Organismal effects of heat in a fixed ecological niche: Implications on the role of behavioral buffering in our changing world

Woodruff, Mary J.; Sermersheim, Layne O.; Wolf, Sarah; Rosvall, Kimberly A.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164809

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 91 publications

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“…We elevated nest temperatures using air-activated warmers (Uniheat 72hr, hereafter “packs;” Fig. S1; (Albert et al 2023; Woodruff et al 2023). Packs heat via the oxidation of iron powder when the packaging is opened and the mixture of charcoal, iron powder, vermiculite, salt, sawdust, and water is exposed to air.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We scored the number of nestlings visible on camera, plus each instance of panting, head-out-box-hole, nestling begging and parental provisioning. For all behaviors, we scored the number of nestlings performing the behavior (Woodruff et al 2023). Panting was defined as a >3 sec period of silent mouth gaping, paired with expanding and contracting body movement.…”

Section: Behavioral Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How altricial birds respond to a heat challenge: organismal perspectives on coping with a future climate scenario

Woodruff,

Tsueda,

Cutrell

et al. 2024

Preprint

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1. The ability to cope with heatwaves is likely to influence species success amidst climate change. However, relatively little is known about heat-coping mechanisms in endotherms, which are increasingly pushed to their thermoregulatory limits. We experimentally elevated nest temperatures by 4.5°C for 4 hours, focused on 12-day-old tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). 2. Nestlings exposed to sub-lethal heat moved towards cooler air at the nest box entrance, they panted more, and they weighed less than controls, suggesting panting-induced water loss. They also exhibited higher heat shock protein (HSP) gene expression in the blood, alongside widespread transcriptional differences related to antioxidant defenses, inflammation, and apoptosis. Nestlings exposed to milder heat were more likely to recruit into the breeding population, suggesting these coping mechanisms may be quite effective. 3. We also tested hypotheses on the drivers of variation in HSP gene expression, which was especially marked after heat-exposure. Even siblings in the same nest differed in HSP gene expression by over 14-fold. Heat-induced HSP levels were unrelated to individual body mass, or among-nest differences in brood size, temperature, and behavioral thermoregulation. However, nest ID explained a significant amount of HSP variation, which was larger between nests than within nests, pointing to genetic or early developmental factors 4. These results fill key knowledge gaps on thermoregulatory mechanisms in birds. We document ample individual variation upon which selection may act in the context of climate change and we underscore the need to understand intra-specific variation, an oft-ignored element that nevertheless shapes what is possible for future adaptation or acclimation to heat.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Behavioral Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How altricial birds respond to a heat challenge: organismal perspectives on coping with a future climate scenario

Woodruff,

Tsueda,

Cutrell

et al. 2024

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Behavioural thermoregulation involves moving to the shade, forgoing foraging [73], reducing chick provisioning in high heat [75,76] or moving to different places [77], among others. Thus, individuals or populations exhibiting greater endocrine flexibility may cope better with climate change because their flexibility produces stronger, and perhaps better attuned behavioural responses, allowing these individuals to increase their fitness relative to less flexible conspecifics (figure 1, population A [14,32,78]) and allowing these populations or species to persist better than less flexible ones (figure 1, population A or B). In this way, endocrine flexibility may effectively buffer populations from adverse effects of climate change for some time, until evolution can take place [67,79,80].…”

Section: Endocrine Flexibility As a Facilitator Of Coping With Changi...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Endocrine flexibility can facilitate or constrain the ability to cope with global change

Taff,

Baldan,

Mentesana

et al. 2024

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Global climate change has increased average environmental temperatures world-wide, simultaneously intensifying temperature variability and extremes. Growing numbers of studies have documented phenological, behavioural and morphological responses to climate change in wild populations. As systemic signals, hormones can contribute to orchestrating many of these phenotypic changes. Yet little is known about whether mechanisms like hormonal flexibility (reversible changes in hormone concentrations) facilitate or limit the ability of individuals, populations and species to cope with a changing climate. In this perspective, we discuss different mechanisms by which hormonal flexibility, primarily in glucocorticoids, could promote versus hinder evolutionary adaptation to changing temperature regimes. We focus on temperature because it is a key gradient influenced by climate change, it is easy to quantify, and its links to hormones are well established. We argue that reaction norm studies that connect individual responses to population-level and species-wide patterns will be critical for making progress in this field. We also develop a case study on urban heat islands, where several key questions regarding hormonal flexibility and adaptation to climate change can be addressed. Understanding the mechanisms that allow animals to cope when conditions become more challenging will help in predicting which populations are vulnerable to ongoing climate change. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Endocrine responses to environmental variation: conceptual approaches and recent developments’.

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Day Late, Dollar Short: Runts of Asynchronously Hatched Songbird Broods Have Reduced Survival, Body Size, and Persistent Energy Deficits

Stansberry,

Kelly,

Couvillion

et al. 2024

J Exp Zool Pt A

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Many songbirds begin active incubation after laying their penultimate egg, resulting in synchronous hatching of the clutch except for a last‐hatched individual (“runt”) that hatches with a size deficit and competitive disadvantage to siblings when begging for food. However, climate change may elevate temperatures and cause environmental incubation as eggs are laid, resulting in asynchronous hatching and larger size hierarchies among siblings. Although previous work demonstrated that asynchronous hatching reduces nestling growth and survival relative to synchrony, the physiological mechanisms underlying these effects are unclear. To test the effects of asynchronous hatching on runt growth, survival, physiology, and compensatory growth‐related tradeoffs, we manipulated incubation temperature in nest boxes of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) to increase asynchronous hatching and collected nestling morphological measurements and blood samples to assess physiology and development. Independent of heating treatment, runts from asynchronously hatched nests had lower survival than runts from more synchronous nests. Surviving runts from asynchronous nests were smaller and had reduced stress‐induced corticosterone concentrations and reduced circulating glucose compared with runts from synchronous nests. Despite persistent size and energy deficits, runts from asynchronous nests did not have significant deficits in immunity or telomere length when compared with runts from synchronous nests, suggesting no trade‐off between investment in immune development or telomere maintenance with growth. Overall, these results suggest that increased asynchrony due to climate change could reduce clutch survival for altricial songbirds, especially for the smallest chicks in a clutch, and that the negative effects of asynchrony may be driven by persistent energetic deficits.

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Organismal effects of heat in a fixed ecological niche: Implications on the role of behavioral buffering in our changing world

Cited by 4 publications

References 91 publications

How altricial birds respond to a heat challenge: organismal perspectives on coping with a future climate scenario

How altricial birds respond to a heat challenge: organismal perspectives on coping with a future climate scenario

Endocrine flexibility can facilitate or constrain the ability to cope with global change

Day Late, Dollar Short: Runts of Asynchronously Hatched Songbird Broods Have Reduced Survival, Body Size, and Persistent Energy Deficits

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