed. Of these pairs, 59 pairs were identified as re-pairs and used for further descriptive analysis. We found that 50/59 (84.7 %) of re-paired animals gave birth, indicating that reproduction with a new mate is not only possible, but perhaps more common than previously described for this species. Additionally, we found that when re-paired, females took significantly longer to birth a subsequent litter as compared to original breeding pairs. Overall findings from the current study provide evidence for sex differences in reproductive outcomes following repairing and for greater flexibility in mating strategy for a species described as strictly monogamous.
Species distribution models are now widely used in conservation and management to predict suitable habitat for protected marine species. The primary sources of dynamic habitat data have been in situ ...and remotely sensed oceanic variables (both are considered “measured data”), but now ocean models can provide historical estimates and forecast predictions of relevant habitat variables such as temperature, salinity, and mixed layer depth. To assess the performance of modeled ocean data in species distribution models, we present a case study for cetaceans that compares models based on output from a data assimilative implementation of the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) to those based on measured data. Specifically, we used seven years of cetacean line-transect survey data collected between 1991 and 2009 to develop predictive habitat-based models of cetacean density for 11 species in the California Current Ecosystem. Two different generalized additive models were compared: one built with a full suite of ROMS output and another built with a full suite of measured data. Model performance was assessed using the percentage of explained deviance, root mean squared error (RMSE), observed to predicted density ratios, and visual inspection of predicted and observed distributions. Predicted distribution patterns were similar for models using ROMS output and measured data, and showed good concordance between observed sightings and model predictions. Quantitative measures of predictive ability were also similar between model types, and RMSE values were almost identical. The overall demonstrated success of the ROMS-based models opens new opportunities for dynamic species management and biodiversity monitoring because ROMS output is available in near real time and can be forecast.
Aim
Advances in ecological and environmental modelling offer new opportunities for estimating dynamic habitat suitability for highly mobile species and supporting management strategies at relevant ...spatiotemporal scales. We used an ensemble modelling approach to predict daily, year‐round habitat suitability for a migratory species, the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), and demonstrate an application for evaluating the spatiotemporal dynamics of their exposure to ship strike risk.
Location
The California Current Ecosystem (CCE) and the Southern California Bight (SCB), USA.
Methods
We integrated a long‐term (1994–2008) satellite tracking dataset on 104 blue whales with data‐assimilative ocean model output to assess year‐round habitat suitability. We evaluated the relative utility of ensembling multiple model types compared to using single models, and selected and validated candidate models using multiple cross‐validation metrics and independent observer data. We quantified the spatial and temporal distribution of exposure to ship strike risk within shipping lanes in the SCB.
Results
Multi‐model ensembles outperformed single‐model approaches. The final ensemble model had high predictive skill (AUC = 0.95), resulting in daily, year‐round predictions of blue whale habitat suitability in the CCE that accurately captured migratory behaviour. Risk exposure in shipping lanes was highly variable within and among years as a function of environmental conditions (e.g., marine heatwave).
Main conclusions
Daily information on three‐dimensional oceanic habitats was used to model the daily distribution of a highly migratory species with high predictive power and indicated that management strategies could benefit by incorporating dynamic environmental information. This approach is readily transferable to other species. Dynamic, high‐resolution species distribution models are valuable tools for assessing risk exposure and targeting management needs.
Abstract
The annual Society for Neuroscience (SfN) meeting yields significant, measurable impacts that conflict with the environmental commitment of the Society and the Intergovernmental Panel on ...Climate Change (IPCC) recommendations to address the climate emergency (IPCC, 2018). We used 12,761 presenters’ origins, two online carbon calculators, and benchmark values to estimate 2018 meeting-related travel, event venue operations, and hotel accommodation emissions. Presenters’ conference travel resulted in between 17,298 and 8690 tons of atmospheric carbon dioxide (t CO
2
), with or without radiative forcing index factors. Over 92% of authors traveled by air and were responsible for >99% of total travel-related emissions. Extrapolations based on 28,691 registrants yielded between 69,592.60 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (t CO
2
e) and 38,010.85 t CO
2
from travel. Comparatively, authors’ and registrants’ hotel accommodation emissions equaled 429 and 965 t CO
2
e, whereas operation of the San Diego Convention Center equaled ∼107 t CO
2
e. We relate SfN meeting-related emissions to potential September Arctic Sea ice loss, labor productivity loss in lower-income equatorial countries, and future temperature-related deaths. We estimate emissions reductions of between 23% and 78% by incentivizing between 10% and 50% of the most distant registrants to attend virtually or connecting between two and seven in-person hubs virtually. Completely virtual meetings may yield a reduction of >99% relative to centralized in-person meetings and increase participation of women, queer and transgender scientists, and scientists from low- and middle-income countries. We strongly recommend adopting alternative meeting modes such as four or more in-person global hubs connected virtually by 2030 and fully virtual by 2050.
The winner effect is an accumulation of previous wins that increase future winning. A primary unanswered question about the winner effect is how do individuals integrate information about previous ...wins? Dopamine (DA) has been implicated because phosphorylated tyrosine hydroxylase (pTH), the rate-limiting enzyme for DA biosynthesis, is elevated following multiple winning experiences. Moreover, DA receptor blockers and agonists influence aggression when administered prior to male-male contests. In the current study, we administered D1- and D2-like DA receptor antagonists immediately after a contest and examined the development of the winner effect in the territorial California mouse, Peromyscus californicus. During a 3-contest training phase, resident males experienced winning contests, followed immediately by a peripheral injection of either a DA receptor antagonist or vehicle or a handling experience (without injection). The DA receptor antagonists used in this study did not influence locomotion. To assess the cumulative effects of previous winning, males were subjected to a final test contest with a more competitive intruder. The winner effect was significantly decreased by both D1- and D2-like receptor antagonists administered during training. During the test contest, attack behavior was significantly reduced by previous administration of both types of DA receptor antagonists compared with controls. D1-like receptor blockade also diminished chasing behavior, whereas D2-antagonist treated animals continued to pursue opponents. During training against a less competitive intruder, there was no difference in aggressive behaviors between experimental and controls males. Our data indicate that DA activity between contests is concomitant with the competitive advantage gained from multiple winning experiences.
Aim
Changes in abundance and shifts in distribution as a result of a warming climate have been documented for many marine species, but opportunities to test our ability to forecast such changes have ...been limited. This study evaluates the ability of habitat‐based density models to accurately forecast cetacean abundance and distribution during a novel year with unprecedented warm ocean temperatures caused by a sustained marine heatwave.
Location
California Current Ecosystem, USA.
Methods
We constructed generalized additive models based on cetacean sighting and environmental data from 1991 to 2009 for eight species with a diverse range of habitat associations. Models were built with three different sets of predictor variables to compare performance. Models were then used to forecast species abundance and distribution patterns during 2014, a year with anomalously warm ocean temperatures. Cetacean sighting data collected during 2014 were used to assess model forecasts.
Results
Ratios of model‐predicted abundance to observed abundance were close to 1:1 for all but one species and accurately captured changes in the number of animals in the study area during the anomalous year. Predicted distribution patterns also showed good concordance with the 2014 survey observations. Our results indicate that habitat relationships were captured sufficiently to predict both changes in abundance and shifts in distribution when conditions warmed, for both cool‐ and warm‐temperate species.
Main conclusions
Models built with multidecadal datasets were able to forecast abundance and distribution in a novel warm year for a diverse set of cetacean species. Models with the best explanatory power did not necessarily have the best predictive power. Also, they revealed species‐specific responses to warming ocean waters. Results have implications for modelling effects of climate change on cetaceans and other marine predators.
Species distribution models (SDMs) are important management tools for highly mobile marine species because they provide spatially and temporally explicit information on animal distribution. Two ...prevalent modeling frameworks used to develop SDMs for marine species are generalized additive models (GAMs) and boosted regression trees (BRTs), but comparative studies have rarely been conducted; most rely on presence‐only data; and few have explored how features such as species distribution characteristics affect model performance. Since the majority of marine species BRTs have been used to predict habitat suitability, we first compared BRTs to GAMs that used presence/absence as the response variable. We then compared results from these habitat suitability models to GAMs that predict species density (animals per km2) because density models built with a subset of the data used here have previously received extensive validation. We compared both the explanatory power (i.e., model goodness of fit) and predictive power (i.e., performance on a novel dataset) of the GAMs and BRTs for a taxonomically diverse suite of cetacean species using a robust set of systematic survey data (1991–2014) within the California Current Ecosystem. Both BRTs and GAMs were successful at describing overall distribution patterns throughout the study area for the majority of species considered, but when predicting on novel data, the density GAMs exhibited substantially greater predictive power than both the presence/absence GAMs and BRTs, likely due to both the different response variables and fitting algorithms. Our results provide an improved understanding of some of the strengths and limitations of models developed using these two methods. These results can be used by modelers developing SDMs and resource managers tasked with the spatial management of marine species to determine the best modeling technique for their question of interest.
Species distribution models (SDMs) were developed for a taxonomically diverse suite of cetaceans using a robust set of systematic survey data within the California Current Ecosystem. Both boosted regression tress and generalized additive models were developed and their explanatory and predictive performance compared in light of features such as species distribution characteristics. Results have direct relevance for understanding the accuracy of SDMs and associated implications for marine management and conservation.
While ecologists have long recognized the influence of spatial resolution on species distribution models (SDMs), they have given relatively little attention to the influence of temporal resolution. ...Considering temporal resolutions is critical in distribution modelling of highly mobile marine animals, as they interact with dynamic oceanographic processes that vary at time-scales from seconds to decades. We guide ecologists in selecting temporal resolutions that best match ecological questions and ecosystems, and managers in applying these models. We group the temporal resolutions of environmental variables used in SDMs into three classes: instantaneous, contemporaneous and climatological. We posit that animal associations with fine-scale and ephemeral features are best modelled with instantaneous covariates. Associations with large scale and persistent oceanographic features are best modelled with climatological covariates. Associations with mesoscale features are best modelled with instantaneous or contemporaneous covariates if ephemeral processes are present or interannual variability occurs, and climatological covariates if seasonal processes dominate and interannual variability is weak.
Transmission of maternal behavior across generations occurs, but less is known about paternal behavior. In biparental species like the California mouse (Peromyscus californicus), paternal care ...contributes to the well-being of offspring with lasting consequences on the brain and behavior. Paternal huddling/grooming behavior can be passed on to future generations, but whether paternal retrieval, which removes young from potential harm, is transmitted independently is unclear. We manipulated paternal retrieval experience through pup displacement manipulations, then examined whether males exposed to higher levels of paternal retrieval in development altered their adult retrieval behavior with their offspring. Males exposed to heightened paternal retrievals, as compared to reduced retrievals, retrieved their offspring more often but huddled/groomed offspring less during undisturbed natural observations. No differences were observed following a pup displacement challenge. The high paternal retrieval group also exhibited more physical activity and stereotypy. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that paternal retrieval levels are transmitted across generations and may function via mechanisms separate from huddling/grooming. One modifying factor may be anxiety because increased activity and stereotypy occurred in the high retrieval group. We speculate how the transmission of paternal retrievals may inform a protective parenting style.
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