Elevated corticosterone levels decrease reproductive output of chick-rearing Adélie penguins but do not affect chick mass at fledging
International audience Study of physiological mechanisms can help us to understand how animals respond to changing environmental conditions. In particular, stress hormones (i.e. glucocorticoids, such as corticosterone) are described as mediating resource allocation, allowing animals to adjust their...
Published in: | Conservation Physiology |
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Online Access: | https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00824831 https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/cot007 |
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ftccsdartic:oai:HAL:hal-00824831v1 2023-05-15T18:03:49+02:00 Elevated corticosterone levels decrease reproductive output of chick-rearing Adélie penguins but do not affect chick mass at fledging Mathilde Thierry, Anne Ropert‐Coudert, Yan Raclot, Thierry Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie (DEPE-IPHC) Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC) Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) 2013 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00824831 https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/cot007 en eng HAL CCSD Oxford University Press info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1093/conphys/cot007 hal-00824831 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00824831 doi:10.1093/conphys/cot007 ISSN: 2051-1434 EISSN: 2051-1434 Conservation Physiology https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00824831 Conservation Physiology, Oxford University Press, 2013, in press. ⟨10.1093/conphys/cot007⟩ breeding effort glucocorticoids pygoscelis adeliae reproductive output seabird [SDE]Environmental Sciences [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2013 ftccsdartic https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/cot007 2021-04-17T23:17:24Z International audience Study of physiological mechanisms can help us to understand how animals respond to changing environmental conditions. In particular, stress hormones (i.e. glucocorticoids, such as corticosterone) are described as mediating resource allocation, allowing animals to adjust their physiology and behaviour to predictable and unpredictable changes in the environment. In this study, we investigated the effects of an experimental increase in baseline corticosterone levels on the breeding effort and the reproductive output of chick-rearing male Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae). The number of chicks per nest, their body mass, and their size were monitored throughout the study. Direct observations allowed measurement of the time spent foraging at sea and caring for the young on the nest. At the end of the treatment, blood samples were collected for isotope analysis. Although all birds raised at least one chick, reproductive output was decreased by 42% in corticosterone-treated birds compared with control birds. The increase in corticosterone levels during the guard stage did not affect the mass of surviving chicks or the brood mass at fledging. Corticosterone-treated males spent on average 21% more time at the nest than control birds. However, the duration of foraging trips was similar between both groups. In addition, the similarity of isotopic signatures suggests that both groups foraged at similar locations and ingested the same prey species. The detailed on-land behaviour of birds should be examined in further studies to clarify the possible links between corticosterone levels, brooding time, and reproductive output. Understanding the relationships between glucocorticoids, fitness, and ultimately population dynamics is fundamental to enabling conservation physiology as a discipline to be successful in helping to manage species of conservation concern. Article in Journal/Newspaper Pygoscelis adeliae Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) Conservation Physiology 1 1 cot007 cot007 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) |
op_collection_id |
ftccsdartic |
language |
English |
topic |
breeding effort glucocorticoids pygoscelis adeliae reproductive output seabird [SDE]Environmental Sciences [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] |
spellingShingle |
breeding effort glucocorticoids pygoscelis adeliae reproductive output seabird [SDE]Environmental Sciences [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] Mathilde Thierry, Anne Ropert‐Coudert, Yan Raclot, Thierry Elevated corticosterone levels decrease reproductive output of chick-rearing Adélie penguins but do not affect chick mass at fledging |
topic_facet |
breeding effort glucocorticoids pygoscelis adeliae reproductive output seabird [SDE]Environmental Sciences [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] |
description |
International audience Study of physiological mechanisms can help us to understand how animals respond to changing environmental conditions. In particular, stress hormones (i.e. glucocorticoids, such as corticosterone) are described as mediating resource allocation, allowing animals to adjust their physiology and behaviour to predictable and unpredictable changes in the environment. In this study, we investigated the effects of an experimental increase in baseline corticosterone levels on the breeding effort and the reproductive output of chick-rearing male Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae). The number of chicks per nest, their body mass, and their size were monitored throughout the study. Direct observations allowed measurement of the time spent foraging at sea and caring for the young on the nest. At the end of the treatment, blood samples were collected for isotope analysis. Although all birds raised at least one chick, reproductive output was decreased by 42% in corticosterone-treated birds compared with control birds. The increase in corticosterone levels during the guard stage did not affect the mass of surviving chicks or the brood mass at fledging. Corticosterone-treated males spent on average 21% more time at the nest than control birds. However, the duration of foraging trips was similar between both groups. In addition, the similarity of isotopic signatures suggests that both groups foraged at similar locations and ingested the same prey species. The detailed on-land behaviour of birds should be examined in further studies to clarify the possible links between corticosterone levels, brooding time, and reproductive output. Understanding the relationships between glucocorticoids, fitness, and ultimately population dynamics is fundamental to enabling conservation physiology as a discipline to be successful in helping to manage species of conservation concern. |
author2 |
Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie (DEPE-IPHC) Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC) Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mathilde Thierry, Anne Ropert‐Coudert, Yan Raclot, Thierry |
author_facet |
Mathilde Thierry, Anne Ropert‐Coudert, Yan Raclot, Thierry |
author_sort |
Mathilde Thierry, Anne |
title |
Elevated corticosterone levels decrease reproductive output of chick-rearing Adélie penguins but do not affect chick mass at fledging |
title_short |
Elevated corticosterone levels decrease reproductive output of chick-rearing Adélie penguins but do not affect chick mass at fledging |
title_full |
Elevated corticosterone levels decrease reproductive output of chick-rearing Adélie penguins but do not affect chick mass at fledging |
title_fullStr |
Elevated corticosterone levels decrease reproductive output of chick-rearing Adélie penguins but do not affect chick mass at fledging |
title_full_unstemmed |
Elevated corticosterone levels decrease reproductive output of chick-rearing Adélie penguins but do not affect chick mass at fledging |
title_sort |
elevated corticosterone levels decrease reproductive output of chick-rearing adélie penguins but do not affect chick mass at fledging |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00824831 https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/cot007 |
genre |
Pygoscelis adeliae |
genre_facet |
Pygoscelis adeliae |
op_source |
ISSN: 2051-1434 EISSN: 2051-1434 Conservation Physiology https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00824831 Conservation Physiology, Oxford University Press, 2013, in press. ⟨10.1093/conphys/cot007⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1093/conphys/cot007 hal-00824831 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00824831 doi:10.1093/conphys/cot007 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/cot007 |
container_title |
Conservation Physiology |
container_volume |
1 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
cot007 |
op_container_end_page |
cot007 |
_version_ |
1766174836950827008 |