Implantation, gestation, and birth & Behaviour ( mammal )

Implantation, gestation, and birth

Reproductive patterns in placental mammals are diverse, but in all cases a secretory phase is present in the uterine cycle, and the endometrium is maintained by secretions of progesterone from the corpus luteum. The blastocyst implants in the uterine wall. Villi are embedded in the lining of the uterus. The resulting complex of embryonic and maternal tissues is a true placenta. The uterine lining may be shed with the fetal membranes as after birth (a condition called deciduate) or may be resorbed by the female (nondeciduate). Placentas have been classified on the basis of the relationship between maternal and embryonic tissues. In the simplest nondeciduate placental arrangement, the chorionic villi are in contact with uterine epithelium (the inner surface layer). In the intimate deciduous types, seen in primates, bats, insectivores, and rodents, the capillary endothelium (the layer containing minute blood vessels) of the uterine wall breaks down, and chorionic epithelium is in direct contact with maternal blood. In advanced stages of pregnancy in rabbits, even the chorionic epithelium is eroded, and the embryonic endothelium contacts the maternal blood supply. In no case, however, is there actual exchange of blood between mother and fetus; nutrients and gases must still pass through the walls of the fetal blood vessels. The period of intrauterine development, or gestation, varies widely among eutherians, generally depending on the size of the animal but also influenced by the number of young per litter and the condition of young at birth. The gestation period of the golden hamster is about 2 weeks, whereas that of the blue whale is 11 months and that of the African elephant 21 to 22 months. At birth the young may be well-developed and able to move about at once (precocial), or they may be blind, hairless, and essentially helpless (altricial). In general, precocial young are born after a relatively long gestation period and in a small litter. Hares and many large grazing mammals bear precocial offspring. Rabbits, carnivores, and most rodents bear altricial young. After birth young mammals are nourished by milk secreted by the mammary glands of the female. The development of milk-producing tissue in the female mammae is triggered by conception, and the stimulation of suckling the newborn prompts copious lactation. In therians (marsupials and placentals) the glands open through specialized nipples. The newborn young of marsupials are unable to suckle, and milk is pumped to the young by the mother. Milk consists of fat, protein (especially casein), and lactose (milk sugar), as well as vitamins and salts. The actual composition of milk of mammals varies widely among species. The milk of whales and seals is some 12 times as rich in fats and 4 times as rich in protein as that of domestic cows but contains almost no sugar. Milk provides an efficient energy source for the rapid growth of young mammals; the weight at birth of some marine mammals doubles in five days.

Behaviour
Social behaviour

The dependence of the young mammal on its mother for nourishment has made possible a period of training. Such training permits the nongenetic transfer of information between generations. The ability of young mammals to learn from the experience of their elders has allowed a behavioral plasticity unknown in any other group of organisms and has been a primary reason for the evolutionary success of mammals. The possibility of training is one of the factors that has made increased brain complexity a selective advantage. Increased associational potential and memory extend the possibility of learning from experience, and the individual can make adaptive behavioral responses to environmental change. Individual response to short-term change is far more efficient than genetic response. Some types of mammals are solitary except for brief periods when the female is in estrus. Others, however, form social groups. Such groups may be reproductive or defensive, or they may serve both functions. In those cases that have been studied in detail, a more or less strict hierarchy of dominance prevails. Within the social group, the hierarchy may be maintained through physical combat between individuals, but in many cases stereotyped patterns of behaviour evolve to displace actual combat, thereby conserving energy while maintaining the social structure. A pronounced difference between sexes (sexual dimorphism) is frequently extreme in social mammals. In large part this is because dominant males tend to be those that are largest or best-armed. Dominant males also tend to have priority in mating or may even have exclusive responsibility for mating within a harem. Rapid evolution of secondary sexual characteristics, including size, can take place in a species with such a social structure. A complex behaviour termed play frequently occurs between siblings, between members of an age class, or between parent and offspring. Play extends the period of maternal training and is especially important in social species, providing an opportunity to learn behaviour appropriate to the maintenance of dominance.

Related Posts

1. Reproductive System Of Mammal
2. Nervous And Endocrine Systems Of Mammal
3. Territoriality, Ecology, Populations ( mammal )
4. Mammals as Parents
5. Form and function ( mammal )