Fluctuations in food supply are frequent in nature during seasons, in different stages of annual cycle of animals and lately, climate change is a strong driving force that could affect food supply. An animal's capacity to resist fasting is, therefore, determined by its ability to store energy and control its allocation during periods of food restriction. Daily variations of metabolic substrates and their fluctuation during fasting are relevant to understand the acclimation to fasting. Since fasting is an ecological stressor, we investigated the daily variation of corticosterone levels in feeding and fasting in Passer domesticus Linnaeus, 1758 and its short-term effect on some biochemical parameters. We found daily variations in body mass, glucose, triglycerides, plasma total protein, uric acid and corticosterone. However, we did not find diurnal variations of hematocrit and the Heterophil:Lymphocyte ratio (H/L ratio). Moreover, we did not find sex-related differences in any parameter. Throughout fasting we found variations of glucose, triglycerides, total protein, uric acid, H/L ratio and corticosterone. During the photophase, biochemical and physiological responses to food deprivation contribute to the efficient use of resources in this small bird. In the course of fasting period corticosterone could be responsible of alterations of some blood parameters such as glucose.
Glucocorticoids are steroid hormones produced by the adrenal glands and released into the bloodstream in response to stressful situations. In birds, corticosterone (CORT) is the main glucocorticoid released under stress. Throughout their lives, animals in nature are continually exposed to noxious stimuli known as stressful events. Any alteration of homeostatic stability is a stressful situation and this alteration triggers physiological changes to restore homeostasis. Glucocorticoids are one of the components of the complex set of physiological and behavioral responses to stress. In this work, we use CORT supplied in drinking water to evaluate its effect in blood parameters and physiology in house sparrows (Passer domesticus). To accomplish this, P. domesticus were administered three different doses of CORT in drinking water for 72 h. Body mass, organ mass, pectoral muscle mass, leg muscle mass, and blood parameters (CORT, triglycerides, glucose and uric acid, heterophils/lymphocytes ratio, hematocrit, and serum protein profile) were determined before and after CORT treatment. A 15% decrease in body mass with a significant decrease in pectoral mass were observed after the higher CORT treatment, as well as a decrease in the plasma concentration of uric acid. Lastly, we found a reversal of the heterophils/lymphocytes ratio and a decrease in hematocrit. It was possible to establish first data for baseline and CORT‐alteration values in serum protein profile for P. domesticus. Baseline and altered values of blood parameters and serum protein profile could be an important tool in field ecology because they provide important data to assess the physiological condition in wild birds.
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