PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Mongooses synchronize births to escape despotic females

2013-12-27
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Eleanor Gaskarth
e.f.gaskarth@exeter.ac.uk
44-782-730-9332
University of Exeter
Mongooses synchronize births to escape despotic females

Some mammals may have evolved to synchronise births as a way of evading the threat of infanticide, according to a study led by the University of Exeter.

To ensure groups remain productive, some social animals 'police' selfish reproduction by subordinate animals by killing any offspring they produce. For example, in honeybees and other social insects some workers lay their own eggs, but these are identified and killed by the rest of the workforce.

The new study asked whether policing can also explain patterns of reproduction in a highly social mammal, the banded mongoose (Mungos mungo). In this species groups contain 1-12 female breeders who give birth to a communal litter, usually on the same day.

In a seven year experiment on 11 groups of wild banded mongooses in Uganda's Queen Elizabeth National Park, Professor Michael Cant of Biosciences at the University of Exeter and colleagues manipulated which females contributed offspring to the communal litter using short-acting contraceptives.

Their results suggest that older, dominant females kill entire litters to which they had not contributed offspring, but allow the communal litter to live if there is a chance that it contains their own young.

Their findings support the claim that policing plays a crucial role in the evolution of cooperation among vertebrates, and shows that threats of infanticide can lead to remarkable counterstrategies to evade reproductive control.

Professor Cant, of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter's Penryn Campus, said: "Unlike meerkats and other cooperative mammals in which there is usually a single dominant female breeder in each group, in banded mongooses up to 12 females can become pregnant and synchronise birth to the same day. Our experiment suggests that this remarkable feat of coordination is actually driven by intense conflict over reproduction. Females synchronise birth to the same day because this confuses maternity in the communal litter, so any infanticidal female might end up killing her own young."



INFORMATION:

The research was carried out by Professor Cant alongside University of Exeter colleague Dr Sarah Hodge, Dr Hazel Nichols of Liverpool John Moores University and Professor Rufus Johnstone of the University of Cambridge.

Their article, Policing of reproduction by hidden threats in a cooperative mammal, is published today in the journal PNAS.

The study was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and The Royal Society.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Breast cancer patients experience fewer side effects from anticancer drug when receiving acupuncture

2013-12-27
Breast cancer patients experience fewer side effects from anticancer drug when receiving acupuncture A new analysis has found that both real and sham acupuncture treatments may help alleviate side effects of drugs commonly used to treat breast cancer. Published early online in ...

Pregnant women need not avoid peanuts, evidence shows

2013-12-27
Pregnant women need not avoid peanuts, evidence shows Peanut and tree nut allergy incidence lower among children whose mothers ate them during pregnancy BOSTON (Dec. 23, 2013)—Women need not fear that eating peanuts during pregnancy could cause ...

Embargoed study: New quality, payment initiative positively impacts pediatric care

2013-12-27
Embargoed study: New quality, payment initiative positively impacts pediatric care Contracting model, based on global payment and pay-for-performance, improves quality of care for sickest pediatric patients BOSTON (Dec. 23, 2013)—Within two years ...

Preop testing for low-risk cataract surgery patients: Choosing wisely or low-value care? Penn Medicine

2013-12-27
Preop testing for low-risk cataract surgery patients: Choosing wisely or low-value care? Penn Medicine (PHILADELPHIA) – The elimination of extensive routine preoperative tests and consultations represents an area of ...

Getting excited helps with performance anxiety more than trying to calm down, study finds

2013-12-27
Getting excited helps with performance anxiety more than trying to calm down, study finds Simple statements about excitement could have big effects, research shows WASHINGTON – People who tell themselves to get excited rather than trying to relax ...

Library that can determine resistance

2013-12-27
Library that can determine resistance Genetic screening identifies genes driving resistance with a guide RNA library Researchers have developed a method to create a comprehensive library of mutations across all genes in the mouse genome. This library ...

Hypoxic preconditioning stimulates angiogenesis in ischemic penumbra after ACI

2013-12-27
Hypoxic preconditioning stimulates angiogenesis in ischemic penumbra after ACI Hypoxic preconditioning has been shown to have protective effects against acute cerebral infarction. To investigate the protective mechanisms of hypoxic preconditioning in relation ...

Transient receptor potential channel A1 may contribute to hyperalgesia

2013-12-27
Transient receptor potential channel A1 may contribute to hyperalgesia Transient receptor potential channel A1 is one of the important transducers of noxious stimuli in the primary afferents, which may contribute to generation of neurogenic inflammation and hyperalgesia. ...

An expert consensus on acute thoracolumbar spine and spinal cord injury in China

2013-12-27
An expert consensus on acute thoracolumbar spine and spinal cord injury in China The early management of acute thoracolumbar spine and spinal cord injury is one of the most difficult tasks when treating trauma cases. To standardize the evaluation and treatment of ...

Motor excitability predicts working memory

2013-12-27
Motor excitability predicts working memory Humans with a high motor excitability have a better working memory than humans with a low excitability. This was shown in a study conducted by scientists from the Transfacultary Research Platform at the University of Basel. By measuring ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission

UTA-backed research tackles health challenges across ages

In pancreatic cancer, a race against time

Targeting FGFR2 may prevent or delay some KRAS-mutated pancreatic cancers

[Press-News.org] Mongooses synchronize births to escape despotic females