Experience-facilitated improvements in pup retrieval; evidence for an epigenetic effect
The quality and quantity of maternal care received during infancy are highly predictive of successful infant development. It has been well established, primarily in rats, that the combination of hormonal and infant stimuli at birth modifies neural circuits that regulate maternal responsiveness. During subsequent interactions, infant stimuli are more likely to elicit rapid maternal responsiveness. […]
Effects of maternal experience on fearfulness and maternal behaviour in a precocial bird
Brood care can improve with experience, and experience under natural conditions increases with age. We aimed to evaluate the relative effect of experience by comparing experienced and inexperienced females of the same age under controlled conditions. Using 18 experienced (XP) and 22 inexperienced (NXP) female Japanese quail, Coturnix coturnix japonica. of the same age, we […]
Mother–offspring recognition in the bat Carollia perspicillata
Parental care is crucial for offspring survival in many taxa but its burden and costs are often not equally distributed between the sexes. In bats, the majority of parental care is provided by females, making examples of paternal support towards pups exceedingly rare. One exception to this general pattern seemed to be the polygynous Seba’s […]