House sparrows mitigate growth effects of post-natal glucocorticoid exposure at the expense of longevity

Grace, Jacquelyn K.; Meillère, Alizée; Angelier, Frédéric

doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2017.08.011

Cited by 28 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 60 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Weight loss is one of the most consistent physiological effects of CORT (e.g. [ 60 ]; reviewed by [ 27 , 61 ]; but see [ 50 ]). Our results corroborate these findings, indicating that shortly after the implantation CORT-treated birds were lighter in weight than control birds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental increase in baseline corticosterone level reduces oxidative damage and enhances innate immune response

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Glucocorticoid (GC) hormones are significant regulators of homeostasis. The physiological effects of GCs critically depend on the time of exposure (short vs. long) as well as on their circulating levels (baseline vs. stress-induced). Previous experiments, in which chronic and high elevation of GC levels was induced, indicate that GCs impair both the activity of the immune system and the oxidative balance. Nonetheless, our knowledge on how mildly elevated GC levels, a situation much more common in nature, might influence homeostasis is limited. Therefore, we studied whether an increase in GC level within the baseline range suppresses or enhances condition (body mass, hematocrit and coccidian infestation) and physiological state (humoral innate immune system activity and oxidative balance). We implanted captive house sparrows Passer domesticus with either 60 days release corticosterone (CORT) or control pellets. CORT-treated birds had elevated baseline CORT levels one week after the implantation, but following this CORT returned to its pre-treatment level and the experimental groups had similar CORT levels one and two months following the implantation. The mass of tail feathers grown during the initial phase of treatment was smaller in treated than in control birds. CORT implantation had a transient negative effect on body mass and hematocrit, but both of these traits resumed the pre-treatment values by one month post-treatment. CORT treatment lowered oxidative damage to lipids (malondialdehyde) and enhanced constitutive innate immunity at one week and one month post-implantation. Our findings suggest that a relatively short-term (i.e. few days) elevation of baseline CORT might have a positive and stimulatory effect on animal physiology.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental increase in baseline corticosterone level reduces oxidative damage and enhances innate immune response

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, in Japanese quail ( Coturnix japonica ), offspring of corticosterone‐manipulated females grew slower in their first week posthatching, but were not significantly different in size from control nestlings by adulthood (Hayward & Wingfield, ). Similarly, nestlings hatching from corticosterone‐injected eggs in our study population were lighter than control nestlings at hatching, but, through compensatory growth, were heavier near the time of nest‐leaving (Strange et al., ), a likely positive effect; however, there are often long‐term costs to compensatory growth (Grace, Froud, Meillère, & Angelier, ; Metcalfe & Monaghan, ; Monaghan, ). There is evidence of positive effects of prenatal corticosterone or cortisol exposure in a variety of taxa (Capelle, Semeniuk, Sopinka, Heath, & Love, ; Meylan & Clobert, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

Pre‐ and postnatal effects of experimentally manipulated maternal corticosterone on growth, stress reactivity and survival of nestling house wrens

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Corticosterone plays a central role in maintaining homeostasis, promoting energy acquisition, and regulating the stress response in birds. Exposure to elevated levels of corticosterone during development can profoundly alter offspring behaviour and physiology, but the effects of elevated maternal corticosterone on offspring development remain poorly understood.We tested two competing hypotheses concerning the effect of maternally derived corticosterone on growth and development of free-living house wrens: (i) elevated maternal corticosterone causes damaging effects on nestling phenotype and fitness (collateral damage hypothesis) and (ii) increased maternal corticosterone enhances offspring fitness by preparing nestlings for the environment experienced by their mother (environmental/maternal-matching hypothesis).We used a non-invasive means to increase maternal corticosterone by providing females with corticosterone-injected mealworms prior to and during egg production in the absence of any overt pre-natal maternal stress. To disentangle pre- and post-natal effects of this elevation in maternal corticosterone, we cross-fostered young in two experiments: (i) nestlings of control and experimental females were reared by unmanipulated, natural females in a uniform maternal environment; (ii) a split-brood design that enabled us to assess the interaction between the mother’s corticosterone treatment and that of the nestlings.There were significant pre-natal effects of increased maternal corticosterone on nestling growth and survival. Offspring of females experiencing experimentally increased corticosterone were heavier and larger than offspring of control females. There also was a significant interaction between maternal corticosterone treatment and the corticosterone treatment to which young were exposed within the egg in their effect on nestling survival while in the nest; experimental young exhibited greater survival than control young, but only when reared by control mothers. There was also a significant effect of maternal corticosterone treatment on nestling stress reactivity and, in both experiments, on the eventual recruitment of offspring as breeding adults in the local population.These patterns are broadly consistent with the environmental/maternal-matching hypothesis, and highlight the importance of disentangling pre- and post-natal effects of manipulations of maternal hormone levels on offspring phenotype.

show abstract

“…As feather and structural growth occur simultaneously in the nest, our results suggest that CORT exposure during the post‐hatching period is not directly correlated with nestling growth. Previous studies have shown that elevated plasma and feather CORT levels can be correlated with reduced body size and mass in pigeon and sparrow nestlings (Grace, Froud, Meillère, & Angelier, ; Jenni‐Eiermann et al, ). Interestingly, this correlation between CORT levels, body size, and body mass seems to attenuate and even disappear as the nestlings develop, suggesting that nestlings can compensate for a slow initial growth despite stressful or challenging conditions (Grace et al, ; Jenni‐Eiermann et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Previous studies have shown that elevated plasma and feather CORT levels can be correlated with reduced body size and mass in pigeon and sparrow nestlings (Grace, Froud, Meillère, & Angelier, ; Jenni‐Eiermann et al, ). Interestingly, this correlation between CORT levels, body size, and body mass seems to attenuate and even disappear as the nestlings develop, suggesting that nestlings can compensate for a slow initial growth despite stressful or challenging conditions (Grace et al, ; Jenni‐Eiermann et al, ). This may explain why feather CORT levels and juvenile body size were not correlated in our study, although this may also result from a lack of statistical power (tarsus length was only available from 4 sites).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Does urbanization cause stress in wild birds during development? Insights from feather corticosterone levels in juvenile house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

Beaugeard

Brischoux

Henry

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Urban landscapes are associated with abiotic and biotic environmental changes that may result in potential stressors for wild vertebrates. Urban exploiters have physiological, morphological, and behavioral adaptations to live in cities. However, there is increasing evidence that urban exploiters themselves can suffer from urban conditions, especially during specific life‐history stages. We looked for a link between the degree of urbanization and the level of developmental stress in an urban exploiter (the house sparrow, Passer domesticus), which has recently been declining in multiple European cities (e.g., London, UK). Specifically, we conducted a large‐scale study and sampled juvenile sparrows in 11 urban and rural sites to evaluate their feather corticosterone (CORT) levels. We found that juvenile feather CORT levels were positively correlated with the degree of urbanization, supporting the idea that developing house sparrows may suffer from urban environmental conditions. However, we did not find any correlation between juvenile feather CORT levels and body size, mass, or body condition. This suggests either that the growth and condition of urban sparrows are not impacted by elevated developmental CORT levels, or that urban sparrows may compensate for developmental constraints once they have left the nest. Although feather CORT levels were not correlated with baseline CORT levels, we found that feather CORT levels were slightly and positively correlated with the CORT stress response in juveniles. This suggests that urban developmental conditions may potentially have long‐lasting effects on stress physiology and stress sensitivity in this urban exploiter.

show abstract

House sparrows mitigate growth effects of post-natal glucocorticoid exposure at the expense of longevity

Cited by 28 publications

References 60 publications

Experimental increase in baseline corticosterone level reduces oxidative damage and enhances innate immune response

Experimental increase in baseline corticosterone level reduces oxidative damage and enhances innate immune response

Pre‐ and postnatal effects of experimentally manipulated maternal corticosterone on growth, stress reactivity and survival of nestling house wrens

Does urbanization cause stress in wild birds during development? Insights from feather corticosterone levels in juvenile house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About