Habituation and individual variation in the endocrine stress response in the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata).

ABSTRACT: The vertebrate stress response enables individuals to react to and cope with environmental challenges. A crucial aspect of the stress response is the elevation of circulating glucocorticoids. However, continued activation of the stress response under repeated exposure to stressors can be damaging to fitness. Under certain circumstances it may therefore be adaptive to habituate to repeated exposures to a particular stressor by reducing the magnitude of any associated release of glucocorticoids. Here, we investigate whether Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) habituate to repeated exposure to a mild stressor, using a waterborne hormone sampling approach that has previously been shown to elicit a stress response in small fish. We also test for individual variation in the extent of habit

SUBMITTER: Houslay TM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6300406 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature