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The mark of captivity: plastic responses in the ankle bone of a wild ungulate (Sus scrofa)

Authors :
Hugo Harbers
Dimitri Neaux
Katia Ortiz
Barbara Blanc
Flavie Laurens
Isabelle Baly
Cécile Callou
Renate Schafberg
Ashleigh Haruda
François Lecompte
François Casabianca
Jacqueline Studer
Sabrina Renaud
Raphael Cornette
Yann Locatelli
Jean-Denis Vigne
Anthony Herrel
Thomas Cucchi
Source :
Royal Society Open Science, Vol 7, Iss 3 (2020)
Publication Year :
2020
Publisher :
The Royal Society, 2020.

Abstract

Deciphering the plastic (non-heritable) changes induced by human control over wild animals in the archaeological record is challenging. We hypothesized that changes in locomotor behaviour in a wild ungulate due to mobility control could be quantified in the bone anatomy. To test this, we experimented with the effect of mobility reduction on the skeleton of wild boar (Sus scrofa), using the calcaneus shape as a possible phenotypic marker. We first assessed differences in shape variation and covariation in captive-reared and wild-caught wild boars, taking into account differences in sex, body mass, available space for movement and muscle force. This plastic signal was then contrasted with the phenotypic changes induced by selective breeding in domestic pigs. We found that mobility reduction induces a plastic response beyond the shape variation of wild boars in their natural habitat, associated with a reduction in the range of locomotor behaviours and muscle loads. This plastic signal of captivity in the calcaneus shape differs from the main changes induced by selective breeding for larger muscle and earlier development that impacted the pigs' calcaneus shape in a much greater extent than the mobility reduction during the domestication process of their wild ancestors.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20545703
Volume :
7
Issue :
3
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Royal Society Open Science
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.b0e60505dafd442da0cd3c9f118fc79b
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.192039