Adult males buffer the cortisol response of young guinea pigs: Changes with age, mediation by behavior, and comparison with prefrontal activity.

In the guinea pig, the presence of the mother buffers hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) responses of her young during exposure to a novel environment, and can do so even if she is anesthetized. In contrast, under comparable conditions other conspecifics (siblings, other adult females) are less effective or ineffective in doing so. However, we recently observed that an unfamiliar adult male reduced plasma cortisol elevations and increased Fos in the prefrontal cortex of preweaning pups exposed to a novel enclosure for 120min. Here we found adult males buffered the adrenocortical response of preweaning pups at 60 as well as 120min and of periadolescent guinea pigs if exposure was of 120min. Further, because males vigorously engaged in social interactions with the young during exposure, we examined the effect of behavior by comparing the impact of conscious and unconscious (anesthetized) adult males. When tested with a conscious but not unconscious male, pups exhibited reduced plasma cortisol elevations. Pups, particularly females, had greater Fos induction in the prefrontal cortex when with a conscious versus unconscious adult male. Overall, we found that an unfamiliar adult male can buffer the cortisol response of guinea pigs both before and after weaning, though more-prolonged exposure appears necessary in the older animals. Further, unlike buffering by the biological mother, the effect of the male is mediated by behavioral interactions. Thus, the buffering of the infant guinea pig's cortisol response by the mother and an unfamiliar adult male involve different underlying mechanisms.

Density and group size influence shoal cohesion, but not coordination in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

The formations made by gregarious animals can range from loose aggregates to highly synchronized and ordered structures. For very large, coordinated groups, both physical and social environments are important for determining the physical arrangement of individuals in the group. Here we tested whether physical and social factors are also important in determining the structure of small, loosely coordinated groups of zebrafish. We found that even though our fish were not crowded and did not use most of the available space, the distance between individual fish was explained primarily by the amount of available space (i.e., density). Zebrafish in a larger space spread out more and the total dimensions of the shoal were an additive function also of group size. We, however, did not find any impact of social or physical environment on the orientation of individual fish or shoal. Thus, both physical and social factors were important for shoal spatial arrangements, but not individual orientation and shoal alignment.