Effects of a chronic increase in plasma corticosterone on the brooding behavior of the prairie skink, Plestiodon septentrionalis

• Main Author: Anton, Alexander James
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: DigitalCommons@UNO 2012
• Subjects: Plestiodon septentrionalis; prarie skink; chronic corticosterone; animal behavior; Biology; Avian Studies
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork/6; https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/context/studentwork/article/1012/viewcontent/Anton_Effects_of_a_chronic_increase_in_plasma_corticosterone_on_the_brooding_behavior_of_the_prairie_skink__Plestiodon_septentrionalis.pdf

The effects of chronic corticosterone (CORT) increases on the maternal behavior of the Prairie Skink, Plestiodon septentrionalis were studied in the laboratory during the summer of 2012. It was hypothesized that chronic increases in plasma CORT would result in decreased maternal effort and higher egg mortality, with similar results to analogous studies in birds. Plasma CORT was elevated using a non-invasive, exogenous treatment and behaviors were observed using video recordings. CORT treatments significantly reduced the amount of time spent tightly coiled around eggs in experimental individuals, and significantly decreased the amount of time experimental females spend in contact with their eggs in comparison to control females. The treatment also weakly increased the amount of time that experimental females spend outside the nest. No significant difference was found on mortality of eggs, however all eggs that successfully hatched were from control females. These results indicate decreases in maternal effort following increases in CORT similar to those found in avian studies, as well as studies on other vertebrates.