Developmental plasticity of the stress response in female but not in male guppies.

ABSTRACT: To survive, animals must respond appropriately to stress. Stress responses are costly, so early-life experiences with potential stressors could adaptively tailor adult stress responses to local conditions. However, how multiple stressors influence the development of the stress response remains unclear, as is the role of sex. Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) are small fish with extensive life-history differences between the sexes and population variation in predation pressure and social density. We investigated how sex and early-life experience influence hormonal stress responses by manipulating conspecific density and perceived predation risk during development. In adults, we sampled cortisol twice to measure initial release and change over time in response to a recurring s

SUBMITTER: Chouinard-Thuly L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5882742 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature