Ros Albert F H, Vullioud Philippe, Bruintjes Rick, Vallat Armelle, Bshary Redouan
Université de Neuchâtel, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Université de Neuchâtel, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
J Exp Biol. 2014 May 15;217(Pt 10):1768-74. doi: 10.1242/jeb.093666. Epub 2014 Feb 27.
Interactions between individuals of different species are commonplace in animal communities. Some behaviors displayed during these interspecific social interactions may be very similar to those displayed during intraspecific social interactions. However, whether functional analogies between intra- and interspecific behaviors translate at the proximate level into an overlap in their underlying endocrine mechanisms remains largely unknown. Because steroids both mediate social behaviors and respond to them, we approached this question by comparing the behavioral and steroid response of free-living dusky gregories (Stegastes nigricans) to standardized territorial intrusions (sTI) of either conspecific or heterospecific food competitors. Stegastes nigricans is a year-round territorial fish that 'cultivates' the algae on which it feeds and is highly aggressive to both intra- and interspecific intruders. Behavioral differences between intra- and interspecific aggressive responses to sTI were marginal, and sTI tests caused an increase in cortisol levels that was positively related with the levels of aggression. In contrast, androgen levels did not increase in response to sTI, yet they showed a positive relationship with agonistic behavior. These results parallel a pattern that was first described for year-round territorial bird species. Furthermore, they suggest that changes in endocrine-hormone levels during territoriality might be independent of the species that induces the territorial response.
不同物种个体之间的相互作用在动物群落中很常见。在这些种间社会互动中表现出的一些行为可能与种内社会互动中表现出的行为非常相似。然而，种内和种间行为之间的功能类比在近端水平上是否转化为其潜在内分泌机制的重叠，在很大程度上仍不清楚。由于类固醇既介导社会行为又对其做出反应，我们通过比较自由生活的暗斑刺尾鱼（Stegastes nigricans）对同种或异种食物竞争者的标准化领地入侵（sTI）的行为和类固醇反应来探讨这个问题。暗斑刺尾鱼是一种全年具有领地意识的鱼类，它“培育”自己食用的藻类，对种内和种间入侵者都极具攻击性。对sTI的种内和种间攻击反应的行为差异很小，sTI测试导致皮质醇水平升高，且与攻击水平呈正相关。相比之下，雄激素水平对sTI没有增加，但它们与争斗行为呈正相关。这些结果与首先在全年具有领地意识的鸟类物种中描述的模式相似。此外，它们表明在领地行为期间内分泌激素水平的变化可能与引发领地反应的物种无关。
