Acute embryonic exposure to corticosterone alters physiology, behaviour and growth in nestlings of a wild passerine

Tilgar, Vallo; Mägi, Marko; Lind, Marianne; Lodjak, Jaanis; Moks, Kadri; Mänd, Raivo

doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.06.008

Cited by 16 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Schwabl, 1999) and with my earlier studies (e.g. Tilgar et al, 2016Tilgar et al, , 2017. It has been shown in different passerine species that CORT levels reach a plateau approximately 15 min after capture (Lynn and Porter, 2008;Wada and Breuner, 2008).…”

Section: Study Design and Measurementssupporting

confidence: 81%

“…In the present study, I did not address the mechanism by which ACTH challenge impacted nestling behaviour. It is well known that baseline (Tilgar et al, 2016) and acute (Breuner et al, 1998) elevation in GCs may increase locomotor activity. Given that ACTH-stimulated offspring had heightened baseline CORT levels but they did not produce more CORT in response to a standardized stressor, the current results suggest that passive antipredator behaviour might be related to baseline rather than stress-induced GC secretion.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Repeated stimulation of the pituitary–adrenal axis alters offspring phenotype of a wild passerine

Tilgar

2019

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Prolonged stress can have long-lasting effects on an individual's physiology and growth. However, the impact of chronically elevated glucocorticoids on the expression of early antipredator responses is still poorly documented. In this study, I simulated the effect of repeated acute stress on offspring phenotype in free-living pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) by administering adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) to nestlings for 6 days. The results showed that frequent induction of stress responses by ACTH injections, independent of parental care, adversely affected offspring final body size, wing length and baseline corticosterone levels. Nestling behavioural activity did not differ between ACTH-and saline-treated groups during exposure to control sounds, whereas behavioural activity during exposure to alarm calls was reduced in manipulated offspring only. I conclude that prolonged physiological stress may have short-term benefits to nestbound offspring, such as more effective antipredator behaviour, but at the expense of negative effects on body size and developmental speed.

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Section: Study Design and Measurementssupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Repeated stimulation of the pituitary–adrenal axis alters offspring phenotype of a wild passerine

Tilgar

2019

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…No 900‐097; EnzoLifeSciences, Assay Designs, Farmingdale, NY, USA) was used to measure plasma CORT levels (for details see Tilgar et al . ). Plasma dilution and the concentration of the steroid displacement buffer (SDB) were optimized for measuring Great Tits: 1.5% of SDB (10 μ L 1 : 100 SDB, which equals 0.15 μ L of raw SDB) was added to 10 μ L raw plasma to avoid a confounding effect of steroid binding proteins.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

The behavioural response of Great Tits to novel environment and handling is affected by the DRD4 gene

Timm

Mägi

Telve

et al. 2018

Ibis

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Studies have provided inconsistent evidence regarding the effects on behaviour of nucleotide polymorphism at the DRD4 gene. For instance, the DRD4 gene affects exploratory behaviour in some bird species and populations but not in others. Our earlier experiment with a wild Great Tit Parus major population revealed an important impact of the DRD4 gene on behavioural variation during the breeding season. The aim of this study was to clarify these results by measuring individual behavioural differences (exploration and anxiety) in Great Tits under controlled conditions before the beginning of egg-laying in order to exclude the potential impacts of breeding (egg-laying, motivation to feed nestlings, the potential effect of a partner) and the natural environment (e.g. the presence of predators). Birds were caught from their natural habitat and their behaviour was tested in a trial room the following morning. Individuals with the CT heterozygous genotype (SNP830) performed more actively in different contexts (visiting a novel object in the trial room and vocal behaviour during handling) compared with homozygotes, and the relationships were consistent in males and females. In light of the results from our previous study (heterozygous males, but not females, had a shorter latency to feed nestlings than CC homozygotes), we conclude that the same DRD4 gene variants affect behavioural responses in a controlled environment and wild contexts in the same directions, but that these relationships are not sex-specific under standardized conditions.

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“…For some avian studies, results align with mammalian models of maternal stress; prenatal (i.e., in the egg) exposure to elevated GCs produces offspring with phenotypes commonly interpreted as maladaptive (e.g., reduced body size/feather growth [Saino et al 2005], reduced competitive ability [Janczak et al 2006], and reduced begging intensity [Rubolini et al 2005]). However, as Henriksen et al (2011) conclude, there is notable variation in the directionality of effects egg GCs have on offspring phenotype (e.g., increased body size [Tilgar et al 2016], enhanced flight performance [Chin et al 2009], and increased begging intensity ).…”

Section: Maternal Gcs and Oviparity: What Do We Know From Birds?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Glucocorticoids in Fish Eggs: Variation, Interactions with the Environment, and the Potential to Shape Offspring Fitness

Sopinka

Capelle

Semeniuk

et al. 2017

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology

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Wild and captive vertebrates face multiple stressors that all have the potential to induce chronic maternal stress (i.e., sustained, elevated plasma glucocorticoids), resulting in embryo exposure to elevated maternally derived glucocorticoids. In oviparous taxa such as fish, maternally derived glucocorticoids in eggs are known for their capacity to shape offspring phenotype. Using a variety of methodologies, scientists have quantified maternally derived levels of egg cortisol, the primary glucocorticoid in fishes, and examined the cascading effects of egg cortisol on progeny phenotype. Here we summarize and interpret the current state of knowledge on egg cortisol in fishes and the relationships linking maternal stress/state to egg cortisol and offspring phenotype/fitness. Considerable variation in levels of egg cortisol exists across species and among females within a species; this variation is hypothesized to be due to interspecific differences in reproductive life history and intraspecific differences in female condition. Outcomes of experimental studies manipulating egg cortisol vary both inter- and intraspecifically. Moreover, while exogenous elevation of egg cortisol (as a proxy for maternal stress) induces phenotypic changes commonly considered to be maladaptive (e.g., smaller offspring size), emerging work in other taxa suggests that there can be positive effects on fitness when the offspring's environment is taken into account. Investigations into (i) mechanisms by which egg cortisol elicits phenotypic change in offspring (e.g., epigenetics), (ii) maternal and offspring buffering capacity of cortisol, and (iii) factors driving natural variation in egg cortisol and how this variation affects offspring phenotype and fitness are all germane to discussions on egg glucocorticoids as signals of maternal stress.

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Acute embryonic exposure to corticosterone alters physiology, behaviour and growth in nestlings of a wild passerine

Cited by 16 publications

References 65 publications

Repeated stimulation of the pituitary–adrenal axis alters offspring phenotype of a wild passerine

Repeated stimulation of the pituitary–adrenal axis alters offspring phenotype of a wild passerine

The behavioural response of Great Tits to novel environment and handling is affected by the DRD4 gene

Glucocorticoids in Fish Eggs: Variation, Interactions with the Environment, and the Potential to Shape Offspring Fitness

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