Threespined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus, exhibit male-only parental care, but will decrease paternal care if exposed to predators while given care or if their mate has had prior experiences with predators. The offspring will experience lasting effects based on the experience of their parents (behavior-mediated transgenerational plasticity). While other studies have concluded that male exposure to predators prior to fertilization (sperm-mediated transgenerational plasticity) impacts offspring, whether sperm-mediated effects exist in sticklebacks, and for how many generations the effects persist is unknown. Courtship trials with both predator exposed and predator unexposed females with six male treatment groups shows significant impact of maternal grandfather predation exposure, suggesting that daughters of predator-exposed fathers are passing down cues to their sons

Bell, Alison

Carlson, Erika

Hellmann, Jennifer

Keagy, Jason

Kempfer, Shayne

English

Scholarship at Parkland

MethodsShayne Kempfer1, Erika Carlson2, Jennifer Hellmann2, Jason Keagy2, and Alison Bell21Rend Lake College, Ina, Illinois2Department of Animal Biology, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignSperm-mediated effects of predation risk on reproduction in male threespined sticklebacksReferences1. Stein LR, Bell AM, 2012. Curr Zool 58:45-52.2. McGhee KE, Feng S, Leasure S, Bell AM, 2015. Proc B 282: 201518403. Stein LR, Bell AM, 2014. Anim Behav 95:165-171.4. Dias BG, Ressler KJ, 2014. Nature Neurosci 17:89-96.5. Rodgers AB, Morgan CP, Bronson SL, Revello S, Bale TL, 2013. J Neurosci 33:9003-9012..6. Boughman JW, 2001. Nature 411:944-948.AcknowledgementsFinancial support was provided by the National Science Foundation under grant #NSF REU 1559908/1559929, as part of the Phenotypic Plasticity Research Experience for Community College Students, through the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute for Genomic Biology and Parkland College. http://precs.igb.illinois.edu/Further support was provided by the National Institutes of Health under grant #R01 GM082937 to Alison Bell and #F32GM121033 to Jennifer Hellmann. Special acknowledgement to Jake Ritthamel and all Bell Lab members for their shared expertise and patience. Special thank you to the PRECS program PIs Dr. Nathan Schroeder and Dr. C. Britt Carlson, and the technical and support staff at the Institute for Genomic Biology.Introduction❑ Threespined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus, exhibit male-only parental care.❑ Male sticklebacks decrease paternal care if they are exposed to predators while giving care1 or if their mate has prior experience with predation2. This has lasting effects on offspring behavior (behavior-mediated transgenerational plasticity)3.❑ Recent studies in other animals have concluded that male exposure to predation risk prior to fertilization impacts offspring behavior (sperm-mediated transgenerational plasticity)4,5.❑ Whether sperm-mediated effects exist in sticklebacks, and for how many generations the effects persist is unknown. ResultsConclusions❑ Preliminary F1 and F2 nuptial color data, as well as F2fanning data, are in contrast to our initial predictions that predation exposure would reduce coloration and paternal care. ❑ Although parenting is a male-only trait, the significant impact of maternal grandfather predation exposure suggests that daughters of predator-exposed fathers are passing down cues to their sons.Questions❑ How does a father’s experience with predation risk prior to mating influence the parenting behavior of his sons?❑ Does sperm mediated plasticity persist over multiple generations (i.e. are grandsons influenced by their grandfather’s experience with predation risk)?Hypotheses❑ Males with predator-exposed fathers are expected to have traits associated with high predation risk, such as reduced nuptial color and reduced fanning of nests1.❑ If sperm-mediated plasticity persists over multiple generations, then males with predator-exposed grandfathers will also have traits associated with high predation risk. Figure 1: (Top) The four pedigrees track ancestral predation experience of all treatment groups (1-6). Shading represents generational time since predation took place i.e. dark for individual predation experience and light for grandfather experience. Blue signifies control and orange signifies predation exposure. (Bottom) Experimental timeline with average number of days per stage and sample size for each stage. Photo credit: Shayne Kempfer 2018 (1,5) and www.arkive.org (2-4).❑ Two treatment groups for sons: 1) Males whose fathers had not been exposed to predators or 2) Males whose fathers had been exposed to predators prior to fertilization (Fig. 1).❑ Four treatment groups for grandsons: 3) Neither grandfather exposed, 4) Exposed maternal grandfather, 5) Exposed paternal grandfather, 6) Both grandfathers exposed (Fig. 1).❑ We conducted courtship trials pairing predator unexposed females with males from each treatment group. We observed parenting behavior of males for five minutes daily for eight days post-fertilization via JWatcher(Fig. 2). Before parenting, we scored each male for nuptial colors, including throat, eye, and body coloration6. After parenting, we weighed and measured the length of each male. F0 Exposed generation F1 Son F2 Grandson Figure 2: (Left) Female stickleback lays eggs in a nest built by the male. (Right) Shayne Kempfer performs JWatcherobservation on parenting male post-fertilization.1 2 314261325Start (n=52) in individual tankNest (n=36)after ~4 daysParenting (n=18)after ~10 daysDaily Observations= 8 daysEnd (n=10)DaysCourtship TrialsFigure 4: There is a significant difference between the control and maternal grandfather treatment on male body hue and eye color (linear mixed effect model with Tukey HSD: Z13.89=2.65, p=0.04).Figure 5: Males whose maternal grandfather encountered predation fanned more than the control group (repeated measures quadratic model, fanning= treatment + day + dayᶺ2 with each male modeled with his own fanning curve shape): F1,3.85 =23.65, p=0.009).*Future Work❑ Expand the sample size in order to analyze differences in paternal care between the two F1 treatment groups as well as among the four F2 treatment groups. ❑ Understand how transgenerational plasticity is mediated via molecular changes to sperm.❑ Investigate how paternal exposure to predation risk impacts female mate choice in the F1 and F2 generations. F2s with a predator exposed maternal grandfather are significantly brighter and fan more compared to F2s with a control grandfather.Figure 3: There is a borderline significant difference between the control and predator exposed paternal treatment on throat coloration (linear mixed effect model: F1,7.78=4.04, p=0.08).F1s with a predator exposed father tend to have brighter throats.Via personal experienceVia father’s spermVia mate’s experienceImpacts offspring?

Sperm-mediated Effects of Predation Risk on Reproduction in Male Threespined Sticklebacks

SPARK: Scholarship at Parkland | Parkland College

Methods
Shayne Kempfer1, Erika Carlson2, Jennifer Hellmann2, Jason Keagy2, and Alison Bell2
1Rend Lake College, Ina, Illinois
2Department of Animal Biology, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Sperm-mediated effects of predation risk on reproduction in male threespined sticklebacks
References
1. Stein LR, Bell AM, 2012. Curr Zool 58:45-52.
2. McGhee KE, Feng S, Leasure S, Bell AM, 2015. Proc B 282: 
20151840
3. Stein LR, Bell AM, 2014. Anim Behav 95:165-171.
4. Dias BG, Ressler KJ, 2014. Nature Neurosci 17:89-96.
5. Rodgers AB, Morgan CP, Bronson SL, Revello S, Bale TL, 2013. J 
Neurosci 33:9003-9012..
6. Boughman JW, 2001. Nature 411:944-948.
Acknowledgements
Financial support was provided by the National Science 
Foundation under grant #NSF REU 1559908/1559929, 
as part of the Phenotypic Plasticity Research Experience 
for Community College Students, through the University 
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute for Genomic 
Biology and Parkland College. http://precs.igb.illinois.edu/
Further support was provided by the National Institutes of 
Health under grant #R01 GM082937 
to Alison Bell and #F32GM121033 to 
Jennifer Hellmann. 
Special acknowledgement to Jake Ritthamel and all Bell 
Lab members for their shared expertise and patience. 
Special thank you to the PRECS program PIs Dr. Nathan 
Schroeder and Dr. C. Britt Carlson, and the technical and 
support staff at the Institute for Genomic Biology.
Introduction
❑ Threespined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus, 
exhibit male-only parental care.
❑ Male sticklebacks decrease paternal care if they are 
exposed to predators while giving care1 or if their mate 
has prior experience with predation2. This has lasting 
effects on offspring behavior (behavior-mediated 
transgenerational plasticity)3.
❑ Recent studies in other animals have concluded that 
male exposure to predation risk prior to fertilization 
impacts offspring behavior (sperm-mediated 
transgenerational plasticity)4,5.
❑ Whether sperm-mediated effects exist in 
sticklebacks, and for how many generations the effects 
persist is unknown. 
Results
Conclusions
❑ Preliminary F1 and F2 nuptial color data, as well as F2
fanning data, are in contrast to our initial predictions 
that predation exposure would reduce coloration and 
paternal care. 
❑ Although parenting is a male-only trait, the significant 
impact of maternal grandfather predation exposure 
suggests that daughters of predator-exposed fathers 
are passing down cues to their sons.
Questions
❑ How does a father’s experience with predation risk prior 
to mating influence the parenting behavior of his sons?
❑ Does sperm mediated plasticity persist over multiple 
generations (i.e. are grandsons influenced by their 
grandfather’s experience with predation risk)?
Hypotheses
❑ Males with predator-exposed fathers are expected to 
have traits associated with high predation risk, such as 
reduced nuptial color and reduced fanning of nests1.
❑ If sperm-mediated plasticity persists over multiple 
generations, then males with predator-exposed 
grandfathers will also have traits associated with high 
predation risk. 
Figure 1: (Top) The four pedigrees track ancestral predation experience of all treatment groups (1-6). Shading represents generational time since predation took place i.e. dark 
for individual predation experience and light for grandfather experience. Blue signifies control and orange signifies predation exposure. (Bottom) Experimental timeline with 
average number of days per stage and sample size for each stage. Photo credit: Shayne Kempfer 2018 (1,5) and www.arkive.org (2-4).
❑ Two treatment groups for sons: 1) Males whose fathers had not been 
exposed to predators or 2) Males whose fathers had been exposed to 
predators prior to fertilization (Fig. 1).
❑ Four treatment groups for grandsons: 3) Neither grandfather exposed, 4) 
Exposed maternal grandfather, 5) Exposed paternal grandfather, 6) Both 
grandfathers exposed (Fig. 1).
❑ We conducted courtship trials pairing predator unexposed females with 
males from each treatment group. We observed parenting behavior of 
males for five minutes daily for eight days post-fertilization via JWatcher
(Fig. 2). Before parenting, we scored each male for nuptial colors, 
including throat, eye, and body coloration6. After parenting, we weighed 
and measured the length of each male. 
F0 
Exposed 
generation 
F1 
Son 
F2 
Grandson 
Figure 2: (Left) Female stickleback lays eggs in a nest built by 
the male. (Right) Shayne Kempfer performs JWatcher
observation on parenting male post-fertilization.
1 2 3
1
4
2
6
1
3
2
5
Start (n=52) 
in individual tank
Nest (n=36)
after ~4 days
Parenting (n=18)
after ~10 days
Daily Observations
= 8 days
End 
(n=10)
Days
Courtship Trials
Figure 4: There is a significant difference between the control 
and maternal grandfather treatment on male body hue and eye 
color (linear mixed effect model with Tukey HSD: Z13.89=2.65, 
p=0.04).
Figure 5: Males whose maternal grandfather encountered 
predation fanned more than the control group (repeated 
measures quadratic model, fanning= treatment + day + dayᶺ2 
with each male modeled with his own fanning curve shape): 
F1,3.85 =23.65, p=0.009).
*
Future Work
❑ Expand the sample size in order to analyze 
differences in paternal care between the two F1 
treatment groups as well as among the four F2 
treatment groups. 
❑ Understand how transgenerational plasticity is 
mediated via molecular changes to sperm.
❑ Investigate how paternal exposure to predation risk 
impacts female mate choice in the F1 and F2 
generations. 
F2s with a predator exposed maternal grandfather are 
significantly brighter and fan more compared to F2s with a 
control grandfather.
Figure 3: There is a borderline significant 
difference between the control and 
predator exposed paternal treatment on 
throat coloration (linear mixed effect 
model: F1,7.78=4.04, p=0.08).
F1s with a predator 
exposed father tend to 
have brighter throats.
Via 
personal 
experience
Via father’s sperm
Via mate’s 
experience
Impacts offspring
?


https://spark.parkland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&amp;context=precs_student

Sperm-mediated Effects of Predation Risk on Reproduction in Male Threespined Sticklebacks

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Scholarship at Parkland

SPARK: Scholarship at Parkland | Parkland College