Differences in cautiousness between mainland and island Podarcis siculus populations are paralleled by differences in brain noradrenaline/adrenaline concentrations

Abstract

Adaptive behavior is shaped by the type and intensity of selection pressures coming from the environment, such as predation risk and resource availability, and can be modulated by individual's neuroendocrine profile involving steroid hormones and the brain-stem monoaminergic circuits projecting to forebrain structures. Boldness when faced with a predator and exploration/activity when confronted with a new environment reflect the degree of cautiousness and/or “risk-taking” of an individual. In this study we have explored to which extent two populations of Podarcis siculus occupying different ecological niches: mainland (ML) and an islet (ISL) differ in the level of cautiousness and whether these differences are paralleled by differences in their monoaminergic profiles. Boldness was tested in the field as antipredator behavior, while novel space and object explorations were tested in a laboratory setting in an open field apparatus. Finally, serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline (NA) and adrenaline (ADR) concentrations were measured in whole brain samples by ELISA. Lizards from ML population spent significantly more time hiding after a predator encounter in the field, displayed lower intensity of novel space exploration in a laboratory setting, and contained significantly higher whole-brain concentrations of NA and ADR than their ISL counterparts. Parallelism between the level of risk-taking behavior and concentrations of neurotransmitters mediating alertness and reaction to stress suggests that the differing environmental factors on ML and ISL may have shaped the degree of cautiousness in the residing lizard populations by affecting the activity of NA/ADR neural circuits.