Heavily hunted wolves have higher stress and reproductive steroids than wolves with lower hunting pressure
Human-caused harassment and mortality (e.g. hunting) affects many aspects of wildlife population dynamics and social structure. Little is known, however, about the social and physiological effects of hunting, which might provide valuable insights into the mechanisms by which wildlife respond to huma...
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/11585/901618 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12354 |
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ftunibolognairis:oai:cris.unibo.it:11585/901618 2024-09-15T18:01:20+00:00 Heavily hunted wolves have higher stress and reproductive steroids than wolves with lower hunting pressure Bryan H. M. Smits J. E. G. Koren L. Paquet P. C. Wynne-Edwards K. E. Musiani M. Bryan H.M. Smits J.E.G. Koren L. Paquet P.C. Wynne-Edwards K.E. Musiani M. 2015 ELETTRONICO https://hdl.handle.net/11585/901618 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12354 eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:000351606400007 volume:29 issue:3 firstpage:347 lastpage:356 numberofpages:10 journal:FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY https://hdl.handle.net/11585/901618 doi:10.1111/1365-2435.12354 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/scopus/2-s2.0-84924961486 Boreal forest Canis lupu Cortisol Grey wolve Hair analysi Human-caused mortality Northern Canada Progesterone Testosterone Tundra-taiga info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2015 ftunibolognairis https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12354 2024-07-08T14:06:47Z Human-caused harassment and mortality (e.g. hunting) affects many aspects of wildlife population dynamics and social structure. Little is known, however, about the social and physiological effects of hunting, which might provide valuable insights into the mechanisms by which wildlife respond to human-caused mortality. To investigate physiological consequences of hunting, we measured stress and reproductive hormones in hair, which reflect endocrine activity during hair growth. Applying this novel approach, we compared steroid hormone levels in hair of wolves (Canis lupus) living in Canada's tundra-taiga (n = 103) that experience heavy rates of hunting with those in the northern boreal forest (n = 45) where hunting pressure is substantially lower. The hair samples revealed that progesterone was higher in tundra-taiga wolves, possibly reflecting increased reproductive effort and social disruption in response to human-related mortality. Tundra-taiga wolves also had higher testosterone and cortisol levels, which may reflect social instability. To control for habitat differences, we also measured cortisol in an out-group of boreal forest wolves (n = 30) that were killed as part of a control programme. Cortisol was higher in the boreal out-group than in our study population from the northern boreal forest. Overall, our findings support the social and physiological consequences of human-caused mortality. Long-term implications of altered physiological responses should be considered in management and conservations strategies. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus taiga Tundra IRIS Università degli Studi di Bologna (CRIS - Current Research Information System) Functional Ecology 29 3 347 356 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
IRIS Università degli Studi di Bologna (CRIS - Current Research Information System) |
op_collection_id |
ftunibolognairis |
language |
English |
topic |
Boreal forest Canis lupu Cortisol Grey wolve Hair analysi Human-caused mortality Northern Canada Progesterone Testosterone Tundra-taiga |
spellingShingle |
Boreal forest Canis lupu Cortisol Grey wolve Hair analysi Human-caused mortality Northern Canada Progesterone Testosterone Tundra-taiga Bryan H. M. Smits J. E. G. Koren L. Paquet P. C. Wynne-Edwards K. E. Musiani M. Heavily hunted wolves have higher stress and reproductive steroids than wolves with lower hunting pressure |
topic_facet |
Boreal forest Canis lupu Cortisol Grey wolve Hair analysi Human-caused mortality Northern Canada Progesterone Testosterone Tundra-taiga |
description |
Human-caused harassment and mortality (e.g. hunting) affects many aspects of wildlife population dynamics and social structure. Little is known, however, about the social and physiological effects of hunting, which might provide valuable insights into the mechanisms by which wildlife respond to human-caused mortality. To investigate physiological consequences of hunting, we measured stress and reproductive hormones in hair, which reflect endocrine activity during hair growth. Applying this novel approach, we compared steroid hormone levels in hair of wolves (Canis lupus) living in Canada's tundra-taiga (n = 103) that experience heavy rates of hunting with those in the northern boreal forest (n = 45) where hunting pressure is substantially lower. The hair samples revealed that progesterone was higher in tundra-taiga wolves, possibly reflecting increased reproductive effort and social disruption in response to human-related mortality. Tundra-taiga wolves also had higher testosterone and cortisol levels, which may reflect social instability. To control for habitat differences, we also measured cortisol in an out-group of boreal forest wolves (n = 30) that were killed as part of a control programme. Cortisol was higher in the boreal out-group than in our study population from the northern boreal forest. Overall, our findings support the social and physiological consequences of human-caused mortality. Long-term implications of altered physiological responses should be considered in management and conservations strategies. |
author2 |
Bryan H.M. Smits J.E.G. Koren L. Paquet P.C. Wynne-Edwards K.E. Musiani M. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bryan H. M. Smits J. E. G. Koren L. Paquet P. C. Wynne-Edwards K. E. Musiani M. |
author_facet |
Bryan H. M. Smits J. E. G. Koren L. Paquet P. C. Wynne-Edwards K. E. Musiani M. |
author_sort |
Bryan H. M. |
title |
Heavily hunted wolves have higher stress and reproductive steroids than wolves with lower hunting pressure |
title_short |
Heavily hunted wolves have higher stress and reproductive steroids than wolves with lower hunting pressure |
title_full |
Heavily hunted wolves have higher stress and reproductive steroids than wolves with lower hunting pressure |
title_fullStr |
Heavily hunted wolves have higher stress and reproductive steroids than wolves with lower hunting pressure |
title_full_unstemmed |
Heavily hunted wolves have higher stress and reproductive steroids than wolves with lower hunting pressure |
title_sort |
heavily hunted wolves have higher stress and reproductive steroids than wolves with lower hunting pressure |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/11585/901618 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12354 |
genre |
Canis lupus taiga Tundra |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus taiga Tundra |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:000351606400007 volume:29 issue:3 firstpage:347 lastpage:356 numberofpages:10 journal:FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY https://hdl.handle.net/11585/901618 doi:10.1111/1365-2435.12354 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/scopus/2-s2.0-84924961486 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12354 |
container_title |
Functional Ecology |
container_volume |
29 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
347 |
op_container_end_page |
356 |
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1810438488445681664 |