Baseline and stress-induced levels of corticosterone in male and female Afrotropical and European temperate stonechats during breeding.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Latitudinal variation in avian life histories falls along a slow-fast pace of life continuum: tropical species produce small clutches, but have a high survival probability, while in temperate species the opposite pattern is found. This study investigated whether differential investment into reproduction and survival of tropical and temperate species is paralleled by differences in the secretion of the vertebrate hormone corticosterone (CORT). Depending on circulating concentrations, CORT can both act as a metabolic (low to medium levels) and a stress hormone (high levels) and, thereby, influence reproductive decisions. Baseline and stress-induced CORT was measured across sequential stages of the breeding season in males and females of closely related taxa of stonechats (Saxicola

SUBMITTER: Apfelbeck B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5441054 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature