Abstracts Main Meeting & Symposium “Form and Function of Motion Systems” (Sorted by Presenter)
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112th Annual Meeting of the German Zoological Society Abstracts Main Meeting & Symposium “Form and Function of Motion Systems” (sorted by presenter) 112th Annual Meeting of the German Zoological Society Jena, 10–13 September 2019 Main Meeting, FG Evolutionary Biology Poster: EVO 10 Searching for the sequence of aggression: comparative genetics of aggressive behaviour among tame and aggressive canids Hanna Algora; Jasmine L. Loveland; Clemens Küpper Max Planck Institut für Ornithologie, Seewiesen E-mail: [email protected] Aggression is a universal fitness trait that occurs across almost all animal taxa. Studies conducted over the last decades have shown that aggressive behaviour has a strong genetic basis, with neurogenetic studies suggesting that the molecular circuits underlying aggressive behaviour are highly evolutionary conserved. Yet, despite advances in some model organisms, most genes underpinning aggressive behaviour remain largely unknown. The rapid increase of genomic sequence information provides novel opportunities to investigate the evolution of complex polygenetic traits such as aggressive behaviour at the molecular level. Here we use genome sequences of domesticated dogs and foxes to examine the genetics of aggressive behaviour. We tested for the presence of recurrent selection in candidate genes related to aggression. We i) identified universal candidate genes linked with aggression and that are relevant in shaping the behaviour among different taxa through a comprehensive literature review; ii) developed an automated pipeline to test for selection acting on protein coding sequences; and iii) investigated sequence evolution in two organisms with discrete differences in aggressive behaviour. Our results suggest there is no major role for convergent evolution of coding sequences across both canid species to explain the observed phenotypic variation in aggression. This is in line with recent studies that suggest that complex polygenetic traits may evolve through other genetic mechanisms such as modification of gene expression. Future comparative studies should also include transcriptome data sets and investigate the role of non-coding gene expression modifiers. ! 1 112th Annual Meeting of the German Zoological Society Jena, 10–13 September 2019 Main Meeting, FG Physiology Oral presentation Circadian clocks determine intermediate lipid metabolism and storage lipid transport in complex interactions between nutrient-type, photic conditions, circadian clock and feeding time Kelechi Amatobi¹; Stefan Schäbler¹; Melanie Horn²; Dirk Rieger²; Charlotte Förster²; Martin J. Müller¹; Christian Wegener²; Agnes Fekete¹ ¹ Pharmaceutical Biology, Julius-von-Sachs-Institute, Biocenter, University of Würzburg; ² Neurobiology and Genetics, Theodor-Boveri-Institute, Biocenter, University of Würzburg E-mail: [email protected] The interaction between circadian clocks and metabolism is of increasing interest, since clock dysfunction often correlates with metabolic pathologies. To study the role of circadian clock and behaviour in metabolism, metabolite profile of period01 clock mutants (per01) and Canton-S wild-type (WTCS) of Drosophila melanogaster were compared and revealed differing levels of glycero(phospho)lipids, amino acids and their metabolites. Notably, diacylglycerols (DAG) and acylcarnitines showed lower levels in heads and bodies and their levels diurnally oscillated in WTCS. per01 flies showed higher locomotor activity, higher sensitivity to starvation, and shortened lifespan specifically under nutrition-depleted condition. Our results suggest that an impaired circadian clock affects mitochondrial lipid metabolism and leads to a reduced tolerance to nutrient stress. We next asked whether clocks regulate lipid mobilisation. Levels of DAGs in the hemolymph were rhythmic in WTCS under LD, but declined in WTCS under constant darkness and in per01 under LD suggesting an impact of light and clock genes on daily DAG oscillations. Time-restricted feeding lead to comparable DAG profiles, suggesting that DAG oscillations are not exclusively entrained by feeding but rather are endogenously regulated. Bimodal oscillation of haemolymph DAGs in WTCS under LD were masked by digested fatty acids as rhythmicity of DAG levels was more robust when flies were fed a lipid-protein-free diet. Interestingly, oscillation of hemolymph DAG seems to correlate strongly with locomotor activity. Our results suggest that circulating DAGs, the major lipid transport form in insects, is influenced by complex interactions between nutrient-type, photic conditions, circadian clock and feeding time. 2 ! 112th Annual Meeting of the German Zoological Society Jena, 10–13 September 2019 Main Meeting, FG Morphology Poster: MOR 21 The role of global leg mechanics in the transition from grounded to aerial running Emanuel Andrada1; Reinhard Blickhan1; Naomichi Ogihara2; Christian Rode1 1 Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena; 2 Keio University, Tokyo E-mail: [email protected] It is assumed that gait changes emerge from trade-offs between optimization criteria such as locomotion stability, foraging vision, economy or speed. Animals using grounded running typically change to aerial running at dimensionless speeds u between 0.7 and 1. Some birds even exhibit grounded running far above u=1. In contrast, the classic inverted pendulum model predicts maximum locomotion speeds without aerial phases at u=1. Nevertheless, the inverted pendulum is still used as a standard model describing gait transitions in terrestrial animal locomotion. Here we show that the spring mass model (elastic leg behavior) predicts transitions between grounded and aerial running over a wide range of speeds including u greater than one. Predicted transition speeds depend on leg stiffness and angle of attack. To test model predictions, we analyzed kinematic and kinetic data from birds (Northern lapwings, oystercatchers, avocets, quail), Japanese macaques and humans during grounded running and running. Model predictions are consistent with experimental data. Minimal contact time and vertical oscillations of the center of mass seem to constrain the space of suitable transition speeds. In birds and macaques, transitions seem to be energy- driven (smooth). Thus, no or just minimal leg parameters must be tuned in order to change gait. In contrast, humans adapt leg parameters to achieve sudden gait transitions. ! 3 112th Annual Meeting of the German Zoological Society Jena, 10–13 September 2019 Main Meeting, FG Ecology Poster: ECO 7 Giving pathogens the brush-off: the antenna cleaner of ants Max Aubry IST Austria E-mail: [email protected] Grooming is a major part of the behaviour repertoire of insects. It is especially important to fight against and prevent diseases. In insects societies, in addition to the individual level, it is useful on a colony-scale level to ensure the good health of the group. Some insects have specific organs dedicated to grooming. This is the case of ants, with their antenna cleaner (or Striglis), which is a modified spur on the pro-tibia. It bears a lot of combs and brushes, and functions by scrapping off infectious particles from their antennae, gather them in the mouth to later expel them as compressed pellets of antimicrobially-treated material. Whilst it is known that the different rows of hair mechanically work to remove solid particles of different sizes, it is unclear what the role of the associated gland on the tarsus is. We use an experimental approach supported by microscopy and chemical analysis to study the role of the strigilis organ in anti-pathogen defence of ants at the individual and colony level. 4 ! 112th Annual Meeting of the German Zoological Society Jena, 10–13 September 2019 Main Meeting, FG Behavioural Biology Poster: BEH 9 Discrimination and generalisation of temporal patterns of electric communication signals in the weakly electric fish, Mormyrus rume proboscirostris Sebastian Bach; Sarah Pannhausen; Gerhard von der Emde Institute of Zoology, University of Bonn E-mail: [email protected] By discharging an electric organ, the weakly electric fish Mormyrus rume proboscirostris constantly emits series of brief electric organ discharges (EOD) used for active electrolocation and electro-communication. While EOD waveform and amplitude stay constant, the inter-discharge intervals (IDI) are highly variable between 20 and several hundred ms, depending on the behavioural context. Here we tested whether fish can recognize specific IDI-patterns and discriminate them from other patterns. Subsequently, we tested whether fish can identify specific IDI characteristics that might be linked to behavioural contexts. We used pre-recorded IDI-patterns from individual M. rume while they were engaged in various behavioural contexts. Four animals were trained to discriminate between two IDI-patterns presented simultaneously from opposite ends of an aquarium. Fish were rewarded for approaching that dipole which played back an IDI-pattern pre-recorded from another fish during feeding. The negative stimuli were three IDI-patterns recorded during three other behaviours. In transfer tests following training, we tested whether fish preferred a new feeding pattern to IDI patterns recorded during various other behaviours. All fish learned to recognize the feeding pattern and discriminated it from all other IDI- patterns. When new feeding patterns from different fish were presented, trained fish spontaneously preferred them over some patterns (resting,