Corticosterone levels of Atlantic puffins vary with breeding stage and sex but are not elevated in poor foraging years

Rector, Megan E.; Kouwenberg, Amy-Lee; Wilhelm, Sabina I.; Robertson, Gregory J.; McKay, Donald W.; Fitzsimmons, Michelle G.; Baker, Callie; Cameron-MacMillan, Maureen L.; Walsh, Carolyn J.; Storey, Anne E.

doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2012.06.008

Cited by 19 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…However, both the scaled mass index and the baseline corticosterone level were similar in the two sexes. This is in line with the results from another alcid, the Atlantic puffin Fratercula arctica , where no significant sex differences in body mass and CORT level were found at any individual breeding stage, including the pre-laying period (although females had higher CORT levels overall; Rector et al 2012). This similarity of body condition in little auk males and females indicates similar parental efforts during the pre-laying period.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Different tactics, one goal: initial reproductive investments of males and females in a small Arctic seabird

Wojczulanis‐Jakubas

Jakubas

Chastel

2014

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Despite a great number of studies on extra-pair paternity in birds, the actual roles of males and females in extra-pair contacts is poorly understood, as detailed behavioural studies comparing the reproductive performance of the two sexes prior to egg laying are relatively scarce. Here, we investigated mating behaviour (copulations and aggressive interactions), time budget and body condition (size-adjusted body mass and baseline corticosterone level) in the little auk (Alle alle), a monogamous and highly colonial, Arctic seabird. We performed the study in a large breeding colony of the little auk in Hornsund (Spitsbergen). We found that the males frequently attempted extra-pair copulations (EPCs), although these contacts were almost always unsuccessful, mostly because of the females’ rejection behaviour. These results clearly indicate that genetic monogamy is maintained through female control. Nevertheless, males tried to protect their paternity by staying in close proximity to their females and aggressively intervening when their mates became involved in EPCs. Compared to females, males also spent more time in the colony guarding nest sites. Despite the apparent sex differences in the time budget and frequency of aggressive interactions, body condition was similar in the two sexes, indicating comparable parental investments during the mating period.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Different tactics, one goal: initial reproductive investments of males and females in a small Arctic seabird

Wojczulanis‐Jakubas

Jakubas

Chastel

2014

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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“…Nevertheless, extreme ice conditions can create profound bottom-up food web effects (Buren et al 2014). In fact, there were peaks in ice area (predictor for capelin timing) when murres and Atlantic puffins Fratercula arctica indicated late arrival of capelin during 2000 and 2009 (Doody et al 2008, Rector et al 2012; this study), and slumps in the timing of ice retreat (predictor of capelin abundance) when murres indicated low capelin abundance during 1984 and 2010 (Burger and Piatt 1990). …”

Section: Comparisons With Previous Studiesmentioning

confidence: 69%

Why timing is everything: Energetic costs and reproductive consequences of resource mismatch for a chick‐rearing seabird

et al. 2014

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Abstract. Timing reproduction to overlap with peak prey availability is vital to success for many species. This may be especially true for species that rely on one or a few prey species that exhibit strong seasonal peaks in abundance. Any mismatch must be mediated by parents that provision offspring through flexible behavioral changes within the bounds of their physiological tolerances. In Newfoundland, common murre Uria aalge breeding coincides with the inshore movement of capelin Mallotus villosus-their primary prey-such that peak prey availability overlaps with chick-rearing, the most energy demanding phase of breeding. We use colony-based observations and temperature-depth recorders to track the behavioral responses of murres to temporal match and mismatch with capelin availability. Activity budgets, daily energy expenditure (DEE) and chick-provisioning rates were constant across years when chick and capelin timing matched. However, when capelin were late, despite increasing diving effort and DEE, parents delivered fewer fish to chicks per day and reduced breeding success was observed. While parents partially buffered the effects of variable capelin abundance by reducing co-attendance time (time spent at the colony with mates) and increasing foraging time, physiological constraints on energy output likely limited their ability to maintain chick-provisioning rates in a mismatch year. Such responses could have demographic consequences if ocean climate changes decouple the timing of chick-rearing and prey availability.

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“…Many seabird species (e.g., see Kitaysky et al 1999;Benowitz-Fredericks et al 2008;Rector et al 2012) respond to nutritional stress with increased levels of the avian stress hormone, corticosterone (CORT). Researchers use concentrations of CORT as a relative measure to infer the nutritional stress that birds incur.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feather corticosterone reveals stress associated with dietary changes in a breeding seabird

Will

Watanuki

Kikuchi

et al. 2015

Ecology and Evolution

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Changes in climate and anthropogenic pressures might affect the composition and abundance of forage fish in the world's oceans. The junk‐food hypothesis posits that dietary shifts that affect the quality (e.g., energy content) of food available to marine predators may impact their physiological state and consequently affect their fitness. Previously, we experimentally validated that deposition of the adrenocortical hormone, corticosterone, in feathers is a sensitive measure of nutritional stress in seabirds. Here, we use this method to examine how changes in diet composition and prey quality affect the nutritional status of free‐living rhinoceros auklets (Cerorhinca monocerata). Our study sites included the following: Teuri Is. Japan, Middleton Is. central Gulf of Alaska, and St. Lazaria Is. Southeast Alaska. In 2012 and 2013, we collected “bill loads” delivered by parents to feed their chicks (n = 758) to document dietary changes. We deployed time–depth–temperature recorders on breeding adults (n = 47) to evaluate whether changes in prey coincided with changes in foraging behavior. We measured concentrations of corticosterone in fledgling (n = 71) and adult breeders' (n = 82) feathers to determine how birds were affected by foraging conditions. We found that seasonal changes in diet composition occurred on each colony, adults dove deeper and engaged in longer foraging bouts when capturing larger prey and that chicks had higher concentrations of corticosterone in their feathers when adults brought back smaller and/or lower energy prey. Corticosterone levels in feathers of fledglings (grown during the breeding season) and those in feathers of adult breeders (grown during the postbreeding season) were positively correlated, indicating possible carryover effects. These results suggest that seabirds might experience increased levels of nutritional stress associated with moderate dietary changes and that physiological responses to changes in prey composition should be considered when evaluating the effect of prey quality on marine predators.

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Corticosterone levels of Atlantic puffins vary with breeding stage and sex but are not elevated in poor foraging years

Cited by 19 publications

References 49 publications

Different tactics, one goal: initial reproductive investments of males and females in a small Arctic seabird

Different tactics, one goal: initial reproductive investments of males and females in a small Arctic seabird

Why timing is everything: Energetic costs and reproductive consequences of resource mismatch for a chick‐rearing seabird

Feather corticosterone reveals stress associated with dietary changes in a breeding seabird

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