A surge of recent work elucidating a role for learning and memory in avian nest-building behaviour has challenged the long-standing assumption that nest building develops under genetic control. Whereas that work has been addressed at describing the cognitive mechanisms underpinning nest-building behaviour, almost nothing is known about either the neurobiological processes controlling nest building or the selection pressures responsible for the diversity in avian nest-building behaviour. Here, I sought to identify both the neural substrates involved in nest-building behaviour and some of those selection pressures. First, I used expression of the immediate early gene product Fos, an indirect marker of neuronal activity, to identify brain regions activated during nest-building behaviour in the brains of nest-building and control zebra finches (Taeniogypia guttata). I found that neural circuits involved in motor control, social behaviour, and reward were activated during nest building. Furthermore, I found that subpopulations of neurons that signal using the nonapeptides vasotocin and mesotocin and the neurotransmitter dopamine located within some of these neural circuits were also activated during nest building, suggesting these cell-signalling molecules may be involved in controlling nest-building behaviour. Next, I found that variation in the amount of folding in the cerebellum, a brain structure thought to be involved in manipulative skills, increased with increasing nest structural complexity, suggesting that the cerebellum is also involved in nest building. Finally, using evolutionary statistical models, I found support for the hypothesis that nest-site competition off-ground and increased predation pressure on the ground in Old World babblers (Timaliidae) led to the co-evolution of building domed nests on the ground. Here, then, I provide the first evidence of potential neural substrates controlling and selection pressures contributing to variation in nest-building behaviour.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:20:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseROS.pdf: 3247175 bytes, checksum: 6643dcff7715f3477c5e183a77356a7e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-07-04 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / Euglossine bees are important pollinators of many Neotropical plant species, particularly orchids which could present a species-specific bee-flower relationship, essential to the reproductive success of these plants. Orchids produce chemical compounds to attract males of Euglossine bees (the effective pollinators of the orchids), and these compounds were isolated and are being used to study the biology of the euglossine males. Allozymes markers, although their low polymorphism content, were widely applied in population analyses. In order to provide a powerful tool to be applied to nest and population genetics research, primers flanking microsatellite loci were developed for Eulaema nigrita and Euglossa cordata (13 loci each). The use of these markers in 483 euglossine males of Euglossa, Eufriesea, Eulaema and Exaerete species, sampled in several Brazilian biomes and areas, evidenced the presence of only two diploid males, one in Euglossa annectans and other in Euglossa mandibularis. These findings support the hypothesis that diploid males (usually unviable or sterile individuals) occur in low frequencies in Brazilian Euglossine bee populations, a fact that is according to previous studies using allozymes. The application of these markers to nest structure analyses revealed nest sharing among unrelated females of Eulaema nigrita (eight nests). For Euglossa cordata and Euglossa townsendi nests (11 and seven nests, respectively), analysis demonstrated that monogamy (one female mated with a single male) is the rule, although nest sharing among unrelated females could also occur in E. townsendi. These results give a new focus on the research about population genetics and nest sociogenetic structure of Euglossine bees, opening new insights on the Euglossini biology and genetics. / As abelhas Euglossini são polinizadores importantes de várias espécies Neotropicais e, particularmente, para as orquídeas, onde a relação espécie-específica abelha-flor pode ser decisiva no sucesso reprodutivo destas plantas. Os machos são os polinizadores efetivos das orquídeas, cujos compostos atrativos produzidos por estas foram isolados e têm sido utilizados em diversos estudos envolvendo os machos de Euglossini. Os marcadores alozímicos, mais comumente utilizados nos estudos do grupo, apresentam em geral, um baixo polimorfismo, o que limita de certa forma as análises populacionais. Visando analisar de uma maneira mais acurada a genética das populações e de ninhos destas espécies de abelhas foram desenhados primers flanqueando locos de microssatélites em Eulaema nigrita e Euglossa cordata (13 locos cada). O emprego destes marcadores em 483 machos de 23 espécies de Euglossini dos gêneros Euglossa, Eufriesea, Eulaema e Exaerete provenientes de diversas regiões do Brasil revelou a presença somente de dois machos diplóides, um em Euglossa annectans e outro em Euglossa mandibularis. Estes achados reforçam a proposição de que os machos diplóides (geralmente inviáveis ou estéreis) não são freqüentes em populações destas abelhas do Brasil, corroborando dados prévios obtidos por meio de análise alozímica. O emprego dessa metodologia na avaliação da estrutura nidal revelou ainda que em Eulaema nigrita (oito ninhos) ocorre o compartilhamento do ninho entre fêmeas não aparentadas. Para as espécies Euglossa cordata e Euglossa townsendi (11 e sete ninhos, respectivamente) os ninhos, via de regra, são formados por uma fêmea acasalada com um único macho, embora para E. townsendi também tenha sido observado o compartilhamento de ninho por fêmeas não aparentadas. Os dados aqui apresentados lançam um novo olhar sobre a genética das populações e a estrutura sociogenética nidal de Euglossini, sendo, certamente, uma contribuição importante para o avanço do conhecimento a respeito da biologia e genética deste grupo de abelhas.