Transmission of paternal retrieval behavior from fathers to sons in a biparental rodent

Predator-induced transgenerational plasticity of parental care behaviour in male three-spined stickleback fish across two generations

Parental care is a critical determinant of offspring fitness, and parents adjust their care in response to ecological challenges, including predation risk. The experiences of both mothers and fathers can influence phenotypes of future generations (transgenerational plasticity). If it is adaptive for parents to alter parental care in response to predation risk, then we expect F1 and F2 offspring who receive transgenerational cues of predation risk to shift their parental care behaviour if these ancestral cues reliably predict a similarly risky environment as their F0 parents. Here, we used three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) to understand how paternal exposure to predation risk prior to mating alters reproductive traits and parental care behaviour in unexposed F1 sons and F2 grandsons. Sons of predator-exposed fathers took more attempts to mate than sons of control fathers. F1 sons and F2 grandsons with two (maternal and paternal) predator-exposed grandfathers shifted their paternal care (fanning) behaviour in strikingly similar ways: they fanned less initially, but fanned more near egg hatching. This shift in fanning behaviour matches shifts observed in response to direct exposure to predation risk, suggesting a highly conserved response to pre-fertilization predator exposure that persists from the F0 to the F1 and F2 generations.

Shaping the development of complex social behavior

Early life experiences can have an enduring impact on the brain and behavior, with implications for stress reactivity, cognition, and social behavior. In particular, the neural systems that contribute to the expression of social behavior are altered by early life social environments. However, paradigms that have been used to alter the social environment during development have typically focused on exposure to stress, adversity, and deprivation of species-typical social stimulation. Here, we explore whether complex social environments can shape the development of complex social behavior. We describe lab-based paradigms for studying early life social complexity in rodents that are generally focused on enriching the social and sensory experiences of the neonatal and juvenile periods of development. The impact of these experiences on social behavior and neuroplasticity is highlighted. Finally, we discuss the degree to which our current approaches for studying social behavior outcomes give insight into "complex" social behavior and how social complexity can be better integrated into lab-based methodologies.

Early paternal retrieval experience influences the degree of maternal retrieval behavior in adult California mice offspring

In biparental species like the California mouse (Peromyscus californicus), paternal presence and care contributes to offspring survival with lasting consequences on brain development and social behavior. Paternal retrieval behavior may be particularly important since it protects young from dangers outside of the nest. We have previously shown that paternal retrievals influence social behavior of adult female and male offspring, as well as the expression of hormones associated with parental behavior. In male offspring, paternal retrieval influences future parenting, but whether paternal retrievals affect maternal behavior in adulthood is unclear. Here, we manipulated the experience of paternal retrieval during development and then assessed maternal behavior of adult female offspring. We did not detect group differences in maternal behavior during undisturbed observation or following pup displacement. However, following pup displacement we observed a moderate positive correlation between paternal retrievals experienced in development and maternal retrievals performed in adulthood. Further analysis revealed that the likelihood of females being a high or low retriever is influenced by their developmental experience. These findings suggest that although female California mice engage in similar levels of maternal behavior regardless of paternal care environment, there may be variation in retrieval behavior that is informed by paternal retrieval experience.