Seasonal stress physiology and body condition differ among co-occurring tropical finch species
Seasonal changes in avian hormonal stress responses and condition are well known for common species found at temperate and arctic latitudes, but declining and tropical species are poorly studied. This study compares stress and condition measures of co-occurring declining and non-declining tropical g...
Main Authors: | , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
Research Online
2013
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/1270 https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2288&context=smhpapers |
id |
ftunivwollongong:oai:ro.uow.edu.au:smhpapers-2288 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivwollongong:oai:ro.uow.edu.au:smhpapers-2288 2023-05-15T15:13:04+02:00 Seasonal stress physiology and body condition differ among co-occurring tropical finch species Maute, Kimberly L French, Kristine Legge, Sarah Astheimer, Lee 2013-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/1270 https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2288&context=smhpapers unknown Research Online https://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/1270 https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2288&context=smhpapers Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A body physiology stress seasonal differ condition among species co occurring tropical finch Medicine and Health Sciences Social and Behavioral Sciences article 2013 ftunivwollongong 2020-02-25T11:00:02Z Seasonal changes in avian hormonal stress responses and condition are well known for common species found at temperate and arctic latitudes, but declining and tropical species are poorly studied. This study compares stress and condition measures of co-occurring declining and non-declining tropical grass finch species in Australia. We monitored declining Gouldian finches (Erythrura gouldiae) and non-declining long-tailed and masked finches (Poepila acuticauda and P. personata) during two seasons that are potentially stressful: peak breeding (early dry season when food is plentiful) and moult (late dry to early wet season when food may be scarce). We measured body condition (muscle and fat), haematocrit, and stress response to capture using plasma corticosterone and binding globulin concentrations. All species had higher muscle and lower fat indices during breeding than moult. Haematocrit did not consistently differ between seasons. Long-tailed finches had higher stress responses during breeding than moult, similar to other passerines studied. Masked finches showed no seasonal changes in stress response. Gouldian finches had stress response patterns opposite to those of long-tailed finches, with higher stress responses during moult. However, seasonal trends in Gouldian and long-tailed finch stress responses sometimes differed between years or sites. The differences in stress response patterns between species suggest that the declining Gouldian finch is more sensitive to recent environmental changes which are thought to further reduce grass seed food resources during the late dry to early wet season. Retention of stress responsiveness during a protracted moult could increase the survival potential of Gouldian finches. This study highlights the utility of stress and condition indices to determine the sensitivity of co-occurring species to environmental conditions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic University of Wollongong, Australia: Research Online Arctic Finch ENVELOPE(167.383,167.383,-72.567,-72.567) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Wollongong, Australia: Research Online |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwollongong |
language |
unknown |
topic |
body physiology stress seasonal differ condition among species co occurring tropical finch Medicine and Health Sciences Social and Behavioral Sciences |
spellingShingle |
body physiology stress seasonal differ condition among species co occurring tropical finch Medicine and Health Sciences Social and Behavioral Sciences Maute, Kimberly L French, Kristine Legge, Sarah Astheimer, Lee Seasonal stress physiology and body condition differ among co-occurring tropical finch species |
topic_facet |
body physiology stress seasonal differ condition among species co occurring tropical finch Medicine and Health Sciences Social and Behavioral Sciences |
description |
Seasonal changes in avian hormonal stress responses and condition are well known for common species found at temperate and arctic latitudes, but declining and tropical species are poorly studied. This study compares stress and condition measures of co-occurring declining and non-declining tropical grass finch species in Australia. We monitored declining Gouldian finches (Erythrura gouldiae) and non-declining long-tailed and masked finches (Poepila acuticauda and P. personata) during two seasons that are potentially stressful: peak breeding (early dry season when food is plentiful) and moult (late dry to early wet season when food may be scarce). We measured body condition (muscle and fat), haematocrit, and stress response to capture using plasma corticosterone and binding globulin concentrations. All species had higher muscle and lower fat indices during breeding than moult. Haematocrit did not consistently differ between seasons. Long-tailed finches had higher stress responses during breeding than moult, similar to other passerines studied. Masked finches showed no seasonal changes in stress response. Gouldian finches had stress response patterns opposite to those of long-tailed finches, with higher stress responses during moult. However, seasonal trends in Gouldian and long-tailed finch stress responses sometimes differed between years or sites. The differences in stress response patterns between species suggest that the declining Gouldian finch is more sensitive to recent environmental changes which are thought to further reduce grass seed food resources during the late dry to early wet season. Retention of stress responsiveness during a protracted moult could increase the survival potential of Gouldian finches. This study highlights the utility of stress and condition indices to determine the sensitivity of co-occurring species to environmental conditions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Maute, Kimberly L French, Kristine Legge, Sarah Astheimer, Lee |
author_facet |
Maute, Kimberly L French, Kristine Legge, Sarah Astheimer, Lee |
author_sort |
Maute, Kimberly L |
title |
Seasonal stress physiology and body condition differ among co-occurring tropical finch species |
title_short |
Seasonal stress physiology and body condition differ among co-occurring tropical finch species |
title_full |
Seasonal stress physiology and body condition differ among co-occurring tropical finch species |
title_fullStr |
Seasonal stress physiology and body condition differ among co-occurring tropical finch species |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seasonal stress physiology and body condition differ among co-occurring tropical finch species |
title_sort |
seasonal stress physiology and body condition differ among co-occurring tropical finch species |
publisher |
Research Online |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/1270 https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2288&context=smhpapers |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(167.383,167.383,-72.567,-72.567) |
geographic |
Arctic Finch |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Finch |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A |
op_relation |
https://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/1270 https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2288&context=smhpapers |
_version_ |
1766343664374644736 |