Large and in charge: cortisol levels vary with sex, diet, and body mass in an Antarctic predator, the leopard seal
Evaluating physiological responses in the context of a species’ life history, demographics, and ecology is essential to understanding the health of individuals and populations. Here, we measured the main mammalian glucocorticoid, cortisol, in an elusive Antarctic apex predator, the leopard seal (Hyd...
Published in: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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Online Access: | https://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/74127 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1179236 |
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ftpunivcchile:oai:repositorio.uc.cl:11534/74127 2024-09-15T17:42:12+00:00 Large and in charge: cortisol levels vary with sex, diet, and body mass in an Antarctic predator, the leopard seal Sperou, Emily S. Crocker, Daniel E. Borrás Chávez, Renato Francisco Costa, Daniel P. Goebel, Michael E. Kanatous, Shane B. Krause, Douglas J. Trumble, Stephen J. Kienle, Sarah S. 2023-07-10T13:33:12Z application/pdf https://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/74127 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1179236 en eng doi:10.3389/fmars.2023.1179236 2296-7745 http://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1179236 https://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/74127 acceso abierto Atribución 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Leopard seal Marine mammals Intraspecific variation Pinniped Cortisol Physiology Body size Stable isotope 550 Ciencias de la tierra artículo 2023 ftpunivcchile https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1179236 2024-07-08T23:47:40Z Evaluating physiological responses in the context of a species’ life history, demographics, and ecology is essential to understanding the health of individuals and populations. Here, we measured the main mammalian glucocorticoid, cortisol, in an elusive Antarctic apex predator, the leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx). We also examined intraspecific variation in cortisol based on life history (sex), morphometrics (body mass, body condition), and ecological traits (δ15N, δ13C). To do this, blood samples, life history traits, and morphometric data were collected from 19 individual leopard seals off the Western Antarctic Peninsula. We found that adult leopard seals have remarkably high cortisol concentrations (100.35 ± 16.72 μg/dL), showing the highest circulating cortisol concentration ever reported for a pinniped: 147 μg/dL in an adult male. Leopard seal cortisol concentrations varied with sex, body mass, and diet. Large adult females had significantly lower cortisol (94.49 ± 10.12 μg/dL) than adult males (120.85 ± 6.20 μg/dL). Similarly, leopard seals with higher isotope values (i.e., adult females, δ15N: 11.35 ± 0.69‰) had lower cortisol concentrations than seals with lower isotope values (i.e., adult males, δ15N: 10.14 ± 1.65‰). Furthermore, we compared cortisol concentrations across 26 closely related Arctoid taxa (i.e., mustelids, bears, and pinnipeds) with comparable data. Leopard seals had the highest mean cortisol concentrations that were 1.25 to 50 times higher than other Arctoids. More broadly, Antarctic ice seals (Lobodontini: leopard seal, Ross seal, Weddell seal, crabeater seal) had higher cortisol concentrations compared to other pinnipeds and Arctoid species. Therefore, high cortisol is a characteristic of all lobodontines and may be a specialized adaptation within this Antarctic-dwelling clade. Together, our results highlight exceptionally high cortisol concentrations in leopard seals (and across lobodontines) and reveal high variability in cortisol concentrations among individuals from a single ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Crabeater Seal Hydrurga leptonyx Leopard Seal Leopard Seals Ross Seal Weddell Seal Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile: Repositorio UC Frontiers in Marine Science 10 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile: Repositorio UC |
op_collection_id |
ftpunivcchile |
language |
English |
topic |
Leopard seal Marine mammals Intraspecific variation Pinniped Cortisol Physiology Body size Stable isotope 550 Ciencias de la tierra |
spellingShingle |
Leopard seal Marine mammals Intraspecific variation Pinniped Cortisol Physiology Body size Stable isotope 550 Ciencias de la tierra Sperou, Emily S. Crocker, Daniel E. Borrás Chávez, Renato Francisco Costa, Daniel P. Goebel, Michael E. Kanatous, Shane B. Krause, Douglas J. Trumble, Stephen J. Kienle, Sarah S. Large and in charge: cortisol levels vary with sex, diet, and body mass in an Antarctic predator, the leopard seal |
topic_facet |
Leopard seal Marine mammals Intraspecific variation Pinniped Cortisol Physiology Body size Stable isotope 550 Ciencias de la tierra |
description |
Evaluating physiological responses in the context of a species’ life history, demographics, and ecology is essential to understanding the health of individuals and populations. Here, we measured the main mammalian glucocorticoid, cortisol, in an elusive Antarctic apex predator, the leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx). We also examined intraspecific variation in cortisol based on life history (sex), morphometrics (body mass, body condition), and ecological traits (δ15N, δ13C). To do this, blood samples, life history traits, and morphometric data were collected from 19 individual leopard seals off the Western Antarctic Peninsula. We found that adult leopard seals have remarkably high cortisol concentrations (100.35 ± 16.72 μg/dL), showing the highest circulating cortisol concentration ever reported for a pinniped: 147 μg/dL in an adult male. Leopard seal cortisol concentrations varied with sex, body mass, and diet. Large adult females had significantly lower cortisol (94.49 ± 10.12 μg/dL) than adult males (120.85 ± 6.20 μg/dL). Similarly, leopard seals with higher isotope values (i.e., adult females, δ15N: 11.35 ± 0.69‰) had lower cortisol concentrations than seals with lower isotope values (i.e., adult males, δ15N: 10.14 ± 1.65‰). Furthermore, we compared cortisol concentrations across 26 closely related Arctoid taxa (i.e., mustelids, bears, and pinnipeds) with comparable data. Leopard seals had the highest mean cortisol concentrations that were 1.25 to 50 times higher than other Arctoids. More broadly, Antarctic ice seals (Lobodontini: leopard seal, Ross seal, Weddell seal, crabeater seal) had higher cortisol concentrations compared to other pinnipeds and Arctoid species. Therefore, high cortisol is a characteristic of all lobodontines and may be a specialized adaptation within this Antarctic-dwelling clade. Together, our results highlight exceptionally high cortisol concentrations in leopard seals (and across lobodontines) and reveal high variability in cortisol concentrations among individuals from a single ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sperou, Emily S. Crocker, Daniel E. Borrás Chávez, Renato Francisco Costa, Daniel P. Goebel, Michael E. Kanatous, Shane B. Krause, Douglas J. Trumble, Stephen J. Kienle, Sarah S. |
author_facet |
Sperou, Emily S. Crocker, Daniel E. Borrás Chávez, Renato Francisco Costa, Daniel P. Goebel, Michael E. Kanatous, Shane B. Krause, Douglas J. Trumble, Stephen J. Kienle, Sarah S. |
author_sort |
Sperou, Emily S. |
title |
Large and in charge: cortisol levels vary with sex, diet, and body mass in an Antarctic predator, the leopard seal |
title_short |
Large and in charge: cortisol levels vary with sex, diet, and body mass in an Antarctic predator, the leopard seal |
title_full |
Large and in charge: cortisol levels vary with sex, diet, and body mass in an Antarctic predator, the leopard seal |
title_fullStr |
Large and in charge: cortisol levels vary with sex, diet, and body mass in an Antarctic predator, the leopard seal |
title_full_unstemmed |
Large and in charge: cortisol levels vary with sex, diet, and body mass in an Antarctic predator, the leopard seal |
title_sort |
large and in charge: cortisol levels vary with sex, diet, and body mass in an antarctic predator, the leopard seal |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/74127 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1179236 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Crabeater Seal Hydrurga leptonyx Leopard Seal Leopard Seals Ross Seal Weddell Seal |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Crabeater Seal Hydrurga leptonyx Leopard Seal Leopard Seals Ross Seal Weddell Seal |
op_relation |
doi:10.3389/fmars.2023.1179236 2296-7745 http://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1179236 https://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/74127 |
op_rights |
acceso abierto Atribución 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1179236 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
10 |
_version_ |
1810488711056457728 |