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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Life Sciences

Ethology Collection

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Gene expression

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Plasticity Of Boldness In Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss: Do Hunger And Predation Influence Risk-Taking Behaviour?, Jack S. Thomson, Phillip C. Watts, Tom G. Pottinger, Lynne U. Sneddon May 2012

Plasticity Of Boldness In Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss: Do Hunger And Predation Influence Risk-Taking Behaviour?, Jack S. Thomson, Phillip C. Watts, Tom G. Pottinger, Lynne U. Sneddon

Ethology Collection

Boldness, a measure of an individual's propensity for taking risks, is an important determinant of fitness but is not necessarily a fixed trait. Dependent upon an individual's state, and given certain contexts or challenges, individuals may be able to alter their inclination to be bold or shy in response. Furthermore, the degree to which individuals can modulate their behaviour has been linked with physiological responses to stress. Here we attempted to determine whether bold and shy rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, can exhibit behavioural plasticity in response to changes in state (nutritional availability) and context (predation threat). Individual trout were initially …


Molecular Correlates Of Social Dominance: A Novel Role For Ependymin In Aggression, Lynne U. Sneddon, Rupert Schmidt, Yongxiang Fang, Andrew R. Cossins Apr 2011

Molecular Correlates Of Social Dominance: A Novel Role For Ependymin In Aggression, Lynne U. Sneddon, Rupert Schmidt, Yongxiang Fang, Andrew R. Cossins

Ethology Collection

Theoretical and empirical studies have sought to explain the formation and maintenance of social relationships within groups. The resulting dominance hierarchies have significant fitness and survival consequences dependent upon social status. We hypothesised that each position or rank within a group has a distinctive brain gene expression profile that correlates with behavioural phenotype. Furthermore, transitions in rank position should determine which genes shift in expression concurrent with the new dominance status. We used a custom cDNA microarray to profile brain transcript expression in a model species, the rainbow trout, which forms tractable linear hierarchies. Dominant, subdominant and submissive individuals had …