H2020Индивидуална стипендия2021–2023

SLEEPSWIM · Swimming asleep: characterization, ontogenesis and energetic basis of sleep during paddling in waterfowl

„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2021-04-01 → 2023-03-31
Финансиране от ЕС: 162 806 €
Участници: 1
Схема: MSCA-IF

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Способността на гъските да спят, докато активно плуват с затворени очи, е в центъра на това проучване. Резултатите помагат да се разбере как птиците съчетават съня с движението и дали това е възможно и по време на миграция.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

Swimming asleep: characterization, ontogenesis and energetic basis of sleep during paddling in waterfowl

Sleep is a common behavior among animals, but its purpose is not fully understood. Despite sleep usually being characterized by quiescence, some animals need to both sleep and move simultaneously. To mitigate this conflict, a unique state in which one brain hemisphere is awake while the other sleeps has evolved in some taxonomic groups. During such unihemispheric sleep, the eye opposite the awake hemisphere is open while the other is closed. Dolphins and fur seals rely on unihemispheric sleep to swim and watch for predators. Birds can also sleep unihemispherically, but it is unclear whether they can sleep while actively moving. Although frigatebirds can sleep during passive flight modes, sleep during flapping flight has not been observed. Given the technical challenges of studying sleep during active flight, we used an alternative approach to investigate whether birds can sleep during active locomotion. This approach was inspired by field observations of geese apparently swimming with at least one eye closed. Here, using video and accelerometry, we investigate "sleep-swimming" in captive juvenile Canada geese imprinted to follow us. We found that Canada geese can actively paddle their feet while asleep with one or both eyes closed. However, there was no relationship between which eye was closed and which foot was paddling, suggesting that sleep and paddling are controlled independently. Sleep-swimming increased with distance swam and decreased with age. Thus, geese seem to employ sleep-swimming when they are energetically challenged and/or the homeostatic pressure to sleep is elevated. By demonstrating that sleep and active locomotion are compatible, our findings suggest that sleep might also be possible during continuous flapping flight in migratory birds.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

Although sleep has been found in most animals, our understanding of its function remains limited. A longstanding theory proposed that sleep has energy saving functions. Thus, an individual is expected to engage in sleep more often when energy intake is much lower than its energy demand. However, while facing such a negative energy balance, there might be some ecological contexts within which the need for sleep may conflict with the need for being awake. To overcome this issue, some species can display a mixed state wherein one cerebral hemisphere is asleep and the other is awake. Other than its importance as anti-predatory strategy, this phenomenon has received attention because it is the only sleep type that is compatible with locomotion, as shown in dolphins. However, in birds the possibility of combining sleep and active locomotion has never been demonstrated. In my recent observations, I obseved several goose species paddling while keeping their eyelids closed, which is a typical feature of sleep. The general aims of my project are to describe, for the first time in birds, the simultaneous occurrence of sleep and stereotype locomotion and to investigate how energy balance affects this phenomenon. Using the graylag goose (Anser anser) and state-of-the-art neurophysiological recording methods, I will describe whether eye closure during paddling is actually associated with sleep and if it occurs uni- or bihemispherically. Then, I will test whether the expression of this phenomenon varies during early-life development. Finally, I will study the modulation of such behavior in response to a gradient of energy requirement. My findings will not only be fundamental for uncovering the existence of sleep during active locomotion in birds, as well as factors driving its occurrence, but they will also propose the use of sleepswimming in geese as a model for investigating sleepwalking in humans, a poorly understood and, in some cases, life-threatening disorder.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV · MUNCHENКоординаторГермания