| variation in the density of oxytocin receptors in the brain as mechanism of adaptation to specific social and reproductive strategies. | most species have predominant forms of social and reproductive behavior driven by many years of selection pressures and evolution. for example, rodent species can live in small or large groups, behave more tolerant or aggressively toward conspecifics (including newborns), and form or not bonds with other members of the group (including sexual partners). any of those behavioral adaptations could result in good fitness for the species, but could also require compromises such as sharing resources, ... | 2020 | 31734142 |
| ecological and demographic impacts of a recent volcanic eruption on two endemic patagonian rodents. | catastrophic events can significantly impact the demographic processes that shape natural populations of organisms. however, linking the outcomes of such events to specific demographic parameters is often challenging due to a lack of detailed pre-event data. the eruption of the puyehue-cordon caulle volcanic complex on 4 june 2011 had profound consequences for the biota of southwestern argentina. our long-term behavioral, ecological, and demographic studies of two species of tuco-tucos (ctenomys ... | 2019 | 30845255 |
| enhanced selection for mhc diversity in social tuco-tucos. | to explore the effects of behavior and demography on balancing selection at major histocompatibility complex (mhc) loci, we examined allelic diversity at exon 2 of the mhc class ii dqbeta locus in a social and a solitary species of tuco-tuco (rodentia: ctenomyidae: ctenomys), both of which occur in the same valley in southwestern argentina. by comparing patterns of diversity at this mhc gene to the diversity evident at fifteen microsatellite loci, we demonstrate that balancing selection at the d ... | 2002 | 12038542 |
| genomic data reveal a loss of diversity in two species of tuco-tucos (genus ctenomys) following a volcanic eruption. | marked reductions in population size can trigger corresponding declines in genetic variation. understanding the precise genetic consequences of such reductions, however, is often challenging due to the absence of robust pre- and post-reduction datasets. here, we use heterochronous genomic data from samples obtained before and immediately after the 2011 eruption of the puyehue-cordón caulle volcanic complex in patagonia to explore the genetic impacts of this event on two parapatric species of rod ... | 2017 | 29176629 |
| bayesian estimation of the timing and severity of a population bottleneck from ancient dna. | in this first application of the approximate bayesian computation approach using the serial coalescent, we demonstrated the estimation of historical demographic parameters from ancient dna. we estimated the timing and severity of a population bottleneck in an endemic subterranean rodent, ctenomys sociabilis, over the last 10,000 y from two cave sites in northern patagonia, argentina. understanding population bottlenecks is important in both conservation and evolutionary biology. conservation imp ... | 2006 | 16636697 |
| ancient dna reveals holocene loss of genetic diversity in a south american rodent. | understanding how animal populations have evolved in response to palaeoenvironmental conditions is essential for predicting the impact of future environmental change on current biodiversity. analyses of ancient dna provide a unique opportunity to track population responses to prehistoric environments. we explored the effects of palaeoenvironmental change on the colonial tuco-tuco (ctenomys sociabilis), a highly endemic species of patagonian rodent that is currently listed as threatened by the iu ... | 2005 | 17148223 |
| effects of social environment on baseline glucocorticoid levels in a communally breeding rodent, the colonial tuco-tuco (ctenomys sociabilis). | the social environment in which an animal lives can profoundly impact its physiology, including glucocorticoid (gc) responses to external stressors. in social, group-living species, individuals may face stressors arising from regular interactions with conspecifics as well as those associated with basic life history needs such as acquiring food or shelter. to explore the relative contributions of these two types of stressors on glucocorticoid physiology in a communally breeding mammal, we charact ... | 2013 | 23928366 |
| microsatellite variation in solitary and social tuco-tucos: molecular properties and population dynamics. | variation at 15 microsatellite loci was characterized for a population of the solitary patagonian tuco-tuco (ctenomys haigi) and a population of group-living colonial tuco-tuco (c. sociabilis), both of which were located in the limay river valley of south western argentina. all loci examined were characterized by uninterrupted di- or trinucleotide repeats in both species; seven of these loci had been isolated from c. haigi and eight had been isolated from c. sociabilis. across all loci, there wa ... | 2001 | 11554979 |
| oxytocin and vasopressin receptor distributions in a solitary and a social species of tuco-tuco (ctenomys haigi and ctenomys sociabilis). | the neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin and their receptors have been implicated in elements of mammalian social behavior such as attachment to mates and offspring, but their potential role in mediating other types of social relationships remains largely unknown. we performed receptor autoradiography to assess whether forebrain oxytocin receptor (otr) or vasopressin v1a receptor (v1ar) distributions differed with social structure in two closely related and ecologically similar species of sout ... | 2008 | 18271022 |
| genetic variation over 10,000 years in ctenomys: comparative phylochronology provides a temporal perspective on rarity, environmental change and demography. | an understanding of how ecological traits influence past species response to environmental change can aid our future predictions of species persistence. we used ancient dna and serial coalescent modelling in a hypothesis-testing framework to reveal differences in temporal genetic variation over 10,000 years for two species of subterranean rodents that currently differ in rarity (abundance, range size and habitat specificity) and mating system, but that reside in the same volcanically active regi ... | 2011 | 22008209 |
| contrasting fecal corticosterone metabolite levels in captive and free-living colonial tuco-tucos (ctenomys sociabilis). | the environment in which an animal lives can profoundly influence its biology, including physiological responses to external stressors. to examine the effects of environmental conditions on physiological stress reactions in colonial tuco-tucos (ctenomys sociabilis), we measured glucocorticoid (gc) levels in captive and free-living members of this species of social, subterranean rodent. analyses of plasma and fecal samples revealed immunoreactive corticosterone (metabolites) to be the most preval ... | 2010 | 20878749 |
| the social brain: transcriptome assembly and characterization of the hippocampus from a social subterranean rodent, the colonial tuco-tuco (ctenomys sociabilis). | elucidating the genetic mechanisms that underlie complex adaptive phenotypes is a central problem in evolutionary biology. for behavioral biologists, the ability to link variation in gene expression to the occurrence of specific behavioral traits has long been a largely unobtainable goal. social interactions with conspecifics represent a fundamental component of the behavior of most animal species. although several studies of mammals have attempted to uncover the genetic bases for social relatio ... | 2012 | 23049809 |