An experimental analysis of the heritability of variation in glucocorticoid concentrations in a wild avian population

Jenkins, Brittany R.; Vitousek, Maren N.; Hubbard, Joanna K.; Safran, Rebecca J.

doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.1302

Cited by 84 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Moreover, variation in egg mass has recently been found to be positively associated with measures of circulating corticosterone prior to the breeding season (Kouwenberg et al 2013). Both baseline and stress-induced glucocorticoid production appear to have a heritable genetic basis (Hayward et al 2005; Jenkins et al 2014), indicating that this trait may evolve through natural selection and provide a potentially widespread means through which immunostimulation can modulate reproductive effort. A critical observation is that the effect of immunostimulation on behavior can be context-dependent.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Immune Activation Generates Corticosterone-Mediated Terminal Reproductive Investment in a Wild Bird

Bowers¹,

Bowden²,

Sakaluk³

et al. 2015

The American Naturalist

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Despite classical expectations of a trade-off between immune activity and reproduction, an emergent view suggests that individuals experiencing activation of their immune system actually increase reproductive effort and allocation to offspring as a form of terminal investment in response to reduced survival probability. However, the components and mechanisms of increased parental investment following immunostimulation are currently unknown. We hypothesize that increased glucocorticoid production following immunostimulation modulates the increase in reproductive effort that constitutes terminal investment. We activated the immune system of breeding female house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) with an immunogen and cross-fostered the eggs they subsequently produced to separate pre- and post-natal components of maternal investment. Cross-fostering revealed an increase in both pre- and post-natal allocation from immunostimulated females, which was confirmed by quantification of egg constituents and maternal provisioning behavior. The increase in maternal provisioning was mediated, at least in part, by increased corticosterone in these females. Offspring immune responsiveness was also enhanced through transgenerational immune priming via the egg. Thus, our results indicate that maternal immunostimulation induces transgenerational effects on offspring through both pre- and post-natal parental effects, and support an important role for corticosterone in mediating parental investment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Immune Activation Generates Corticosterone-Mediated Terminal Reproductive Investment in a Wild Bird

Bowers¹,

Bowden²,

Sakaluk³

et al. 2015

The American Naturalist

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“…Artificial selection experiments in birds (Satterlee & Johnson, ; Baugh et al ., ) and fish (Pottinger & Carrick, ) have produced lines that have high or low circulating glucocorticoid levels following exposure to acute stress, which is consistent with some degree of genetic control over this trait. Similarly, a recent analysis in free‐living barn swallows ( Hirundo rustica ) found that circulating levels of glucocorticoids following exposure to restraint stress were moderately heritable, whereas baseline glucocorticoids had low heritability (Jenkins et al ., ). As far as we are aware, the heritability of baseline glucocorticoid levels has not been estimated in other populations or species, but the low heritability estimates from Jenkins et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Heritable variation in circulating glucocorticoids and endocrine flexibility in a free‐living songbird

Stedman

Hallinger

Winkler

et al. 2017

J of Evolutionary Biology

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Phenotypic flexibility is a central way that organisms cope with challenging and changing environments. As endocrine signals mediate many phenotypic traits, heritable variation in hormone levels, or their context-dependent flexibility, could present an important target for selection. Several studies have estimated the heritability of circulating glucocorticoid levels under acute stress conditions, but little is known about the potential for either baseline hormone levels or rapid endocrine flexibility to evolve. Here, we assessed the potential for selection to operate on the elevation (circulating hormone levels) and flexibility of glucocorticoid reaction norms to acute restraint stress. Multivariate animal models revealed low but significant heritability in baseline (h = 0.13-0.14) and stress-induced glucocorticoids (h = 0.18), and moderate heritability in glucocorticoid flexibility in response to acute stress (h = 0.38) in free-living juvenile tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor; n = 408). Baseline glucocorticoids were not genetically correlated with either stress-induced glucocorticoids or glucocorticoid flexibility. These findings indicate that baseline glucocorticoids and the acute stress response are distinct traits that can be independently shaped by selection. Microevolutionary changes that influence the expression or flexibility of these endocrine mediators of phenotype may be an important way that populations adapt to changing environments and novel threats.

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“…Several studies have estimated non-zero heritability of individual variation in circulating CORT concentrations, through artificial selection [36,37], estimates of repeatability [38][39][40] and animal model approaches [41]. Thus, upon characterizing a correlation between CORT and a fitness proxy, and with the Figure 1.…”

Section: An Example From Evolutionary Endocrinologymentioning

confidence: 99%

How can we estimate natural selection on endocrine traits? Lessons from evolutionary biology

Bonier¹,

Martin²

2016

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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An evolutionary perspective can enrich almost any endeavour in biology, providing a deeper understanding of the variation we see in nature. To this end, evolutionary endocrinologists seek to describe the fitness consequences of variation in endocrine traits. Much of the recent work in our field, however, follows a flawed approach to the study of how selection shapes endocrine traits. Briefly, this approach relies on among-individual correlations between endocrine phenotypes (often circulating hormone levels) and fitness metrics to estimate selection on those endocrine traits. Adaptive plasticity in both endocrine and fitness-related traits can drive these correlations, generating patterns that do not accurately reflect natural selection. We illustrate why this approach to studying selection on endocrine traits is problematic, referring to work from evolutionary biologists who, decades ago, described this problem as it relates to a variety of other plastic traits. We extend these arguments to evolutionary endocrinology, where the likelihood that this flaw generates bias in estimates of selection is unusually high due to the exceptional responsiveness of hormones to environmental conditions, and their function to induce adaptive life-history responses to environmental variation. We end with a review of productive approaches for investigating the fitness consequences of variation in endocrine traits that we expect will generate exciting advances in our understanding of endocrine system evolution.

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An experimental analysis of the heritability of variation in glucocorticoid concentrations in a wild avian population

Cited by 84 publications

References 60 publications

Immune Activation Generates Corticosterone-Mediated Terminal Reproductive Investment in a Wild Bird

Immune Activation Generates Corticosterone-Mediated Terminal Reproductive Investment in a Wild Bird

Heritable variation in circulating glucocorticoids and endocrine flexibility in a free‐living songbird

How can we estimate natural selection on endocrine traits? Lessons from evolutionary biology

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