Division of Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10 000, Zagreb, Croatia.
Division of Botany, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10 000, Zagreb, Croatia.
J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2019 Aug;205(4):451-456. doi: 10.1007/s00359-019-01335-3. Epub 2019 Apr 11.
In the eastern Adriatic, Podarcis siculus, an invasive species, competitively excludes the native Podarcis melisellensis. Monoamine neurotransmitters-serotonin (5HT), dopamine (DA), and noradrenaline (NA)-are implicated in social behavior, and could lie at the basis of the direct behavioral interference of P. siculus with P. melisellensis. To understand the relationship between social behavior and monoamines, as well as the differences in behavior between P. siculus and P. melisellensis, we developed a high-performance liquid chromatography (UV/VIS detection) method with which we were able to reliably measure concentrations of 5HT, DA, and NA in 32 brains of the two lizard species. We observed no statistically significant influence of species, sex, or their interaction on brain NA and 5HT concentrations. Statistically significant influence of species on dopamine levels were recorded, with P. siculus having twice as much dopamine in their brains. Taking into account that a significant aggressive relationship, with P. siculus dominating over P. melisellensis, has been previously observed, and that dopamine directly influences this behavior, the observed differences in dopamine levels could represent a trait in these species and may contribute to the competitive exclusion of P. melisellensis by P. siculus in the eastern Adriatic.
在亚得里亚海东部，入侵物种西里西亚石龙子（Podarcis siculus）通过竞争排斥了本地的地中海石龙子（Podarcis melisellensis）。单胺神经递质——血清素（5HT）、多巴胺（DA）和去甲肾上腺素（NA）——与社会行为有关，可能是西里西亚石龙子对地中海石龙子进行直接行为干扰的基础。为了了解社会行为与单胺之间的关系，以及西里西亚石龙子和地中海石龙子之间行为的差异，我们开发了一种高效液相色谱（UV/VIS 检测）方法，能够可靠地测量这两个蜥蜴物种的 32 个大脑中的 5HT、DA 和 NA 浓度。我们没有观察到物种、性别或它们之间的相互作用对脑内 NA 和 5HT 浓度有统计学上的显著影响。我们记录到物种对多巴胺水平有统计学上的显著影响，西里西亚石龙子的大脑中多巴胺含量是地中海石龙子的两倍。考虑到之前观察到西里西亚石龙子与地中海石龙子之间存在明显的攻击性关系，而多巴胺直接影响这种行为，观察到的多巴胺水平差异可能是这些物种的一个特征，并可能有助于西里西亚石龙子在亚得里亚海东部对地中海石龙子的竞争排斥。
