Data from: Corticosterone predicts foraging behavior and parental care in macaroni penguins ...

• Main Authors: Crossin, Glenn T., Trathan, Phil N., Phillips, Richard A., Gorman, Kristen B., Dawson, Alistair, Sakamoto, Kentaro Q., Williams, Tony D.
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2012
• Subjects: Ecology evolutionary; Reproduction strategies; Eudyptes chrysolophus; Behavior reproductive; Locomotion diving; Endocrinology behavioral; Ecology physiological; Ecology behavioral
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.f385721n; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.f385721n

Corticosterone has received considerable attention as the principal hormonal mediator of allostasis or physiological stress in wild animals. More recently, it has also been implicated in the regulation of parental care in breeding birds, particularly with respect to individual variation in foraging behaviour and provisioning effort. There is also evidence that prolactin can work either inversely or additively with corticosterone to achieve this. Here we test the hypothesis that endogenous corticosterone plays a key physiological role in the control of foraging behaviour and parental care using a combination of exogenous corticosterone treatment, time-depth telemetry, and physiological sampling of female macaroni penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus) during the brood-guard period of chick rearing, while simultaneously monitoring patterns of prolactin secretion. Plasma corticosterone levels were significantly higher in females given exogenous implants relative to those receiving sham implants. Increased ... : Crossin et al 2012 MAC data for DryadSummary of foraging/diving data of female macaroni penguins during the brood-guard phase of the breeding season, and the phsiology of females measured before and after foraging trips. Ancillary (morphometric) data also included. ...