Abstract
Individual-specific reaction to stressful situations may reveal various, individual-specific features, including personality. Breath rate and its change during and after handling [handling stress (HS) test] has been used to test individual response to stress. In previous laboratory research, the HS test has revealed a continuous decrease from peak values immediately after catching, which was consistent in adults of precocial and altricial species. Because of opposite trends in nestlings versus adults in altricial birds, we ask what breath rate pattern appears in precocial chicks in natural conditions? Advanced development during their early ontogeny compared to altricials could lead to breath rates similar to adults, but the effect of age, (in)experience, as well as environmental conditions, such as ambient temperature, may significantly shape breath rate patterns in chicks in different ways than in adults. In this study, we examined patterns in breath rate in response to HS in chicks of different age in a precocial wader, the Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) in the wild. Factors responsible for variation were simultaneously identified. We show that breath rate significantly dropped after visual isolation in a textile bag, a pattern similar to that in adult birds, and increased with the age of chicks as well as with higher ambient temperature. Breath rate was individually repeatable, but did not reflect individual behaviour observed before capture. Our results suggest that, when controlled for ambient temperature and time before catching, the breath rate pattern has the potential to be used as a useful HS test for neonatal Northern Lapwing chicks in the field.
Zusammenfassung
Muster in der Atemfrequenz freilebender, nestflüchtender Kiebitzküken ( Vanellus vanellus )
Individuell spezifische Reaktionen auf Stresssituationen können unterschiedliche individuell spezifische Merkmale wie Persönlichkeit aufzeigen. Die Atemrate und ihre Veränderung während und nach dem Handling (Handling-Stresstest) wurden in der Vergangenheit dazu verwendet, die individuelle Stressantwort zu testen. In früheren Untersuchungen unter Laborbedingungen hat dieser Handling-Stresstest bei adulten Vögeln von nestflüchtenden und nesthockenden Arten konsistent einen kontinuierlichen Abfall von den Höchstwerten unmittelbar nach dem Fang gezeigt. Weil Nestlinge und Altvögel bei nesthockenden Vögeln entgegengesetzte Trends aufweisen, stellt sich die Frage, welches Muster in der Atemfrequenz in Nestflüchter-Küken unter natürlichen Bedingungen auftreten. Ein Entwicklungsvorsprung gegenüber Nesthockern während der früheren Ontogenese könnte zu ähnlichen Atemfrequenzen wie bei Altvögeln führen, aber der Effekt von Alter, (mangelnder) Erfahrung sowie Umweltbedingungen wie der Umgebungstemperatur könnte die Atemfrequenzmuster der Küken deutlich anders als die der Altvögel beeinflussen. In der vorliegenden Studie untersuchten wir die Atemfrequenz als Antwort auf Handling-Stress bei unterschiedlich alten Kiebitzküken (Vanellus vanellus), einer nestflüchtenden Watvogelart. Gleichzeitig bestimmten wir die Faktoren, die für die Variation verantwortlich waren. Wir zeigen, dass die Atemfrequenz nach visueller Isolation in einem Beutel deutlich abfiel, ein Muster vergleichbar mit dem der Altvögel, wohingegen sie mit dem Alter der Küken und mit erhöhter Umgebungstemperatur zunahm. Die Atemfrequenz war individuell wiederholbar, spiegelte aber nicht das vor dem Fang beobachtete, individuelle Verhalten wieder. Unsere Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass das Atemfrequenzmuster das Potential hat, als ein nützlicher Freilandtest für Handling-Stress bei frisch geschlüpften Kiebitzküken verwendet zu werden, wenn man die Umgebungstemperatur und die Zeit vor dem Fang kontrolliert.
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Acknowledgements
Permission to capture, handle, and ring wild Northern Lapwing chicks was granted by the Bird Ringing Centre under National Museum, Prague (Krouzkovaci Stanice Narodniho Muzea, Praha), licence number 1165. This study was funded by the Internal Grant Agency of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences of the Czech University of Life Sciences (project no. 20154238). The authors thank Mark Sixsmith for his linguistic advice.
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Karlíková, Z., Kejzlarová, T. & Šálek, M. Breath rate patterns in precocial Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) chicks in the wild. J Ornithol 159, 555–563 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-017-1517-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-017-1517-9