Assessing the effects of repeated handling on the physiology and condition of semi-precocial nestlings.

ABSTRACT: Repeated exposure to elevated levels of glucocorticoids during development can have long-term detrimental effects on survival and fitness, potentially associated with increased telomere attrition. Nestling birds are regularly handled for ecological research, yet few authors have considered the potential for handling-induced stress to influence hormonally mediated phenotypic development or bias interpretations of subsequent focal measurements. We experimentally manipulated the handling experience of the semi-precocial nestlings of European Storm Petrel Hydrobates pelagicus to simulate handling in a typical field study and examined cumulative effects on physiology and condition in late postnatal development. Neither baseline corticosterone (the primary glucocorticoid in birds), telome

SUBMITTER: Watson H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5032895 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature