Abstract
To persist in a landscape, organisms are often faced with evolutionary tradeoffs between individual survival and reproduction. In environments where breeding opportunities are brief, it has been hypothesized that individuals will decrease investments in self-preservation in favor of reproductive success. Many avian species in the Northern Hemisphere have been shown to diminish their physiological response to perturbations of the environment by decreasing the adrenocortical response to acute stress during the parental care phase of reproduction. We present results from three populations of Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) in the Southern Hemisphere in which we compared the dynamics of changes in plasma levels of corticosterone after capture, handling and restraint in pre-breeding and nesting phases. The results suggest that the degree of seasonal reduction of the adrenocortical stress response in parental birds is different from that of congeners in the Northern Hemisphere. Males of all three populations of Z. capensis in our study attenuated the adrenocortical stress response equally between the early breeding and parental sub-phases of nesting despite breeding at very different altitudes and latitudes. In contrast, females from all three populations showed no seasonal attenuation of the adrenocortical stress response over the seasons examined in this study. These findings suggest that further comparative investigations are needed to compare Northern Hemisphere-based endocrine patterns in different, global contexts.
Zusammenfassung
Saisonale Modulation der adrenokortikalen Reaktion auf Stress in chilenischen Populationen von Zonotrichia capensis
Um in einer Landschaft bestehen zu können, müssen Organismen häufig evolutionäre Kompromisse zwischen ihrem eigenen Überleben und ihrer Fortpflanzung eingehen. Es wurde die Hypothese aufgestellt, dass in einer Umwelt, in der Brutmöglichkeiten knapp sind, Individuen zu Gunsten ihres Reproduktionserfolges die Investition in ihre eigene Selbsterhaltung reduzieren. Es konnte für viele Vogelarten der nördlichen Hemisphäre nachgewiesen werden, dass sie ihre physiologische Reaktion auf Umweltstörungen durch eine Herabsenkung der adrenokortikalen Reaktion auf Stress während der Zeit der elterlichen Fürsorge vermindern. Wir präsentieren hier Ergebnisse für drei Populationen der Morgenammer (Zonotrichia capensis) der südlichen Hemisphäre, für die während der Vorbrut-und Nistzeit die Veränderungsdynamik des Corticosteronspiegels im Plasma nach dem jeweiligen Fang und dem Handling des Vogels verglichen wurden. Die Ergebnisse lassen vermuten, dass der Grad der saisonalen Reduktion der adrenokortikalen Reaktion auf Stress in Elternvögeln unterschiedlich zu dem der Artgenossen der nördlichen Hemisphäre ist. In unserer Studie verminderten die Männchen aller drei Populationen von Z. capensis gleichermaßen die adrenokortikale Reaktion zwischen der frühen Brutphase und den Teilphasen der elterlichen Fürsorge während der Nistzeit, unabhängig von der Lage der Bruten in unterschiedlichen Höhen-und Breitengraden. Im Gegenteil dazu zeigte keines der Weibchen der drei Populationen während des Untersuchungszeitraumes eine saisonale Verringerung der adrenokortikalen Reaktion. Diese Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass weitere Studien nötig sind, um die auf der nördlichen Hemisphäre basierenden endokrinen Muster in verschiedenen globalen Kontexten zu vergleichen.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the Universidad de Chile, the Omora Foundation, Cristobal Venegas, Pablo Sabat, Stephen McGhee, Chris Anderson and Ricardo Rozzi for their help and support in Chile. This research was funded by National Science Foundation grants to J. C. Wingfield (IBN-0317141 and IOS-0712882), and grants to R. A. Vásquez (FONDECYT 1140548, ICM-P05-002, and PFB-23-CONICYT-Chile). All procedures in this manuscript comply with current laws and were approved by Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees.
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Communicated by L. Fusani.
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Clark, A.D., Addis, E.A., Vásquez, R.A. et al. Seasonal modulation of the adrenocortical stress responses in Chilean populations of Zonotrichia capensis. J Ornithol 160, 61–70 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-018-1589-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-018-1589-1