Maternal Behavior and Developmental Dynamics in Altricial Mammals
Summary
Altricial mammals are characterised by the birth of highly undeveloped young that depend intensively on maternal care for thermoregulation, nutrition and protection. Maternal behaviours encompass nest building, nursing schedules, grooming and the modulation of offspring social interactions, all of which shape early developmental trajectories and survival prospects. Physiological mechanisms include hormonal shifts around parturition—especially in progesterone and prolactin—and the mobilisation of brown adipose tissue to support non-shivering thermogenesis. Group behaviours such as huddling can buffer environmental challenges, permitting energy to be allocated to growth rather than solely to heat production. Equally, maternal stress responses mediated by cortisol influence nest construction, nursing frequency and offspring outcomes. Understanding these dynamics has broad implications for conservation of wild altricial species, optimisation of captive-breeding programmes and refinement of welfare standards in laboratory and agricultural settings.
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Maternal Behavior and Developmental Dynamics in Altricial Mammals publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in maternal behavior and developmental dynamics in altricial mammals across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Altricial: Species whose neonates are born in an underdeveloped state and require extensive parental care.
Brown adipose tissue: A type of fat specialised for thermogenesis via uncoupled respiration in neonates.
Non-shivering thermogenesis: Heat production through metabolic processes in brown adipose tissue without muscular activity.
Parturition: The process of giving birth, involving coordinated hormonal, neurological and behavioural changes in the mother.
Cortisol: A glucocorticoid hormone released in response to stress, affecting energy metabolism and maternal caregiving behaviours.
References
- Private Heat for Public Warmth: How Huddling Shapes Individual Thermogenic Responses of Rabbit Pups. PLOS ONE (2012).
- Stress reactivity near birth affects nest building timing and offspring number and survival in the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). PLOS ONE (2021).
- Composition of the Wild Rabbit Nest and Its Implication for Domestic Rabbit Breeding. Applied Sciences (2022).
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