Fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in wild yellow-bellied marmots: Experimental validation, individual differences and ecological correlates

Smith, Jennifer E.; Monclús, Raquel; Wantuck, Danielle; Florant, Gregory L.; Blumstein, Daniel T.

doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2012.06.015

Cited by 54 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 73 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…We know from the previous studies, and saw in our results here, that marmots vary in consistent ways-they have personalities [47]-which may have both an endocrine [35] and a genetic [48] basis. Thus, it was essential to statistically control for individual effects so as to isolate the relationship between play and later rank.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

“…This is strong support for a delayed function of play [35]. We also found that the outcomes of pup and yearling play were positively associated with adult rank, although we acknowledge that yearling play may also have an immediate function.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

“…All subjects were individually recognized and part of a long-term study initiated in 1962 [32]. During the active season, we regularly trapped marmots in Tomahawk live traps set around burrow entrances on a bi-weekly schedule with minimal disturbance to the animals [35]. Upon capture, we transferred each marmot into a canvas, handling bag where we weighed, sexed and collected samples (faeces and blood).…”

Section: Materials and Methods (A) Subjects And Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Early play may predict later dominance relationships in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris)

Blumstein

Chung²,

Smith

2013

Proc. R. Soc. B.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Play has been defined as apparently functionless behaviour, yet since play is costly, models of adaptive evolution predict that it should have some beneficial function (or functions) that outweigh its costs. We provide strong evidence for a long-standing, but poorly supported hypothesis: that early social play is practice for later dominance relationships. We calculated the relative dominance rank by observing the directional outcome of playful interactions in juvenile and yearling yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) and found that these rank relationships were correlated with later dominance ranks calculated from agonistic interactions, however, the strength of this relationship attenuated over time. While play may have multiple functions, one of them may be to establish later dominance relationships in a minimally costly way.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Section: Materials and Methods (A) Subjects And Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Early play may predict later dominance relationships in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris)

Blumstein

Chung²,

Smith

2013

Proc. R. Soc. B.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, these potential confounding effects do not account for the systematic differences in intra-individual variability among chipmunks of differing exploration, or with different litter sizes we detected over the full active season. Interestingly, female yellowbellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) also displayed lower fecal cortisol metabolites levels during lactation (Smith et al 2012). We also found that mean fecal cortisol metabolites levels increased with female age.…”

Section: Within-individual Cortisol Variability and Stress Reactivitysupporting

confidence: 57%

Intra-individual variability in fecal cortisol metabolites varies with lifetime exploration and reproductive life history in eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus)

Montiglio

Garant

Pelletier

et al. 2014

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Understanding the mechanistic links between individual variation in life history and behavior is a major challenge in evolutionary ecology. Glucocorticoids (GC) play a major role in this link through their baseline levels into the blood and their implication in stress responses to environmental perturbations. However, very few studies have investigated the long-term joint relationships between GC stress reactivity, life history, and behavior in natural conditions. Here, we took advantage of the behavioral and life history differences among individual males and females of a wild population of eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus): We investigated how individual exploration, age, and reproduction were linked to level and intra-individual variability (IIV) of fecal cortisol metabolites over a 5-month period. Our analyses revealed that female cortisol levels decreased during gestation and lactation compared with non-reproductive females. We also found that slower exploring females and females with a smaller litter displayed higher IIV in fecal cortisol metabolites. For males, fecal cortisol metabolites level during the mating season increased with the number of offspring produced and decreased with age. Our study highlights the necessity of considering simultaneously seasonal fluctuations in GC level and the dynamics of stress reactivity in the study of life history and behavioral co-adaptations within natural populations.

show abstract

“…Based on our findings of difference in mean FCM between the semi-wild and captive populations, we suggest that the wide range of unpredictable environment within the two fenced reserves (SW1 and SW2) sampled for this study are generally more challenging than the predictable stimuli (such as adequate security and environmental enrichment) offered in captivity. Similar results have also been reported in the Tuco-tuco (Ctenoours sociabilis) (Woodruff et al 2010), and yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) (Smith et al 2012). …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Monitoring physiological stress in semi-free ranging populations of an endangered Australian marsupial, the Greater Bilby (Macrotis lagotis)

2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Rapid and reliable physiological evaluation of stress is necessary for understanding the potential impacts of environmental changes on managed populations of threatened mammals. In situ populations of Australia's iconic marsupial, the greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis), are nearing extinction due to the impacts of competition and predation by feral animals and unpredictable climatic events (summer heat waves). In this study, we focussed our aim to identify a non-invasive method to measure adrenal activity in the species and also to identify potential factors that should be considered when comparing physiological stress in semi-free ranging populations of the species. We validated an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for detecting fecal cortisol metabolites (FCM) from fresh fecal pellets taken from bilbies within four captive sites and two semi-free ranging populations around Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. Our FCM EIA successfully detected the 'raise and fall' pattern of FCM levels within 3 days of exogenous adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) challenge. Mean FCM levels differed significantly between the captive sites and between sexes. All male bilbies grouped outdoor in captivity expressed the highest mean FCM level in comparison to all captive males that were housed individually or as groups indoors. Also, semi-free ranging bilbies expressed higher mean FCM levels than the captive bilbies. Overall, our study successfully validated a non-invasive tool for monitoring physiological stress in the greater bilby. In the future, it will be worthwhile to consider factors such as housing conditions, sex and location when comparing the adrenal sensitivity to environmental changes, to help evaluate the success of management interventions (such as predator free enclosures) and support the survival of the species.

show abstract

Fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in wild yellow-bellied marmots: Experimental validation, individual differences and ecological correlates

Cited by 54 publications

References 73 publications

Early play may predict later dominance relationships in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris)

Early play may predict later dominance relationships in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris)

Intra-individual variability in fecal cortisol metabolites varies with lifetime exploration and reproductive life history in eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus)

Monitoring physiological stress in semi-free ranging populations of an endangered Australian marsupial, the Greater Bilby (Macrotis lagotis)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About