Efeito do ruído antropogênico no comportamento animal

Distúrbios antropogênicos têm sido apontados como a principal causa da perda da biodiversidade mundial. Dentre eles, a poluição sonora é uma potencial, porém subestimada, ameaça, prevista para aumentar nos próximos anos, juntamente com a expansão urbana. Ruídos antropogênicos podem ter efeitos negativos, especialmente em espécies que dependem da comunicação acústica. Entretanto, a poluição sonora pode afetar não só a comunicação, mas as funções auditivas de maneira geral. Desta forma, ruído pode agir como um estressor geral, influenciando processos vitais, desde a integridade do DNA, a processos fisiológicos ou comportamentais ou até se estender a populações e comunidades. O objetivo desta tese é contribuir com o conhecimento sobre o efeito do ruído antropogênico em animais, estudando sistemas não auditivos e auditivos afetados por ele. O primeiro objetivo teve foco no distúrbio do ruído gerado em cidades no comportamento de sono em aves (i). Os outros três objetivos da tese estão relacionados com a comunicação e o sistema auditivo de anfíbios anuros. Mais especificamente, testamos (ii) o efeito do ruído antropogênico audível (tráfego) e (iii) sísmico (tráfego e eólicos) no canto de algumas espécies; e por último, (iv) apresentamos uma revisão da literatura existente sobre a extensão dos feitos do ruído antropogênico em anuros. Os resultados deste trabalho mostraram que tanto o ruído audível, como o sísmico proveniente de diferentes fontes de atividade humana tem um efeito sobre o comportamento dos animais e que diferentes espécies respondem de distintas maneiras frente a este estressor. Fica claro que a poluição sonora é uma fonte importante de distúrbio em animais, com efeitos adversos e que deve, então, ser levada em conta como possível fator de impacto para as espécies e incluída em futuros estudos e legislações, a fim de controlar seus efeitos na biodiversidade.Anthropogenic disturbance has been pointed as the major cause of the world ́s biodiversity crisis. Among them, noise pollution is a potential underestimated threat, projected to increase in the next decades accompanying urban expansion. Rising levels of noise pollution may result in negative impacts on species, specially the ones depending on acoustic communication. However, compromise hearing affects more than acoustical communication. It has been shown to influence from DNA integrity and genes, to physiological systems, behavioral ecology and community ecology. The aim of this thesis is to contribute with knowledge about the effect of anthropogenic noise in animals, studying non-auditory and auditory systems affected by it. The first goal focused on the effect of urban noise in sleep behavior in birds (i). The other three goals were related to the communication and auditory system of anuran amphibians. More specifically, we tested (ii) the effect of audible (traffic) and (iii) seismic (traffic and wind) anthropogenic noise in the calling behavior of some species; finally, (iv) we reviewed the existing literature on the extent of anthropogenic noise in anurans. The results of this work showed that both audible and seismic anthropogenic noise have an effect on the behavior of the animals, but with species responding in different ways to this stressor. It is clear that noise pollution is an important source of disturbance in animals, with adverse effects and, then, it must be taken into account as a possible impact factor for species and be included in future studies and legislation in order to control it effects on biodiversity

Vibrational calling signals improve the efficacy of pheromone traps to capture the brown marmorated stink bug

Halyomorpha halys (Stål, 1855), the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), is an invasive species that has become a key agricultural pest in its invaded range. Commercial traps available for BMSB monitoring rely on male produced aggregation pheromones as lure, with two possible shortcomings: trap spillover and low detection precision. In this study, we assessed if vibrational signals can increase the attractiveness of pheromone traps by testing the optimized vibration-based lure (Female Song 2, FS2) associated with a specifically designed trap (i.e., the vibrotrap). We evaluated the efficacy of this bimodal trap (i.e., pheromones + vibrations) on females, males and nymphs in controlled conditions (greenhouse) and in the field, in two sites at the margin of two commercial vineyards. In the field, bimodal vibrotraps were compared to three unimodal (i.e., only pheromone) trap types. Both experiments showed that the vibrotrap is highly attractive for BMSB, and the optimized FS2 signal significantly improved its effectiveness. Even though FS2 was selected to target males, the number of trapped females increased as well. Overall, the presented findings show a feasible improvement to future commercial BMSB traps through the synergic use of semiophysicals and semiochemicals. Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of vibrotraps for both early detection and mass trapping

Nocturnal resting behaviour in urban great tits and its relation to anthropogenic disturbance and microclimate

The ecological novelty of urbanisation poses many challenges to animals. We investigated whether anthropogenic disturbance (artificial light at night and noise) and abiotic factors in cities (temperature and humidity) predict nocturnal activity and rest in free-living urban great tits (Parus major). Our study is the first to relate nocturnal rest in wild birds to levels of noise pollution during the night, an issue that has been shown to be particularly damaging to human health. Unlike previous work on nocturnal behaviour of urban birds, we considered the combined effect of anthropogenic disturbance and urban microclimate to acknowledge that the umwelt of an animal is composed of multiple environmental variables. Using infrared cameras, we observed the nocturnal resting behaviour as a proxy for sleep in 17 birds in nest boxes deployed across the city of Munich, Germany. Although we found marked differences in resting behaviour between individuals, this variation was not related to the measured environmental factors. This finding contrasts earlier studies that reported nocturnal resting behaviour of birds to vary with temperature and light exposure. Although we did not find evidence that urban environmental factors disrupt resting behaviour in great tits, their sleep might still be impaired by the anthropogenic disturbances. To elucidate this issue, further studies are necessary that, for instance, measure brain activity

Effect of natural abiotic soil vibrations, rainfall and wind on anuran calling behavior: a test with captive-bred midwife toads (Alytes obstetricans)

Anurans are known to detect vibrations, but few studies explore relationships between vibrations and resultant behaviors. We studied the reaction of calling captive-bred male midwife toads (Alytes obstetricans) to the randomized playback of a vibrational crescendo stimulus train. We considered two sources of natural abiotic vibrational stimuli: rainfall and wind. Rainfall was expected to induce calling and wind was expected to inhibit it. Playback experiments with two synthetic tones (200 Hz and 300 Hz) tested the sensitivity to pure tones and could possibly reveal a hearing sensitivity trend between these frequencies. The toads did not increase call rate in response to rainfall vibrations and only one of the five wind stimulus levels caused a significant decrease in call rate. This limited response could be explained, because the tested toads came from a captive population, where emergence may not be mediated by rainfall vibrations. We found that A. obstetricans is highly sensitive to very low frequencies, which could explain the sensitivity observed to vibrational stimuli. Playback of a random crescendo stimulus train proves to be a valid approach for addressing behavioral questions. However, the use of a captive population may have been a limitation in the clarity of the results

Effects of traffic noise on the calling behavior of two neotropical hylid frogs

Anthropogenic disturbance has been pointed to as one of the major causes of the world´s biodiversity crisis. Among them, noise pollution is a potential underestimated threat, projected to increase in the next decades accompanying urban expansion. Rising levels of noise pollution may result in negative impacts on species highly dependent on acoustic communication. Amphibians have long served as model organisms for investigating animal acoustic communication because their reproduction depends on transmitting and receiving acoustic signals. A few studies have investigated the effects of anthropogenic noise on anurans, but there is still limited knowledge on how it affects them. In this study, we test the effect of two intensities of traffic noise on calling males of two Neotropical treefrogs species. We expect to record more changes in call parameters, to avoid masking effect, at higher intensity noise treatments, and in the species with higher call/noise frequency overlap. We performed a set of field playback experiments exposing male frogs to road noise at two different intensities (65dB and 75dB). Focal species are Boana bischoffi (high call/noise frequency overlap) and B. leptolineata (low call/noise frequency overlap). Both species changed acoustic parameters during or after the exposure to traffic noise. Advertisement call rate of B. bischoffi decreased during road noise, and dominant frequency decreased over time. Call length of B. leptolineata increased or decreased, depending on the order of noise intensity. We also observed spatial displacement in both species, which moved away from the noise source. Our results provide evidence that traffic noise affects anuran calling behavior, and noise intensity is an important factor affecting how species respond

MYO1C stabilizes actin and facilitates the arrival of transport carriers at the Golgi complex

In this study, we aimed to identify the myosin motor proteins that control trafficking at the Golgi complex. In addition to the known Golgi-associated myosins MYO6, MYO18A and MYH9 (myosin IIA), we identified MYO1C as a novel player at the Golgi in a human cell line. We demonstrate that depletion of MYO1C induces Golgi complex fragmentation and decompaction. MYO1C accumulates at dynamic structures around the Golgi complex that colocalize with Golgi-associated actin dots. MYO1C depletion leads to loss of cellular F-actin, and Golgi complex decompaction is also observed after inhibition or loss of the actin-related protein 2/3 complex, Arp2/3 (also known as ARPC). We show that the functional consequence of MYO1C depletion is a delay in the arrival of incoming transport carriers, both from the anterograde and retrograde routes. We propose that MYO1C stabilizes actin at the Golgi complex, facilitating the arrival of incoming transport carriers at the Golgi.This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.Fil: Capmany, Anahi. Institute Curie; Francia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Medicas. Instituto de Inmunologia; ArgentinaFil: Yoshimura, Azumi. Institute Curie; FranciaFil: Kerdous, Rachid. Institute Curie; FranciaFil: Caorsi, Valentina. Abbelight; FranciaFil: Lescure, Aurianne. Institute Curie; FranciaFil: Nery, Elaine Del. Institute Curie; FranciaFil: Coudrier, Evelyne. Institute Curie; FranciaFil: Goud, Bruno. Institute Curie; FranciaFil: Schauer, Kristine. Institute Curie; Franci

Amyloid precursor protein and Presenilin1 interact with the adaptor GRB2 and modulate ERK 1,2 signaling.

The amyloid precursor protein (APP) and the presenilins 1 and 2 are genetically linked to the development of familial Alzheimer disease. APP is a single-pass transmembrane protein and precursor of fibrillar and toxic amyloid-beta peptides, which are considered responsible for Alzheimer disease neurodegeneration. Presenilins are multipass membrane proteins, involved in the enzymatic cleavage of APP and other signaling receptors and transducers. The role of APP and presenilins in Alzheimer disease development seems to be related to the formation of amyloid-beta peptides; however, their physiological function, reciprocal interaction, and molecular mechanisms leading to neurodegeneration are unclear. APP and presenilins are also involved in multiple interactions with intracellular proteins, the significance of which is under investigation. Among the different APP-interacting proteins, we focused our interest on the GRB2 adaptor protein, which connects cell surface receptors to intracellular signaling pathways. In this study we provide evidence by co-immunoprecipitation experiments, confocal and electron microscopy, and by fluorescence resonance energy transfer experiments that both APP and presenilin1 interact with GRB2 in vesicular structures at the centrosome of the cell. The final target for these interactions is ERK1,2, which is activated in mitotic centrosomes in a PS1- and APP-dependent manner. These data suggest that both APP and presenilin1 can be part of a common signaling pathway that regulates ERK1,2 and the cell cycle

Anthropogenic substrate-borne vibrations impact anuran calling

Anthropogenic disturbance is a major cause of the biodiversity crisis. Nevertheless, the role of anthropogenic substrate vibrations in disrupting animal behavior is poorly understood. Amphibians comprise the terrestrial vertebrates most sensitive to vibrations, and since communication is crucial to their survival and reproduction, they are a suitable model for investigating this timely subject. Playback tests were used to assess the effects of substrate vibrations produced by two sources of anthropogenic activity– road traffic and wind turbines– on the calling activity of a naïve population of terrestrial toads. In their natural habitat, a buried tactile sound transducer was used to emit simulated traffic and wind turbine vibrations, and changes in the toads’ acoustic responses were analyzed by measuring parameters important for reproductive success: call rate, call duration and dominant frequency. Our results showed a significant call rate reduction by males of Alytes obstetricans in response to both seismic sources, whereas other parameters remained stable. Since females of several species prefer males with higher call rates, our results suggest that anthropogenically derived substrate-borne vibrations could reduce individual reproductive success. Our study demonstrates a clear negative effect of anthropogenic vibrations on anuran communication, and the urgent need for further investigation in this area