Environment, glucocorticoids, and the timing of reproduction

Schoech, Stephan J.; Rensel, Michelle A.; Bridge, Eli S.; Boughton, Raoul K.; Wilcoxen, Travis E.

doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2008.09.009

Cited by 96 publications

(82 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Stress can act at multiple levels to disrupt breeding, including at the brain, the pituitary, and directly at the level of the gonads (Consten et al 2002, Michael et al 2003, Breen and Karsch 2006, Oakley et al 2009, Schoech et al 2009). In House Sparrows, we found evidence of seasonal regulation of CORT receptors in whole brain, but not in hippocampus or gonads.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal variation in corticosterone receptor binding in brain, hippocampus, and gonads in House Sparrows (Passer domesticus)

Lattin

Romero

2013

The Auk

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal variation in corticosterone receptor binding in brain, hippocampus, and gonads in House Sparrows (Passer domesticus)

Lattin

Romero

2013

The Auk

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“…Obviously, this tells little about the environmental factors driving such phenological shifts. Follow up experiments on the Florida scrub jays have suggested availability of anthropogenic food source (Schoech et al 2004 ) as well as reduced stress (corticosterone levels in the plasma) (Schoech et al 2009 ) in suburban jays as two potential mechanisms underlying early breeding in this population compared to wildland ones. In European blackbirds, I used the same aforementioned experimental set up in the laboratory to test not only whether light pollution advances daily cycles of activity, but also its effects on the reproductive physiology.…”

Section: Light Pollution and Annual Cyclesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of light pollution on biological rhythms of birds: an integrated, mechanistic perspective

Dominoni

2015

J Ornithol

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Light pollution is considered a threat for biodiversity given the extent to which it can affect a vast number of behavioral and physiological processes in several species. This comes as no surprise as light is a fundamental, environmental cue through which organisms time their daily and seasonal activities, and alterations in the light environment have been found to affect profoundly the synchronization of the circadian clock, the endogenous mechanism that tracks and predicts variation in the external light/dark cycles. In this context, birds have been one of the most studied animal taxa, but our understanding of the effects of light pollution on the biological rhythms of avian species is mostly limited to behavioral responses. In order to understand which proximate mechanisms may be affected by artificial lights, we need an integrated perspective that focuses on light as a physiological signal, and especially on how photic information is perceived, decoded, and transmitted through the whole body. The aim of this review is to summarize the effects of light pollution on physiological and biochemical mechanisms that underlie changes in birds' behavior, highlighting the current gaps in our knowledge and proposing future research avenues.

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“…The HPI axis modulates a hormonal cascade resulting in the activation of the interrenal gland and glucocorticoid (GC) production: corticosterone (CORT) in amphibians, reptiles, and birds and cortisol in most mammals and fish (Romero 2004). GCs elicit the mobilization of energetic metabolic substrates (e.g., lipids; Peckett et al 2011), which affect essential functions of the organism such as reproduction, behavior, and growth (Denver et al 2002;Schoech et al 2009;Kindermann et al 2013), thus conditioning the transition between life-history stages (Crespi et al 2013). Prolonged secretion of CORT has been associated with mobilization of energetic substrates and increased metabolic demands in multiple tissues (Peckett et al 2011;Lattin and Romero 2015) while resulting in reduced long-term survival (Bonier et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physiological Stress Responses in Amphibian Larvae to Multiple Stressors Reveal Marked Anthropogenic Effects even below Lethal Levels

Burraco

Gómez-Mestre

2016

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology

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Natural and anthropogenic disturbances cause profound alterations in organisms, inducing physiological adjustments to avoid, reduce, or remedy the impact of disturbances. In vertebrates, the stress response is regulated via neuroendocrine pathways, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal axis that regulates the secretion of glucocorticoids. Glucocorticoids have cascading effects on multiple physiological pathways, affecting the metabolic rate, reactive oxygen species production, or immune system. Determining the extent to which natural and anthropogenic environmental factors induce stress responses in vertebrates is of great importance in ecology and conservation biology. Here we study the physiological stress response in spadefoot toad tadpoles (Pelobates cultripes) against three levels of a series of natural and anthropogenic stressors common to many aquatic systems: salinity (0, 6, and 9 ppt), herbicide (0, 1, and 2 mg/L acid equivalent of glyphosate), water acidity (pH 4.5, 7.0, and 9.5), predators (absent, native, and invasive), and temperature (217, 257, and 297C). The physiological stress response was assessed examining corticosterone levels, standard metabolic rate, activity of antioxidant enzymes, oxidative cellular damage in lipids, and immunological status. We found that common stressors substantially altered the physiological state of tadpoles. In particular, salinity and herbicides cause dramatic physiological changes in tadpoles. Moreover, tadpoles reduced corticosterone levels in the presence of natural predators but did not do so against invasive predators, indicating a lack of innate recognition. Corticosterone and the antioxidant enzyme glutathione reductase were the most sensitive parameters to stress in this study. Anthropogenic perturbations of aquatic systems pose serious threats to larval amphibians even at nonlethal concentrations, judging from the marked physiological stress responses generated, and reveal the importance of incorporating physiological information onto conservation, ecological, and evolutionary studies.

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Environment, glucocorticoids, and the timing of reproduction

Cited by 96 publications

References 74 publications

Seasonal variation in corticosterone receptor binding in brain, hippocampus, and gonads in House Sparrows (Passer domesticus)

Seasonal variation in corticosterone receptor binding in brain, hippocampus, and gonads in House Sparrows (Passer domesticus)

The effects of light pollution on biological rhythms of birds: an integrated, mechanistic perspective

Physiological Stress Responses in Amphibian Larvae to Multiple Stressors Reveal Marked Anthropogenic Effects even below Lethal Levels

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