State-Dependent and Social Modulation of Circulating Glucocorticoids in a Nomadic Songbird, the Red Crossbill (<i>Loxia Curvirostra</i>).

ABSTRACT: Glucocorticoids facilitate the integration of environmental information and coordination of organismal responses to perturbations. Circulating glucocorticoids are hypothesized to depend on an individual's environment and condition (i.e., state) to facilitate surviving challenges while minimizing fitness costs. Studies specifically focused on sources of individual variation in circulating glucocorticoids are critical to understanding state-dependent modulation of glucocorticoids and integrated phenotypes more broadly. Such studies can also provide insight into the evolution and adaptive significance of circulating glucocorticoids. Here, we repeatedly sample individuals before and during food restriction to identify how and when food availability and intrinsic differences (i.e., body conditi

SUBMITTER: Vernasco BJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12865310 | biostudies-literature | 2026

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature