testosterone juvenile hormone? corticosterone Gibberellins (+) abscisic acid (-) Environment Behavior physiology
time (min) CORT (ng/ml) STRESSOR hypothalamus pituitary adrenal GLUCOCORTICOIDS Target tissue
Corticosteroid Binding Globulin (CBG) STRESSOR hypothalamus pituitary adrenal GLUCOCORTICOIDS Target tissue CBG
Laysan Albatross
Kilauea Point NWR, Kauai Albatross Hill
Albatross development time-line ~November ~January~July~June Mom lays egg Egg Hatches Chick grows (body growth) incubation Fledge! wing growth
Albatross development time-line ~November ~January~July~June Mom lays egg Egg Hatches Chick grows (body growth) incubation Fledge! wing growth condition
~November ~January~July~June Mom lays egg Egg Hatches Chick grows (body growth) incubation Fledge! wing growth -Late in the season, food availability is unpredictable -Body condition declines →CORT may go up with declining body condition! →CORT is elevated in some species before fledge ? What is the relationship between morphology, stress physiology, and fledging? Albatross development time-line condition
Capture chicks (n = 14) every 4 days Morphological measurements (mass, wing length, tarsus, culmen) Blood samples Fledge Date
Growth measures Wing LengthTarsus Length Days before fledgiing
Linear Mixed Effects Model, p < Body Condition
CORT CBG
Free CORT
Correlation poor good Body Condition v. free CORT
Experimental Manipulation Captured chicks same as in first group (n = 8) Morphological measurements, blood samples Normal weight loss = g/4 days Fed chicks ~150g squid every 4 days
LME, p < Body Condition – unfed
* Fed birds still declined in body condition, but significantly less (LME, p < 0.05) Body Condition – unfed v. fed
CORTCBG Unfedv. Fed
t-test, p < Free CORT
Age at Fledging
Summary Approaching fledging, we see... ↓ Body Condition Accompanied by ↑CORT and ↓CBG – resulting in ↑↑ free CORT Body condition negatively correlated with free CORT Feeding... Reduction in the ↑CORT and ↓CBG, resulting in ↔ free CORT Delays fledging by average of 9 days
TimeFledge at longest wing length Body Condition Fledge Free CORT Fledge Threshold Fledge
Good Critical Body Condition Total CORT CBG capacity Nest abandonment Predictable Fasting in Albatross goodpoor Body Condition (mass/culmen*100) CBG (nM specific binding) CBG