Effectiveness of baseline corticosterone as a monitoring tool for fitness: a meta-analysis in seabirds

Sorenson, Graham H.; Dey, Cody J.; Madliger, Christine L.; Love, Oliver P.

doi:10.1007/s00442-016-3774-3

Cited by 49 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 99 publications

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“…In general, breeding effort and success are well-known stressors on long-lived species, and CORT levels quantified in specific tissues are often reported as a measurable proxy for the severity of such stressful responses (Bortolotti et al 2008. Several recent studies on seabirds have reported on effects of breeding performances on the physiological stress that individuals experienced in different periods along the annual cycle by measuring the CORT concentration in specific feathers (Schultner et al 2014, Sorenson et al 2017, Young et al 2017. Other studies, however, did not detect relevant effects of breeding on the stress condition of the individuals (Bourgeon et al 2014(Bourgeon et al , P erez et al 2016.…”

Section: Carryover Effects Of Breeding On the Stress Condition Of Indmentioning

confidence: 99%

Costs of breeding are rapidly buffered and do not affect migratory behavior in a long‐lived bird species

Ramos

Llabrés

Monclús

et al. 2018

Ecology

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Life history theory states that individual fitness in one stage of life is conditioned by what occurred in previous stages. In migratory species, reproductive effort during breeding has often been found to influence body condition, molt schedule, self-provisioning and migration of individuals in subsequent seasons (i.e., carryover effects of breeding). However, there is a current uncertainty in understanding how long-distance migrants trade off among such energy-demanding activities (i.e., breeding, molting and migrating). To provide evidence to the field, we experimentally reduced the parental effort of a long-lived Procellariform, the Cory's shearwater (Calonectris borealis), by inducing failure at the incubation stage. Treatment and control birds were tracked during their subsequent migration by means of light-level and immersion loggers and sampled for six specific feathers (molted at different periods along the migratory cycle) upon the recovery of the loggers 1 yr later. Feathers were used to perform stable isotope analysis (SIA) and determine corticosterone levels (CORT). By these means, we evaluated the effect of breeding effort on migratory strategy, at-sea activity patterns, molt patterns, and levels of stress experienced by birds along the non-breeding period. We did not detect any difference between birds in the induced failure group and successful breeders in terms of spatio-temporal distribution: all birds shared common foraging areas throughout the study period and the timing of major phenological events did not differ. Failed birds significantly advanced their molt, as revealed by SIA and flying activity patterns. The stress levels of failed birds, inferred through CORT concentrations in feathers, were found to be consistently lower than in successful breeders, through the end of the breeding to the non-breeding period. Thus, we provide robust evidence that the costs of reproduction can be physiologically mediated from the breeding to the non-breeding period through molting schedules and CORT levels. However, we failed to detect clear effects on migratory behavior or subsequent breeding success, suggesting that costs of breeding in long-lived species may be rapidly buffered during the post-breeding period, as would be expected from life history theory.

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Section: Carryover Effects Of Breeding On the Stress Condition Of Indmentioning

confidence: 99%

Costs of breeding are rapidly buffered and do not affect migratory behavior in a long‐lived bird species

Ramos

Llabrés

Monclús

et al. 2018

Ecology

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“…We provide evidence that, in the years covered by this study, colder conditions and higher sea-ice coverage during the winter may correspond to increased levels of stress incurred by birds. These conditions likely led to food shortages (Sorenson et al 2017), a conclusion supported by a concurrent increase in δ 15 N. We acknowledge that it is possible that parasite (Raouf et al 2006) or contaminant loads (Strong et al 2015) may also contribute to higher stress during adverse winter conditions; however, little is known with respect to how these stressors might contribute to adult physiology and behavior during the non-breeding period. The mechanistic link between corticosterone and fitness has proven complex (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Red-legged kittiwake feathers link food availability to environmental changes in the Bering Sea

Will¹,

Kitaiskaia²,

Kitaysky³

2018

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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The largest breeding population of red-legged kittiwakes Rissa brevirostris has undergone a dramatic decline and subsequent recovery since 1975. The causal mechanism is hypo thesized to be climate-induced food shortages during reproduction, yet little is known about how the basin ecosystem, where breeding red-legged kittiwakes primarily forage, is affected by climate variability. We examined when and under what conditions red-legged kittiwakes experienced food shortages. Head feathers (winter) and first primary feathers (summer; n = 24 and 27 yr, and 194 and 122 individuals, respectively) were collected between 1913 and 2016 on St. George Island and were analyzed for stable isotope signatures of carbon (δ 13 C), nitrogen (δ 15 N), and sulfur (δ 34 S). Feathers were also analyzed for corticosterone concentration (fCORT), which indicates a bird's exposure to nutritional stress during feather growth. Summer fCORT concentrations were lower when values of the annual Pacific Decadal Oscillation index were positive. Winter fCORT concentrations and δ 15 N signatures increased when February sea-ice coverage was extensive. We conclude that, since 1913, warm conditions in the Bering Sea ecosystem have been associated with low nutritional stress in adult red-legged kittiwakes breeding on St. George Island. However, we found no strong evidence for isotopic shifts over this same period. A better understanding of the factors governing the abundance and availability of red-legged kittiwakes' prey is needed to predict the impact of anticipated warming on this species and its foraging habitat.

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“…Baseline corticosterone (the primary glucocorticoid in birds) is responsible for managing and inducing feeding behaviour (Hennin, Wells-Berlin, & Love, 2016), and can be used as proxies of an individual seabird's need for energetic refuelling (Angelier & Wingfield, 2013) and food availability (Benowitz-Fredericks, Shultz, & Kitaysky, 2008;Kitaysky, Piatt, & Wingfield, 2007). In addition, variation in baseline corticosterone has been linked to fitness metrics in seabirds, with high corticosterone concentration being generally associated with low breeding success for example (Sorenson, Dey, Madliger, & Love, 2017). Plasma triacylglycerols are the storage form of fatty acids and thus can be used as an indicator of fat deposition or energy intake, where high circulating levels are indicative of energy gain (Williams, Warnock, Takekawa, & Bishop, 2007).…”

Section: Physiological Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging tactics in dynamic sea‐ice habitats affect individual state in a long‐ranging seabird

et al. 2020

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Individual heterogeneity in diet and foraging behaviour is common in wild animal populations, and can be a strong determinant of how populations respond to environmental changes. Within populations, variation in foraging behaviour and the occurrence of individual tactics in relation to resources distribution can help explain differences in individual fitness, and ultimately identify important factors affecting population dynamics. We examined how foraging behaviour and habitat during the breeding period related to the physiological state of a long‐ranging seabird adapted to sea ice, the Antarctic petrel Thalassoica antarctica. Firstly, using GPS tracking and state‐switching movement modelling (hidden Markov models) on 124 individual birds, we tested for the occurrence of distinct foraging tactics within our study population. Our results highlight a large variation in the movement and foraging behaviour of a very mobile seabird, and delineate distinct foraging tactics along a gradient from foraging in dense pack ice to foraging in open water. Secondly, we investigated the effects of these foraging tactics on individual state at return from a foraging trip. We combined movement data with morphometric and physiological measurements of a suite of plasma metabolites that provided a general picture of a bird's individual state. Foraging in denser sea ice was associated with lower gain in body mass during brooding, as well as lower level of energy acquisition (plasma triacylglycerol) during both brooding and incubation. We found no clear relationship between the foraging tactic in relation to sea ice and the energetic stress (changes in plasma corticosterone), energetic balance (β‐hydroxybutyrate) or trophic level (δ15N). However, a shorter foraging range was related to both the energetic balance (positively) and the trophic level (negatively). Our results highlight a diverse range of foraging tactics in relation to sea ice in Antarctic petrels. While the various foraging tactics do not seem to strongly alter energetic balance, they may affect other aspects of Antarctic petrels' physiology. Future changes in sea‐ice habitats can thus be expected to have an impact on the individual state of seabirds such as Antarctic petrels, which could ultimately affect their population dynamics. Nonetheless, strong individual heterogeneity in the use of sea‐ice habitats by a typical pagophilic species might strengthen its resilience to environmental changes and in particular to forecasted sea‐ice loss. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

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Effectiveness of baseline corticosterone as a monitoring tool for fitness: a meta-analysis in seabirds

Cited by 49 publications

References 99 publications

Costs of breeding are rapidly buffered and do not affect migratory behavior in a long‐lived bird species

Costs of breeding are rapidly buffered and do not affect migratory behavior in a long‐lived bird species

Red-legged kittiwake feathers link food availability to environmental changes in the Bering Sea

Foraging tactics in dynamic sea‐ice habitats affect individual state in a long‐ranging seabird

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