Effect of Habitat Type and Population Density on the Stress Level of Midday Gerbils (Meriones meridianus Pall.) in Free-Living Populations

Kuznetsov, V. A.; Tchabovsky, A.V.; Kolosova, I. E.; Мошкин, М. П.

doi:10.1023/b:bibu.0000049736.02912.e2

Cited by 21 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The strong compensatory effect of social density reinforces the results of previous studies in a variety of organisms, in which the effects of density variation were examined while holding per capita food levels constant at a single value or when individuals were fed ad libitum (Boonstra & Boag, 1992;Borg et al, 2006;Kuznetsov, Tchabovsky, Kolosova, & Moshkin, 2004;Ramsay et al, 2006;Rodd, Reznick, & Sokolowski, 1997;Viblanc, Claire, Nelly, René, & Daniel, 2014;Weber et al, 2011). There are several mechanisms through which this can occur, for example, social dominance interactions (Borg et al, 2006), chemical inhibition (Burns, 1995;Lutnesky & Adkins, 2003), or pathogen transmission (Steinwascher, 1979).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

The effects of food level and social density on reproduction in the Least Killifish, Heterandria formosa

Leatherbury

Travis

2018

Ecology and Evolution

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The feedbacks from population density to demographic parameters, which drive population regulation, are the accumulated results of several ecological processes. The compensatory feedback from increased population density to fertility includes at least two distinct factors, the effects of decreases in per capita food level and increases in the social density (the number of interacting individuals). Because these effects have been studied separately, their relative importance is unknown. It is also unclear whether food limitation and social density combine additively to influence fertility. We investigated these questions with two factorial experiments on reproduction in the Least Killifish, Heterandria formosa. In one experiment, we crossed two levels of density with two levels of a total food ration that was distributed to all individuals. In the other experiment, we crossed two levels of density with two levels of per capita food. Whereas the first experiment suggested that the effects of variation in food level and density were synergistic, the second experiment indicated that they were not. The apparent synergism—the statistical interaction of food and density levels—was the result of confounding per capita food with social density in that design. In the second experiment, the effects of social density on reproductive rate were stronger than the effects of food level, whereas the effects of food level were stronger on offspring size at parturition than those of social density. The results suggest that the social stresses that emerge at higher densities play an important role in the compensatory response of fertility to density, a role, that is, at least as important as that of decreased per capita food levels.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

The effects of food level and social density on reproduction in the Least Killifish, Heterandria formosa

Leatherbury

Travis

2018

Ecology and Evolution

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“…To & Tamarin ; Harper & Austad ; Kuznetsov et al . ; Charbonnel et al . ), and we have little information about the relationship between population density and stress axis activity in some mammalian orders that include many solitary species (e.g.…”

Section: Effect Of the Social Environment On The Stress Axis In Terrimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Support for this positive relationship between population density and stress axis activity in territorial mammalian species is not universal (e.g. To & Tamarin 1977;Harper & Austad 2004;Kuznetsov et al 2004;Charbonnel et al 2008), and we have little information about the relationship between population density and stress axis activity in some mammalian orders that include many solitary species (e.g. carnivores, of which more than 80% of species are solitary: Gittleman 1984).…”

Section: F a C T O R S A F F E C T I N G A C T I V I T Y O F T H E H mentioning

confidence: 99%

The ecology of stress: effects of the social environment

et al. 2012

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Summary Many aspects of the social environment affect hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis function and increase circulating glucocorticoid concentrations. In this review, we examine the relationships between the social environment and the function of the HPA axis in vertebrates. First, we explore the effects of the social environment on glucocorticoid secretion in territorial (primarily non‐social) species, with an emphasis on the effects of variation in population density, as modified by environmental factors such as predation risk and food availability. In general, high population density or frequent territorial intrusions are associated with increased glucocorticoid secretion in a wide range of taxa, including mammals, birds, fish and reptiles, although there is considerable variability across species. Second, we consider the effects of social interactions and dominance rank on glucocorticoid secretion in social species, mostly in birds and mammals. We review studies that have detected an association between social status and glucocorticoid levels – sometimes with higher glucocorticoid levels in low‐ranking individuals, and sometimes with higher glucocorticoid levels in dominant individuals. The relationship between dominance and glucocorticoid levels varies among species, populations and years, in a manner that depends on the stability of the social hierarchy, environmental conditions, the type of breeding system, and the manner in which high rank is obtained and maintained. Finally, we discuss the concept of allostasis and consider interactions between social effects and other environmental factors, noting that there is relatively little research on these interactions to date. For both non‐social and social species, we identify priorities of future research. These priorities include more complete descriptions of HPA function that move beyond measurements of basal glucocorticoid concentrations (which will generally require field experiments), to studies that examine organizational effects of social stressors, that directly test the relationship between HPA function and fitness, and that examine how glucocorticoid responses affect population dynamics. Although several lines of evidence suggest that glucocorticoid responses can affect the fitness of individuals and therefore can alter the dynamics of populations, the effect of glucocorticoid responses on population dynamics remains essentially unstudied.

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“…Efforts to actually demonstrate this link between high density and increased glucocorticoids in mammals in the field have produced mixed results (Boonstra et al 1998;Rogovin et al 2003;Kuznetsov et al 2004). Little has been done to examine this relationship in other vertebrates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Searching for the Physiological Mechanism of Density Dependence: Does Corticosterone Regulate Tadpole Responses to Density?

Belden

Rubbo²,

Wingfield³

et al. 2007

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology

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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. The University of Chicago Press ABSTRACTDensity-dependent population regulation is important in many natural populations, and in those populations, high population density is a likely stressor. In amphibians, previous laboratory studies with tadpoles suggest that corticosterone, the main glucocorticoid stress hormone, is one of the key regulators of density-dependent growth. To test this relationship in natural settings, we manipulated wood frog (Rana sylvatica) tadpole density at three levels in outdoor mesocosms and used a capture stress protocol to examine the hormonal stress response. In addition, we used the same capture protocol in six natural ponds (three high density and three low density). In the mesocosms, there was an increase in corticosterone levels in tadpoles following 1 h of confinement at weeks 1, 2, and 5. However, while tadpoles maintained at higher densities were smaller after metamorphosis, density did not alter mean levels of corticosterone obtained during confinement, and baseline levels of corticosterone did not differ between the densities. Similarly, in natural ponds, density did not correlate with baseline corticosterone or mean corticosterone levels obtained during confinement. We suggest that the physiological response to density may vary across the range of natural densities and that the role of corticosterone may be limited to periods of extreme high density, such as during pond-drying events.

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Effect of Habitat Type and Population Density on the Stress Level of Midday Gerbils (Meriones meridianus Pall.) in Free-Living Populations

Cited by 21 publications

References 14 publications

The effects of food level and social density on reproduction in the Least Killifish, Heterandria formosa

The effects of food level and social density on reproduction in the Least Killifish, Heterandria formosa

The ecology of stress: effects of the social environment

Searching for the Physiological Mechanism of Density Dependence: Does Corticosterone Regulate Tadpole Responses to Density?

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