Feather‐based measures of stable isotopes and corticosterone reveal a relationship between trophic position and physiology in a pelagic seabird over a 153‐year period

Diet during the non‐breeding period influences condition and subsequent reproduction. Physiological mechanisms underlying such carry‐over effects are poorly understood but could be clarified by studying physiological responses to variation in diet during non‐breeding. The hormone corticosterone prov...

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Published in:Ibis
Main Authors: Fairhurst, Graham D., Bond, Alexander L., Hobson, Keith A., Ronconi, Robert A.
Other Authors: Wanless, Ross, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Environment Canada, F. M. Christie Research Grants in Botany and Zoology
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12232
https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fibi.12232
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spelling crwiley:10.1111/ibi.12232 2024-06-02T08:12:40+00:00 Feather‐based measures of stable isotopes and corticosterone reveal a relationship between trophic position and physiology in a pelagic seabird over a 153‐year period Fairhurst, Graham D. Bond, Alexander L. Hobson, Keith A. Ronconi, Robert A. Wanless, Ross Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Environment Canada F. M. Christie Research Grants in Botany and Zoology 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12232 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fibi.12232 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ibi.12232 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Ibis volume 157, issue 2, page 273-283 ISSN 0019-1019 1474-919X journal-article 2014 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12232 2024-05-03T11:13:38Z Diet during the non‐breeding period influences condition and subsequent reproduction. Physiological mechanisms underlying such carry‐over effects are poorly understood but could be clarified by studying physiological responses to variation in diet during non‐breeding. The hormone corticosterone provides a functional link between diet and survival and reproduction, but methodological limitations have prevented previous studies from testing the hypothesis that, on an individual level, avian corticosterone levels during the non‐breeding period reflect broader patterns in feeding ecology during that time. Using museum specimens (1859–2002) and live birds (2012), we found that corticosterone from feathers ( CORT f ) is negatively related to trophic position ( TP ) inferred from feather stable‐nitrogen isotope values ( δ 15 N) in Leach's Storm‐petrels Oceanodroma leucorhoa . CORT f was not related to stable‐carbon isotope values ( δ 13 C). We detected no temporal trends in CORT f or δ 15 N, and neither was related to a large‐scale index of winter climate, suggesting a general ecological phenomenon rather than a reflection of historical environmental changes. However, we detected a temporal trend in feather δ 13 C, and δ 13 C was related to δ 15 N. Our findings suggest a physiological benefit of feeding at higher TP s, either through increased nutritional value or reduced foraging costs associated with higher TP prey, and future research should aim to distinguish between these two explanations. Nevertheless, ours is the first evidence of a correlation between individual endocrine levels and foraging ecology, and demonstrates non‐lethal variation in a physiological mediator in turn related to variation in resource use. Article in Journal/Newspaper Oceanodroma leucorhoa Wiley Online Library Ibis 157 2 273 283
institution Open Polar
collection Wiley Online Library
op_collection_id crwiley
language English
description Diet during the non‐breeding period influences condition and subsequent reproduction. Physiological mechanisms underlying such carry‐over effects are poorly understood but could be clarified by studying physiological responses to variation in diet during non‐breeding. The hormone corticosterone provides a functional link between diet and survival and reproduction, but methodological limitations have prevented previous studies from testing the hypothesis that, on an individual level, avian corticosterone levels during the non‐breeding period reflect broader patterns in feeding ecology during that time. Using museum specimens (1859–2002) and live birds (2012), we found that corticosterone from feathers ( CORT f ) is negatively related to trophic position ( TP ) inferred from feather stable‐nitrogen isotope values ( δ 15 N) in Leach's Storm‐petrels Oceanodroma leucorhoa . CORT f was not related to stable‐carbon isotope values ( δ 13 C). We detected no temporal trends in CORT f or δ 15 N, and neither was related to a large‐scale index of winter climate, suggesting a general ecological phenomenon rather than a reflection of historical environmental changes. However, we detected a temporal trend in feather δ 13 C, and δ 13 C was related to δ 15 N. Our findings suggest a physiological benefit of feeding at higher TP s, either through increased nutritional value or reduced foraging costs associated with higher TP prey, and future research should aim to distinguish between these two explanations. Nevertheless, ours is the first evidence of a correlation between individual endocrine levels and foraging ecology, and demonstrates non‐lethal variation in a physiological mediator in turn related to variation in resource use.
author2 Wanless, Ross
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Environment Canada
F. M. Christie Research Grants in Botany and Zoology
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Fairhurst, Graham D.
Bond, Alexander L.
Hobson, Keith A.
Ronconi, Robert A.
spellingShingle Fairhurst, Graham D.
Bond, Alexander L.
Hobson, Keith A.
Ronconi, Robert A.
Feather‐based measures of stable isotopes and corticosterone reveal a relationship between trophic position and physiology in a pelagic seabird over a 153‐year period
author_facet Fairhurst, Graham D.
Bond, Alexander L.
Hobson, Keith A.
Ronconi, Robert A.
author_sort Fairhurst, Graham D.
title Feather‐based measures of stable isotopes and corticosterone reveal a relationship between trophic position and physiology in a pelagic seabird over a 153‐year period
title_short Feather‐based measures of stable isotopes and corticosterone reveal a relationship between trophic position and physiology in a pelagic seabird over a 153‐year period
title_full Feather‐based measures of stable isotopes and corticosterone reveal a relationship between trophic position and physiology in a pelagic seabird over a 153‐year period
title_fullStr Feather‐based measures of stable isotopes and corticosterone reveal a relationship between trophic position and physiology in a pelagic seabird over a 153‐year period
title_full_unstemmed Feather‐based measures of stable isotopes and corticosterone reveal a relationship between trophic position and physiology in a pelagic seabird over a 153‐year period
title_sort feather‐based measures of stable isotopes and corticosterone reveal a relationship between trophic position and physiology in a pelagic seabird over a 153‐year period
publisher Wiley
publishDate 2014
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12232
https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fibi.12232
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ibi.12232
genre Oceanodroma leucorhoa
genre_facet Oceanodroma leucorhoa
op_source Ibis
volume 157, issue 2, page 273-283
ISSN 0019-1019 1474-919X
op_rights http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor
op_doi https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12232
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