Sex differences in gut microbiota modulation of aversive conditioning, open field activity, and basolateral amygdala dendritic spine density.

Gut microbiota influence numerous aspects of host biology, including brain structure and function. Growing evidence implicates gut microbiota in aversive conditioning and anxiety-related behaviors, but research has focused almost exclusively on males. To investigate whether effects of gut dysbiosis on aversive learning and memory differ by sex, adult female and male C57BL/6N mice were orally administered a moderate dose of nonabsorbable antimicrobial medications (ATMs: neomycin, bacitracin, and pimaricin) or a control over 10 days.

You cannot have it all: Heritability and constraints of predator-induced developmental plasticity in a Neotropical treefrog.

Many organisms have evolved phenotypic plasticity but examples of a heritable genetic basis or genetic constraints for plasticity across environments remain scarce. Tadpoles of the Neotropical treefrog Dendropsophus ebraccatus alter tail coloration and shape differently in response to fish or aquatic insect predators. To assess the genetic basis of plasticity we raised 1020 tadpoles from 17 maternal half-sib pairs (34 unique families) individually with chemical cues of fish or aquatic insects, or with cue-free control water.

Thermally contingent plasticity: temperature alters expression of predator-induced colour and morphology in a Neotropical treefrog tadpole.

1. Behavioural, morphological and coloration plasticity are common responses of prey to predation risk. Theory predicts that prey should respond to the relative magnitude of risk, rather than a single level of response to any risk level.

Negative synergism of rainfall patterns and predators affects frog egg survival.

1. The importance of rainfall is recognized in arid habitats, but has rarely been explored in ecosystems not viewed as rainfall limited. In addition, most attempts to study how rainfall affects organismal survival have focused on long-term rainfall metrics (e.

Reproductive mode plasticity: aquatic and terrestrial oviposition in a treefrog.

Diversification of reproductive mode is a major theme in animal evolution. Vertebrate reproduction began in water, and terrestrial eggs evolved multiple times in fishes and amphibians and in the amniote ancestor. Because oxygen uptake from water conflicts with water retention in air, egg adaptations to one environment typically preclude development in the other.