Dataset - Fearfulness Affects quail Maternal Care and Subsequent Offspring Development

<strong>Abstract</strong><br>Our study investigated relationships between a precocial bird’s fearfulness and maternal care, and the implication of maternal care as a vector for non-genomic transmission of fearfulness to chicks. We compared care given to chicks between two sets of female Japanese quail selected to present either high (LTI) or low fearfulness (STI). Chicks, from a broiler line, were adopted by these females following a sensitization procedure. Chicks’ fearfulness after separation from their mother was assessed by well-established procedures. LTIs took longer to present maternal responses, pecked chicks more during the first days post-hatch, presented impaired maternal vocal behaviour and were globally less active than STI females. Chicks mothered by LTIs presented more fearful reactions than did chicks mothered by STIs, supporting the hypothesis of a non-genetic maternal transmission of fearfulness. We suggest that the longer latencies required by LTIs to become maternal are a consequence of their greater fear of chicks, and that their lower general and vocal activity could be components of a heightened antipredatory strategy. We discuss the transmission of maternal fearfulness to fostered chicks, taking into account the possible implication of several well-known mechanisms underlying maternal effects.

**摘要**
本研究探讨了早成鸟（precocial bird）的恐惧性与母育行为之间的关联，以及母育行为作为恐惧性向雏鸟进行非基因组传递（non-genomic transmission）载体的潜在作用。我们选取了两群经选育的雌性日本鹌鹑（Japanese quail），分别表现出高恐惧性（LTI）与低恐惧性（STI），并对比了二者对雏鸟的育幼行为。本研究采用的肉鸡品系（broiler line）雏鸟，经致敏程序（sensitization procedure）后由上述雌性鹌鹑抚育。通过成熟的实验范式，我们评估了雏鸟与母鸟分离后的恐惧性反应。相较于STI组雌性鹌鹑，LTI组雌性呈现母性行为的潜伏期更长，在雏鸟孵化初期啄击雏鸟的频率更高，母性发声行为（maternal vocal behaviour）存在缺陷，且整体活动水平更低。由LTI组雌性抚育的雏鸟，其恐惧性反应显著高于STI组抚育的雏鸟，这一结果支持了恐惧性可通过非遗传母性途径传递的假说。我们推测，LTI组雌性获得母性行为所需的更长潜伏期，源于其对雏鸟更强的恐惧性；而它们较低的整体活动与发声活动，可能是增强型反捕食策略（antipredatory strategy）的组成部分。我们结合母性效应（maternal effects）背后已知的多种潜在机制，探讨了母性恐惧性向寄养雏鸟的传递过程。