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Barnas AF, Simone CAB, Geldart EA, Love OP, Jagielski PM, Gilchrist HG, Richardson ES, Dey CJ, Semeniuk CAD. An interspecific foraging association with polar bears increases foraging opportunities for avian predators in a declining Arctic seabird colony. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11012. [PMID: 38469043 PMCID: PMC10926061 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Interspecific foraging associations (IFAs) are biological interactions where two or more species forage in association with each other. Climate-induced reductions in Arctic sea ice have increased polar bear (Ursus maritimus) foraging in seabird colonies, which creates foraging opportunities for avian predators. We used drone video of bears foraging within a common eider (Somateria mollissima) colony on East Bay Island (Nunavut, Canada) in 2017 to investigate herring gull (Larus argentatus) foraging in association with bears. We recorded nest visitation by gulls following n = 193 eider flushing events from nests during incubation. The probability of gulls visiting eider nests increased with higher number of gulls present (β = 0.14 ± 0.03 [SE], p < .001) and for nests previously visited by a bear (β = 1.14 ± 0.49 [SE], p < .02). In our model examining the probability of gulls consuming eggs from nests, we failed to detect statistically significant effects for the number of gulls present (β = 0.09 ± 0.05 [SE], p < .07) or for nests previously visited by a bear (β = -0.92 ± 0.71 [SE], p < .19). Gulls preferred to visit nests behind bears (χ2 = 18, df = 1, p < .0001), indicating gulls are risk averse in the presence of polar bears. Our study provides novel insights on an Arctic IFA, and we present evidence that gulls capitalize on nests made available due to disturbance associated with foraging bears, as eiders disturbed off their nest allow gulls easier access to eggs. We suggest the IFA between gulls and polar bears is parasitic, as gulls are consuming terrestrial resources which would have eventually been consumed by bears. This finding has implications for estimating the energetic contribution of bird eggs to polar bear summer diets in that the total number of available clutches to consume may be reduced due to avian predators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew F. Barnas
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
- School of Environmental StudiesUniversity of VictoriaVictoriaBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | | | - Erica A. Geldart
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
| | - Oliver P. Love
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
| | | | - H. Grant Gilchrist
- National Wildlife Research Centre, Science and Technology BranchEnvironment and Climate Change CanadaOttawaOntarioCanada
| | - Evan S. Richardson
- Science and Technology BranchEnvironment and Climate Change CanadaOttawaOntarioCanada
| | - Cody J. Dey
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
- Science and Technology BranchEnvironment and Climate Change CanadaOttawaOntarioCanada
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Geldart EA, Love OP, Barnas AF, Harris CM, Gilchrist HG, Semeniuk CAD. A colonial-nesting seabird shows limited heart rate responses to natural variation in threats of polar bears. R Soc Open Sci 2023; 10:221108. [PMID: 37800157 PMCID: PMC10548096 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.221108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023]
Abstract
Several predator-prey systems are in flux as an indirect result of climate change. In the Arctic, earlier sea-ice loss is driving polar bears (Ursus maritimus) onto land when many colonial nesting seabirds are breeding. The result is a higher threat of nest predation for birds with potential limited ability to respond. We quantified heart rate change in a large common eider (Somateria mollissima) breeding colony in the Canadian Arctic to explore their adaptive capacity to keep pace with the increasing risk of egg predation by polar bears. Eiders displayed on average higher heart rates from baseline when polar bears were within their field of view. Moreover, eiders were insensitive to variation in the distance bears were to their nests, but exhibited mild bradycardia (lowered heart rate) the longer the eider was exposed to the bear given the hen's visibility. Results indicate that a limited ability to assess the risks posed by polar bears may result in long-term fitness consequences for eiders from the increasing frequency in interactions with this predator.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica A Geldart
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
| | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
| | - Andrew F Barnas
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Christopher M Harris
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
| | - H Grant Gilchrist
- National Wildlife Research Center, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Christina A D Semeniuk
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
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3
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Eby A, Patterson A, Sorenson G, Lazarus T, Whelan S, Elliott KH, Gilchrist HG, Love OP. Lower nutritional state and foraging success in an Arctic seabird despite behaviorally flexible responses to environmental change. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9923. [PMID: 37091555 PMCID: PMC10119025 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The degree to which individuals adjust foraging behavior in response to environmental variability can impact foraging success, leading to downstream impacts on fitness and population dynamics. We examined the foraging flexibility, average daily energy expenditure, and foraging success of an ice-associated Arctic seabird, the thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia) in response to broad-scale environmental conditions at two different-sized, low Arctic colonies located <300 km apart. First, we compared foraging behavior (measured via GPS units), average daily energy expenditure (estimated from GPS derived activity budgets), and foraging success (nutritional state measured via nutritional biomarkers pre- and post- GPS deployment) of murres at two colonies, which differ greatly in size: 30,000 pairs breed on Coats Island, Nunavut, and 400,000 pairs breed on Digges Island, Nunavut. Second, we tested whether colony size within the same marine ecosystem altered foraging behavior in response to broad-scale environmental variability. Third, we tested whether environmentally induced foraging flexibility influenced the foraging success of murres. Murres at the larger colony foraged farther and longer but made fewer trips, resulting in a lower nutritional state and lower foraging success compared to birds at the smaller colony. Foraging behavior and foraging success varied in response to environmental variation, with murres at both colonies making longer, more distant foraging trips in high ice regimes during incubation, suggesting flexibility in responding to environmental variability. However, only birds at the larger colony showed this same flexibility during chick rearing. Foraging success at both colonies was higher during high ice regimes, suggesting greater prey availability. Overall, murres from the larger colony exhibited lower foraging success, and their foraging behavior showed stronger responses to changes in broad-scale conditions such as sea ice regime. Taken together, this suggests that larger Arctic seabird colonies have higher behavioral and demographic sensitivity to environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyssa Eby
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioN9B 3P4Canada
| | - Allison Patterson
- Department of Natural Resource SciencesMcGill UniversitySte Anne‐de‐BellevueQuebecH9X 3V9Canada
| | - Graham Sorenson
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioN9B 3P4Canada
- Present address:
Atlantic Region OfficeBirds CanadaSackvilleNew BrunswickE4L 1G6Canada
| | - Thomas Lazarus
- Department of Natural Resource SciencesMcGill UniversitySte Anne‐de‐BellevueQuebecH9X 3V9Canada
| | - Shannon Whelan
- Department of Natural Resource SciencesMcGill UniversitySte Anne‐de‐BellevueQuebecH9X 3V9Canada
| | - Kyle H. Elliott
- Department of Natural Resource SciencesMcGill UniversitySte Anne‐de‐BellevueQuebecH9X 3V9Canada
| | - H. Grant Gilchrist
- Environment and Climate Change CanadaNational Wildlife Research Centre1125 Colonel By Drive, Raven RoadOttawaOntarioK1A OH3Canada
| | - Oliver P. Love
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioN9B 3P4Canada
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Smith RA, Fort J, Legagneux P, Chastel O, Mallory ML, Bustamante P, Danielsen J, Hanssen SA, Einar Jónsson J, Magnúsdóttir E, Moe B, Parenteau C, Parkinson KJL, Parsons GJ, Tertitski G, Love OP. Do foraging ecology and contaminants interactively predict parenting hormone levels in common eider? Gen Comp Endocrinol 2023; 337:114261. [PMID: 36907529 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2023.114261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023]
Abstract
Global climate change is causing abiotic shifts such as higher air and ocean temperatures, and disappearing sea ice in Arctic ecosystems. These changes influence Arctic-breeding seabird foraging ecology by altering prey availability and selection, affecting individual body condition, reproductive success, and exposure to contaminants such as mercury (Hg). The cumulative effects of alterations to foraging ecology and Hg exposure may interactively alter the secretion of key reproductive hormones such as prolactin (PRL), important for parental attachment to eggs and offspring and overall reproductive success. However, more research is needed to investigate the relationships between these potential links. Using data collected from 106 incubating female common eiders (Somateria mollissima) at six Arctic and sub-Arctic colonies, we examined whether the relationship between individual foraging ecology (assessed using δ13C, δ15N) and total Hg (THg) exposure predicted PRL levels. We found a significant, complex interaction between δ13C, δ15N and THg on PRL, suggesting that individuals cumulatively foraging at lower trophic levels, in phytoplankton-dominant environments, and with the highest THg levels had the most constant significant relationship PRL levels. Cumulatively, these three interactive variables resulted in lowered PRL. Overall, results demonstrate the potential downstream and cumulative implications of environmentally induced changes in foraging ecology, in combination with THg exposure, on hormones known to influence reproductive success in seabirds. These findings are notable in the context of continuing environmental and food web changes in Arctic systems, which may make seabird populations more susceptible to ongoing stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reyd A Smith
- University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada.
| | - Jérôme Fort
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS - La Rochelle Université, 17000 La Rochelle, France
| | - Pierre Legagneux
- Université Laval, Département de Biologie and Centre d'Études Nordiques, Québec City, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada; Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Olivier Chastel
- Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Mark L Mallory
- Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia B4P 2R6, Canada
| | - Paco Bustamante
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS - La Rochelle Université, 17000 La Rochelle, France; Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), 1 rue Descartes, 75005 Paris, France
| | | | - Sveinn A Hanssen
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Sognsveien 68, N-0855 Oslo, Norway
| | - Jón Einar Jónsson
- University of Iceland's Research Centre at Snæfellsnes, Hafnargata 3, 340, Stykkishólmur, Iceland
| | - Ellen Magnúsdóttir
- University of Iceland's Research Centre at Snæfellsnes, Hafnargata 3, 340, Stykkishólmur, Iceland
| | - Børge Moe
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, PB 5685 Torgarden, N-7485 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Charline Parenteau
- Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | | | - Glen J Parsons
- Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, Kentville, Nova Scotia B4N 4E5, Canada
| | - Grigori Tertitski
- Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119017, Russian Federation
| | - Oliver P Love
- University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada
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5
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Barnas AF, Geldart EA, Love OP, Jagielski PM, Harris CM, Gilchrist HG, Hennin HL, Richardson ES, Dey CJ, Semeniuk CA. Predatory cue use in flush responses of a colonial nesting seabird during polar bear foraging. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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6
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Parkinson KJL, Hennin HL, Gilchrist HG, Hobson KA, Hussey NE, Love OP. Breeding stage and tissue isotopic consistency suggests colony-level flexibility in niche breadth of an Arctic marine bird. Oecologia 2022; 200:503-514. [PMID: 36229693 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05267-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Organisms must overcome environmental limitations to optimize their investment in life history stages to maximize fitness. Human-induced climate change is generating increasingly variable environmental conditions, impacting the demography of prey items and, therefore, the ability of consumers to successfully access resources to fuel reproduction. While climate change effects are especially pronounced in the Arctic, it is unknown whether organisms can adjust foraging decisions to match such changes. We used a 9-year blood plasma δ13C and δ15N data set from over 700 pre-breeding Arctic common eiders (Somateria mollissima) to assess breeding-stage and inter-annual variation in isotopic niche, and whether inferred trophic flexibility was related to colony-level breeding parameters and environmental variation. Eider blood isotope values varied both across years and breeding stages, and combined with only weak relationships between isotopic metrics and environmental conditions suggests that pre-breeding eiders can make flexible foraging decisions to overcome constraints imposed by local abiotic conditions. From an investment perspective, an inshore, smaller isotopic niche predicted a greater probability to invest in reproduction, but was not related to laying phenology. Proximately, our results provide evidence that eiders breeding in the Arctic can alter their diet at the onset of reproductive investment to overcome increases in the energetic demand of egg production. Ultimately, Arctic pre-breeding common eiders may have the stage- and year-related foraging flexibility to respond to abiotic variation to reproduce successfully.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle J L Parkinson
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada. .,Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, N1H 2W1, Canada.
| | - Holly L Hennin
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, National Wildlife Research Centre, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - H Grant Gilchrist
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, National Wildlife Research Centre, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Keith A Hobson
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Environment and Climate Change Canada, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Nigel E Hussey
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada
| | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada
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7
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O'Connor RS, Le Pogam A, Young KG, Love OP, Cox CJ, Roy G, Robitaille F, Elliott KH, Hargreaves AL, Choy ES, Gilchrist HG, Berteaux D, Tam A, Vézina F. Warming in the land of the midnight sun: breeding birds may suffer greater heat stress at high- versus low-Arctic sites. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220300. [PMID: 36000233 PMCID: PMC9399709 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Rising global temperatures are expected to increase reproductive costs for wildlife as greater thermoregulatory demands interfere with reproductive activities. However, predicting the temperatures at which reproductive performance is negatively impacted remains a significant hurdle. Using a thermoregulatory polygon approach, we derived a reproductive threshold temperature for an Arctic songbird-the snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis). We defined this threshold as the temperature at which individuals must reduce activity to suboptimal levels (i.e. less than four-time basal metabolic rate) to sustain nestling provisioning and avoid overheating. We then compared this threshold to operative temperatures recorded at high (82° N) and low (64° N) Arctic sites to estimate how heat constraints translate into site-specific impacts on sustained activity level. We predict buntings would become behaviourally constrained at operative temperatures above 11.7°C, whereupon they must reduce provisioning rates to avoid overheating. Low-Arctic sites had larger fluctuations in solar radiation, consistently producing daily periods when operative temperatures exceeded 11.7°C. However, high-latitude birds faced entire, consecutive days when parents would be unable to sustain required provisioning rates. These data indicate that Arctic warming is probably already disrupting the breeding performance of cold-specialist birds and suggests counterintuitive and severe negative impacts of warming at higher latitude breeding locations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan S. O'Connor
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada G5 L 3A1
- Groupe de recherche sur les environnements nordiques BORÉAS, Rimouski, QC, Canada G5 L 3A1
- Centre d'études nordiques, Rimouski, QC, Canada, G5 L 3A1
- Centre de la science de la biodiversité du Québec, Rimouski, QC, Canada, G5 L 3A1
| | - Audrey Le Pogam
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada G5 L 3A1
- Groupe de recherche sur les environnements nordiques BORÉAS, Rimouski, QC, Canada G5 L 3A1
- Centre d'études nordiques, Rimouski, QC, Canada, G5 L 3A1
- Centre de la science de la biodiversité du Québec, Rimouski, QC, Canada, G5 L 3A1
| | - Kevin G. Young
- Department of Biology, Advanced Facility for Avian Research, Western University, London, ON, Canada N6A 5B7
| | - Oliver P. Love
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada N9B 3P4
| | - Christopher J. Cox
- Physical Sciences Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
| | - Gabrielle Roy
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada G5 L 3A1
| | - Francis Robitaille
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada G5 L 3A1
| | - Kyle H. Elliott
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, QC, Canada H9X 3V9
| | - Anna L. Hargreaves
- Department of Biological Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 1B1
| | - Emily S. Choy
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, QC, Canada H9X 3V9
| | - H. Grant Gilchrist
- National Wildlife Research Centre, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5B6
| | - Dominique Berteaux
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada G5 L 3A1
- Groupe de recherche sur les environnements nordiques BORÉAS, Rimouski, QC, Canada G5 L 3A1
- Centre d'études nordiques, Rimouski, QC, Canada, G5 L 3A1
- Centre de la science de la biodiversité du Québec, Rimouski, QC, Canada, G5 L 3A1
| | - Andrew Tam
- Department of National Defence, 8 Wing Trenton, Astra, ON, Canada K0K3W0
| | - François Vézina
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada G5 L 3A1
- Groupe de recherche sur les environnements nordiques BORÉAS, Rimouski, QC, Canada G5 L 3A1
- Centre d'études nordiques, Rimouski, QC, Canada, G5 L 3A1
- Centre de la science de la biodiversité du Québec, Rimouski, QC, Canada, G5 L 3A1
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Patterson A, Gilchrist HG, Benjaminsen S, Bolton M, Bonnet-Lebrun AS, Davoren GK, Descamps S, Erikstad KE, Frederiksen M, Gaston AJ, Gulka J, Hentati-Sundberg J, Huffeldt NP, Johansen KL, Labansen AL, Linnebjerg JF, Love OP, Mallory ML, Merkel FR, Montevecchi WA, Mosbech A, Olsson O, Owen E, Ratcliffe N, Regular PM, Reiertsen TK, Ropert-Coudert Y, Strøm H, Thórarinsson TL, Elliott KH. Foraging range scales with colony size in high-latitude seabirds. Curr Biol 2022; 32:3800-3807.e3. [PMID: 35870447 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Revised: 02/26/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Density-dependent prey depletion around breeding colonies has long been considered an important factor controlling the population dynamics of colonial animals.1-4 Ashmole proposed that as seabird colony size increases, intraspecific competition leads to declines in reproductive success, as breeding adults must spend more time and energy to find prey farther from the colony.1 Seabird colony size often varies over several orders of magnitude within the same species and can include millions of individuals per colony.5,6 As such, colony size likely plays an important role in determining the individual behavior of its members and how the colony interacts with the surrounding environment.6 Using tracking data from murres (Uria spp.), the world's most densely breeding seabirds, we show that the distribution of foraging-trip distances scales to colony size0.33 during the chick-rearing stage, consistent with Ashmole's halo theory.1,2 This pattern occurred across colonies varying in size over three orders of magnitude and distributed throughout the North Atlantic region. The strong relationship between colony size and foraging range means that the foraging areas of some colonial species can be estimated from colony sizes, which is more practical to measure over a large geographic scale. Two-thirds of the North Atlantic murre population breed at the 16 largest colonies; by extrapolating the predicted foraging ranges to sites without tracking data, we show that only two of these large colonies have significant coverage as marine protected areas. Our results are an important example of how theoretical models, in this case, Ashmole's version of central-place-foraging theory, can be applied to inform conservation and management in colonial breeding species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison Patterson
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Boulevard, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada.
| | - H Grant Gilchrist
- National Wildlife Research Centre, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Sigurd Benjaminsen
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Fram Centre, 9296 Tromsø, Norway
| | - Mark Bolton
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Sandy, UK
| | | | - Gail K Davoren
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - Sébastien Descamps
- Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, PO Box 6606 Langnes, 9296 Tromsø, Norway
| | - Kjell Einar Erikstad
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Fram Centre, 9296 Tromsø, Norway; Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Morten Frederiksen
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Anthony J Gaston
- Laskeek Bay Conservation Society, Queen Charlotte, PO Box 867, Queen Charlotte, BC V0T 1S0, Canada
| | - Julia Gulka
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - Jonas Hentati-Sundberg
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Marine Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Lysekil, Sweden
| | - Nicholas Per Huffeldt
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark; Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Kivioq 2, 3900 Nuuk, Greenland
| | | | - Aili Lage Labansen
- Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Kivioq 2, 3900 Nuuk, Greenland
| | | | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, Canada
| | - Mark L Mallory
- Biology, Acadia University, 15 University Avenue, Wolfville, NS B4P 2R6, Canada
| | - Flemming Ravn Merkel
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark; Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Marine Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Lysekil, Sweden
| | - William A Montevecchi
- Psychology and Biology Departments, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| | - Anders Mosbech
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Olof Olsson
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ellie Owen
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Sandy, UK
| | - Norman Ratcliffe
- British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, UK
| | - Paul M Regular
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | | | - Yan Ropert-Coudert
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS - La Rochelle Université, Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Hallvard Strøm
- Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, PO Box 6606 Langnes, 9296 Tromsø, Norway
| | | | - Kyle H Elliott
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Boulevard, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada
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9
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Smith RA, Albonaimi SS, Hennin HL, Gilchrist HG, Fort J, Parkinson KJL, Provencher JF, Love OP. Exposure to cumulative stressors affects the laying phenology and incubation behaviour of an Arctic-breeding marine bird. Sci Total Environ 2022; 807:150882. [PMID: 34627894 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Wildlife are exposed to multiple stressors across life-history stages, the effects of which can be amplified as human activity surges globally. In Arctic regions, increasing air and ocean temperatures, more severe weather systems, and exposure to environmental contaminants all represent stressors occurring simultaneously. While Arctic vertebrates, including marine birds, are expected to be at risk of adverse effects from these individual stressors, few studies have researched their combined impacts on breeding behaviour and reproductive success. The interactive effects of environmental conditions and mercury (Hg) contamination on laying phenology and incubation behaviour were examined in female common eiders (Somateria mollissima, mitiq, ᒥᑎᖅ ᐊᒪᐅᓕᒡᔪᐊᖅ) nesting at Canada's largest Arctic breeding colony. Conditions with higher pre-breeding air temperatures were linked to females with higher egg Hg concentrations laying earlier than those with lower Hg values. Furthermore, examination of a total of 190 days of incubation behaviour from 61 eiders across two years revealed a negative relationship between wind speed and the frequency of incubation interruptions. Importantly, exposure to higher air temperatures combined with lower Hg concentrations was significantly correlated with increased incubation interruptions. Although previous research has shown that warmer spring temperatures could afford lower quality females more time to improve body condition to successfully lay, results suggest these females may face stronger cumulative fitness costs during incubation in warmer years, potentially in combination with the effects of Hg on physiological stress and hormone secretion. This study highlights how multiple stressors exposure, driven by human-induced environmental changes, can have a complex influence on reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reyd A Smith
- University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada.
| | | | - Holly L Hennin
- Wildlife Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K0A 1H0, Canada
| | - H Grant Gilchrist
- Wildlife Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K0A 1H0, Canada
| | - Jérôme Fort
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS - La Rochelle Université, 17000 La Rochelle, France
| | | | - Jennifer F Provencher
- Ecotoxicology and Wildlife Health Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K0A 1H0, Canada
| | - Oliver P Love
- University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada
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10
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Smith RA, Yurkowski DJ, Parkinson KJL, Fort J, Hennin HL, Gilchrist HG, Hobson KA, Mallory ML, Bustamante P, Danielsen J, Garbus SE, Hanssen SA, Jónsson JE, Latty CJ, Magnúsdóttir E, Moe B, Parsons GJ, Sonne C, Tertitski G, Love OP. Corrigendum to "Environmental and life-history factors influence inter-colony multidimensional niche metrics of a breeding Arctic marine bird" [Sci. Total Environ. 796 (2021) 148935]. Sci Total Environ 2022; 806:150582. [PMID: 34600212 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Reyd A Smith
- University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada.
| | | | | | - Jérôme Fort
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS - La Rochelle University, La Rochelle FR-17000, France
| | - Holly L Hennin
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K0A 1H0, Canada
| | - H Grant Gilchrist
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K0A 1H0, Canada
| | | | - Mark L Mallory
- Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia B4P 2R6, Canada
| | - Paco Bustamante
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS - La Rochelle University, La Rochelle FR-17000, France; Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), 1 rue Descartes, 75005 Paris, France
| | | | | | | | - Jón Einar Jónsson
- University of Iceland's Research Centre at Snæfellsnes, Hafnargata 3, 340 Stykkishólmur, Iceland
| | - Christopher J Latty
- Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fairbanks, AK 99701, United States
| | - Ellen Magnúsdóttir
- University of Iceland's Research Centre at Snæfellsnes, Hafnargata 3, 340 Stykkishólmur, Iceland
| | - Børge Moe
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Tromsø N-9296, Norway
| | - Glen J Parsons
- Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry, Kentville, Nova Scotia B4N 4E5, Canada
| | | | - Grigori Tertitski
- Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119017, Russia
| | - Oliver P Love
- University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada
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11
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Steenweg RJ, Crossin GT, Hennin HL, Gilchrist HG, Love OP. Favorable spring conditions can buffer the impact of winter carryover effects on a key breeding decision in an Arctic-breeding seabird. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8588. [PMID: 35154656 PMCID: PMC8826066 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 01/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The availability and investment of energy among successive life-history stages is a key feature of carryover effects. In migratory organisms, examining how both winter and spring experiences carryover to affect breeding activity is difficult due to the challenges in tracking individuals through these periods without impacting their behavior, thereby biasing results.Using common eiders Somateria mollissima, we examined whether spring conditions at an Arctic breeding colony (East Bay Island, Nunavut, Canada) can buffer the impacts of winter temperatures on body mass and breeding decisions in birds that winter at different locations (Nuuk and Disko Bay, Greenland, and Newfoundland, Canada; assessed by analyzing stable isotopes of 13-carbon in winter-grown claw samples). Specifically, we used path analysis to examine how wintering and spring environmental conditions interact to affect breeding propensity (a key reproductive decision influencing lifetime fitness in female eiders) within the contexts of the timing of colony arrival, pre-breeding body mass (body condition), and a physiological proxy for foraging effort (baseline corticosterone).We demonstrate that warmer winter temperatures predicted lower body mass at arrival to the nesting colony, whereas warmer spring temperatures predicted earlier arrival dates and higher arrival body mass. Both higher body mass and earlier arrival dates of eider hens increased the probability that birds would initiate laying (i.e., higher breeding propensity). However, variation in baseline corticosterone was not linked to either winter or spring temperatures, and it had no additional downstream effects on breeding propensity.Overall, we demonstrate that favorable pre-breeding conditions in Arctic-breeding common eiders can compensate for the impact that unfavorable wintering conditions can have on breeding investment, perhaps due to greater access to foraging areas prior to laying.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Glenn T. Crossin
- Department of BiologyDalhousie UniversityHalifaxNova ScotiaCanada
| | - Holly L. Hennin
- Environment and Climate Change CanadaNational Wildlife Research CentreCarleton UniversityOttawaOntarioCanada
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
| | - H. Grant Gilchrist
- Environment and Climate Change CanadaNational Wildlife Research CentreCarleton UniversityOttawaOntarioCanada
| | - Oliver P. Love
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
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12
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Smith RA, Yurkowski DJ, Parkinson KJL, Fort J, Hennin HL, Gilchrist HG, Hobson KA, Mallory ML, Danielsen J, Garbus SE, Hanssen SA, Jónsson JE, Latty CJ, Magnúsdóttir E, Moe B, Parsons GJ, Sonne C, Tertitski G, Love OP. Environmental and life-history factors influence inter-colony multidimensional niche metrics of a breeding Arctic marine bird. Sci Total Environ 2021; 796:148935. [PMID: 34274678 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Human industrialization has resulted in rapid climate change, leading to wide-scale environmental shifts. These shifts can modify food web dynamics by altering the abundance and distribution of primary producers (ice algae and phytoplankton), as well as animals at higher trophic levels. Methylmercury (MeHg) is a neuro-endocrine disrupting compound which biomagnifies in animals as a function of prey choice, and as such bioavailability is affected by altered food web dynamics and adds an important risk-based dimension in studies of foraging ecology. Multidimensional niche dynamics (MDND; δ13C, δ15N, THg; total mercury) were determined among breeding common eider (Somateria mollissima) ducks sampled from 10 breeding colonies distributed across the circumpolar Arctic and subarctic. Results showed high variation in MDND among colonies as indicated by niche size and ranges in δ13C, δ15N and THg values in relation to spatial differences in primary production inferred from sea-ice presence and colony migratory status. Colonies with higher sea-ice cover during the pre-incubation period had higher median colony THg, δ15N, and δ13C. Individuals at migratory colonies had relatively higher THg and δ15N, and lower δ13C, suggesting a higher trophic position and a greater reliance on phytoplankton-based prey. It was concluded that variation in MDND exists among eider colonies which influenced individual blood THg concentrations. Further exploration of spatial ecotoxicology and MDND at each individual site is important to examine the relationships between anthropogenic activities, foraging behaviour, and the related risks of contaminant exposure at even low, sub-lethal concentrations that may contribute to deleterious effects on population stability over time. Overall, multidimensional niche analysis that incorporates multiple isotopic and contaminant metrics could help identify those populations at risk to rapidly altered food web dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reyd A Smith
- University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada.
| | | | | | - Jérôme Fort
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS - La Rochelle University, La Rochelle FR-17000, France
| | - Holly L Hennin
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K0A 1H0, Canada
| | - H Grant Gilchrist
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K0A 1H0, Canada
| | | | - Mark L Mallory
- cadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia B4P 2R6, Canada
| | | | | | | | - Jón Einar Jónsson
- University of Iceland's Research Centre at Snæfellsnes, Hafnargata 3, 340 Stykkishólmur, Iceland
| | - Christopher J Latty
- Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fairbanks, AK 99701, United States
| | - Ellen Magnúsdóttir
- University of Iceland's Research Centre at Snæfellsnes, Hafnargata 3, 340 Stykkishólmur, Iceland
| | - Børge Moe
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Tromsø N-9296, Norway
| | - Glen J Parsons
- Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry, Kentville, Nova Scotia B4N 4E5, Canada
| | | | - Grigori Tertitski
- Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119017, Russia
| | - Oliver P Love
- University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada
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13
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Lamarre JF, Gauthier G, Lanctot RB, Saalfeld ST, Love OP, Reed E, Johnson OW, Liebezeit J, McGuire R, Russell M, Nol E, Koloski L, Sanders F, McKinnon L, Smith PA, Flemming SA, Lecomte N, Giroux MA, Bauer S, Emmenegger T, Bêty J. Timing of Breeding Site Availability Across the North-American Arctic Partly Determines Spring Migration Schedule in a Long-Distance Neotropical Migrant. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.710007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Long-distance migrants are under strong selection to arrive on their breeding grounds at a time that maximizes fitness. Many arctic birds start nesting shortly after snow recedes from their breeding sites and timing of snowmelt can vary substantially over the breeding range of widespread species. We tested the hypothesis that migration schedules of individuals co-occurring at the same non-breeding areas are adapted to average local environmental conditions encountered at their specific and distant Arctic breeding locations. We predicted that timing of breeding site availability (measured here as the average snow-free date) should explain individual variation in departure time from shared non-breeding areas. We tested our prediction by tracking American Golden-Plovers (Pluvialis dominica) nesting across the North-American Arctic. These plovers use a non-breeding (wintering) area in South America and share a spring stopover area in the nearctic temperate grasslands, located >1,800 km away from their nesting locations. As plovers co-occur at the same non-breeding areas but use breeding sites segregated by latitude and longitude, we could disentangle the potential confounding effects of migration distance and timing of breeding site availability on individual migration schedule. As predicted, departure date of individuals stopping-over in sympatry was positively related to the average snow-free date at their respective breeding location, which was also related to individual onset of incubation. Departure date from the shared stopover area was not explained by the distance between the stopover and the breeding location, nor by the stopover duration of individuals. This strongly suggests that plover migration schedule is adapted to and driven by the timing of breeding site availability per se. The proximate mechanism underlying the variable migration schedule of individuals is unknown and may result from genetic differences or individual learning. Temperatures are currently changing at different speeds across the Arctic and this likely generates substantial heterogeneity in the strength of selection pressure on migratory schedule of arctic birds migrating sympatrically.
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14
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Anderson AM, Friis C, Gratto-Trevor CL, Harris CM, Love OP, Morrison RIG, Prosser SWJ, Nol E, Smith PA. Drought at a coastal wetland affects refuelling and migration strategies of shorebirds. Oecologia 2021; 197:661-674. [PMID: 34657196 PMCID: PMC8585834 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-05047-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Droughts can affect invertebrate communities in wetlands, which can have bottom-up effects on the condition and survival of top predators. Shorebirds, key predators at coastal wetlands, have experienced widespread population declines and could be negatively affected by droughts. We explored, in detail, the effects of drought on multiple aspects of shorebird stopover and migration ecology by contrasting a year with average wet/dry conditions (2016) with a year with moderate drought (2017) at a major subarctic stopover site on southbound migration. We also examined the effects of drought on shorebird body mass during stopover across 14 years (historical: 1974–1982 and present-day: 2014–2018). For the detailed comparison of two years, in the year with moderate drought we documented lower invertebrate abundance at some sites, higher prey family richness in shorebird faecal samples, lower shorebird refuelling rates, shorter stopover durations for juveniles, and, for most species, a higher probability of making a subsequent stopover in North America after departing the subarctic, compared to the year with average wet/dry conditions. In the 14-year dataset, shorebird body mass tended to be lower in drier years. We show that even short-term, moderate drought conditions can negatively affect shorebird refuelling performance at coastal wetlands, which may carry-over to affect subsequent stopover decisions. Given shorebird population declines and predicted changes in the severity and duration of droughts with climate change, researchers should prioritize a better understanding of how droughts affect shorebird refuelling performance and survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra M Anderson
- Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada.
| | - Christian Friis
- Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Toronto, Canada
| | - Cheri L Gratto-Trevor
- Prairie and Northern Wildlife Research Centre, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Saskatoon, Canada
| | | | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada
| | - R I Guy Morrison
- National Wildlife Research Centre, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Sean W J Prosser
- Center for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
| | - Erica Nol
- Department of Biology, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada
| | - Paul A Smith
- National Wildlife Research Centre, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Canada
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15
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Le Pogam A, O’Connor RS, Love OP, Drolet J, Régimbald L, Roy G, Laplante MP, Berteaux D, Tam A, Vézina F. Snow Buntings Maintain Winter-Level Cold Endurance While Migrating to the High Arctic. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.724876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Arctic breeding songbirds migrate early in the spring and can face winter environments requiring cold endurance throughout their journey. One such species, the snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), is known for its significant thermogenic capacity. Empirical studies suggest that buntings can indeed maintain winter cold acclimatization into the migratory and breeding phenotypes when kept captive on their wintering grounds. This capacity could be advantageous not only for migrating in a cold environment, but also for facing unpredictable Arctic weather on arrival and during preparation for breeding. However, migration also typically leads to declines in the sizes of several body components linked to metabolic performance. As such, buntings could also experience some loss of cold endurance as they migrate. Here, we aimed to determine whether free-living snow buntings maintain a cold acclimatized phenotype during spring migration. Using a multi-year dataset, we compared body composition (body mass, fat stores, and pectoralis muscle thickness), oxygen carrying capacity (hematocrit) and metabolic performance (thermogenic capacity – Msum and maintenance energy expenditure – BMR) of birds captured on their wintering grounds (January–February, Rimouski, QC, 48°N) and during pre-breeding (April–May) in the Arctic (Alert, NU, 82°). Our results show that body mass, fat stores and Msum were similar between the two stages, while hematocrit and pectoralis muscle thickness were lower in pre-breeding birds than in wintering individuals. These results suggest that although tissue degradation during migration may affect flight muscle size, buntings are able to maintain cold endurance (i.e., Msum) up to their Arctic breeding grounds. However, BMR was higher during pre-breeding than during winter, suggesting higher maintenance costs in the Arctic.
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16
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Stokes K, Nunes M, Trombley C, Flôres DEFL, Wu G, Taleb Z, Alkhateeb A, Banskota S, Harris C, Love OP, Khan WI, Rueda L, Hogenesch JB, Karpowicz P. The Circadian Clock Gene, Bmal1, Regulates Intestinal Stem Cell Signaling and Represses Tumor Initiation. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol 2021; 12:1847-1872.e0. [PMID: 34534703 PMCID: PMC8591196 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcmgh.2021.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Revised: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Circadian rhythms are daily physiological oscillations driven by the circadian clock: a 24-hour transcriptional timekeeper that regulates hormones, inflammation, and metabolism. Circadian rhythms are known to be important for health, but whether their loss contributes to colorectal cancer is not known. We tested the nonredundant clock gene Bmal1 in intestinal homeostasis and tumorigenesis, using the Apcmin model of colorectal cancer. METHODS Bmal1 mutant, epithelium-conditional Bmal1 mutant, and photoperiod (day/night cycle) disrupted mice bearing the Apcmin allele were assessed for tumorigenesis. Tumors and normal nontransformed tissue were characterized. Intestinal organoids were assessed for circadian transcription rhythms by RNA sequencing, and in vivo and organoid assays were used to test Bmal1-dependent proliferation and self-renewal. RESULTS Loss of Bmal1 or circadian photoperiod increases tumor initiation. In the intestinal epithelium the clock regulates transcripts involved in regeneration and intestinal stem cell signaling. Tumors have no self-autonomous clock function and only weak clock function in vivo. Apcmin clock-disrupted tumors show high Yes-associated protein 1 (Hippo signaling) activity but show low Wnt (Wingless and Int-1) activity. Intestinal organoid assays show that loss of Bmal1 increases self-renewal in a Yes-associated protein 1-dependent manner. CONCLUSIONS Bmal1 regulates intestinal stem cell pathways, including Hippo signaling, and the loss of circadian rhythms potentiates tumor initiation. Transcript profiling: GEO accession number: GSE157357.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle Stokes
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
| | - Malika Nunes
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Danilo E F L Flôres
- Division of Human Genetics and Immunobiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Gang Wu
- Division of Human Genetics and Immunobiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Zainab Taleb
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Suhrid Banskota
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Chris Harris
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
| | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
| | - Waliul I Khan
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Luis Rueda
- School of Computer Science, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
| | - John B Hogenesch
- Division of Human Genetics and Immunobiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
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Zgirski T, Legagneux P, Chastel O, Regimbald L, Prouteau L, Le Pogam A, Budzinski H, Love OP, Vézina F. Early life neonicotinoid exposure results in proximal benefits and ultimate carryover effects. Sci Rep 2021; 11:15252. [PMID: 34315944 PMCID: PMC8316441 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93894-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Neonicotinoids are insecticides widely used as seed treatments that appear to have multiple negative effects on birds at a diversity of biological scales. Adult birds exposed to a low dose of imidacloprid, one of the most commonly used neonicotinoids, presented reduced fat stores, delayed migration and potentially altered orientation. However, little is known on the effect of imidacloprid on birds growth rate despite studies that have documented disruptive effects of low imidacloprid doses on thyroid gland communication. We performed a \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$2 \times 2$$\end{document}2×2 factorial design experiment in Zebra finches, in which nestling birds were exposed to a very low dose (0.205 mg kg body \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$\hbox {mass}^{-1}$$\end{document}mass-1) of imidacloprid combined with food restriction during posthatch development. During the early developmental period, imidacloprid exposure resulted in an improvement of body condition index in treated nestlings relative to controls. Imidacloprid also led to compensatory growth in food restricted nestlings. This early life neonicotinoid exposure also carried over to adult age, with exposed birds showing higher lean mass and basal metabolic rate than controls at ages of 90–800 days. This study presents the first evidence that very low-dose neonicotinoid exposure during early life can permanently alter adult phenotype in birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Zgirski
- Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada. .,Centre de la Science de la Biodiversité du Québec (QCBS), Montréal, QC, Canada.
| | - Pierre Legagneux
- Centre de la Science de la Biodiversité du Québec (QCBS), Montréal, QC, Canada.,Université Laval, Quebec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada.,Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), UMR 7372 CNRS - La Rochelle Université, France, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France.,Centre d'Études Nordiques (CEN), Quebec, QC, Canada
| | - Olivier Chastel
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), UMR 7372 CNRS - La Rochelle Université, France, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Lyette Regimbald
- Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada
| | - Louise Prouteau
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), UMR 7372 CNRS - La Rochelle Université, France, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France.,Université de Bordeaux & CNRS UMR-5805 EPOC-OASU, 33615, Pessac, France
| | - Audrey Le Pogam
- Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada.,Centre de la Science de la Biodiversité du Québec (QCBS), Montréal, QC, Canada.,Centre d'Études Nordiques (CEN), Quebec, QC, Canada.,Groupe de recherche sur les environnements nordiques (BORÉAS), Rimouski, QC, Canada
| | - Hélène Budzinski
- Université de Bordeaux & CNRS UMR-5805 EPOC-OASU, 33615, Pessac, France
| | | | - François Vézina
- Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada.,Centre de la Science de la Biodiversité du Québec (QCBS), Montréal, QC, Canada.,Centre d'Études Nordiques (CEN), Quebec, QC, Canada.,Groupe de recherche sur les environnements nordiques (BORÉAS), Rimouski, QC, Canada
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18
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Choy ES, O'Connor RS, Gilchrist HG, Hargreaves AL, Love OP, Vézina F, Elliott KH. Limited heat tolerance in a cold-adapted seabird: implications of a warming Arctic. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:270771. [PMID: 34232314 PMCID: PMC8278010 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
The Arctic is warming at approximately twice the global rate, with well-documented indirect effects on wildlife. However, few studies have examined the direct effects of warming temperatures on Arctic wildlife, leaving the importance of heat stress unclear. Here, we assessed the direct effects of increasing air temperatures on the physiology of thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia), an Arctic seabird with reported mortalities due to heat stress while nesting on sun-exposed cliffs. We used flow-through respirometry to measure the response of body temperature, resting metabolic rate, evaporative water loss and evaporative cooling efficiency (the ratio of evaporative heat loss to metabolic heat production) in murres while experimentally increasing air temperature. Murres had limited heat tolerance, exhibiting: (1) a low maximum body temperature (43.3°C); (2) a moderate increase in resting metabolic rate relative that within their thermoneutral zone (1.57 times); (3) a small increase in evaporative water loss rate relative that within their thermoneutral zone (1.26 times); and (4) a low maximum evaporative cooling efficiency (0.33). Moreover, evaporative cooling efficiency decreased with increasing air temperature, suggesting murres were producing heat at a faster rate than they were dissipating it. Larger murres also had a higher rate of increase in resting metabolic rate and a lower rate of increase in evaporative water loss than smaller murres; therefore, evaporative cooling efficiency declined with increasing body mass. As a cold-adapted bird, murres' limited heat tolerance likely explains their mortality on warm days. Direct effects of overheating on Arctic wildlife may be an important but under-reported impact of climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily S Choy
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste Anne de Bellevue, QC, CanadaH9X 3V9
| | - Ryan S O'Connor
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada95L 3A1.,Groupe de recherche sur les environnements nordiques BORÉAS, Institut nordique du Québec, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada95L 3A1.,Centre d'études Nordiques, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada95L 3A1.,Centre de la Science de la Biodiversité du Québec, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada95L 3A1
| | - H Grant Gilchrist
- National Wildlife Research Centre, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 1125 Colonel By Dr, Ottawa, ON, CanadaK1S 5B6
| | - Anna L Hargreaves
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, CanadaH3G 0B1
| | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, CanadaN9B 3P4
| | - François Vézina
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada95L 3A1.,Groupe de recherche sur les environnements nordiques BORÉAS, Institut nordique du Québec, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada95L 3A1.,Centre d'études Nordiques, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada95L 3A1.,Centre de la Science de la Biodiversité du Québec, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada95L 3A1
| | - Kyle H Elliott
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste Anne de Bellevue, QC, CanadaH9X 3V9
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19
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Madliger CL, Love OP, Nguyen VM, Haddaway NR, Cooke SJ. Researcher perspectives on challenges and opportunities in conservation physiology revealed from an online survey. Conserv Physiol 2021; 9:coab030. [PMID: 33959293 PMCID: PMC8084030 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coab030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Revised: 03/13/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Conservation physiology represents a recently emerging arm of conservation science that applies physiological tools and techniques to understand and solve conservation issues. While a multi-disciplinary toolbox can only help to address the global biodiversity crisis, any field can face challenges while becoming established, particularly highly applied disciplines that require multi-stakeholder involvement. Gaining first-hand knowledge of the challenges that conservation physiologists are facing can help characterize the current state of the field and build a better foundation for determining how it can grow. Through an online survey of 468 scientists working at the intersection of physiology and conservation, we aimed to identify characteristics of those engaging in conservation physiology research (e.g. demographics, primary taxa of study), gauge conservation physiology's role in contributing to on-the-ground conservation action, identify the perceived barriers to achieving success and determine how difficult any identified barriers are to overcome. Despite all participants having experience combining physiology and conservation, only one-third considered themselves to be 'conservation physiologists'. Moreover, there was a general perception that conservation physiology does not yet regularly lead to tangible conservation success. Respondents identified the recent conceptualization of the field and the broader issue of adequately translating science into management action as the primary reasons for these deficits. Other significant barriers that respondents have faced when integrating physiology and conservation science included a lack of funding, logistical constraints (e.g. sample sizes, obtaining permits) and a lack of physiological baseline data (i.e. reference ranges of a physiological metric's 'normal' or pre-environmental change levels). We identified 12 actions based on suggestions of survey participants that we anticipate will help deconstruct the barriers and continue to develop a narrative of physiology that is relevant to conservation science, policy and practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine L Madliger
- Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6, Canada
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Ave., Ontario, N9B 3P4, Canada
| | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Ave., Ontario, N9B 3P4, Canada
| | - Vivian M Nguyen
- Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6, Canada
| | - Neal R Haddaway
- Stockholm Environment Institute, Linnégatan 87D, 10451 Stockholm, Sweden
- Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, Torgauer Strasse 19, 10829, Berlin, Germany
- Africa Centre for Evidence, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, 2092, South Africa
| | - Steven J Cooke
- Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6, Canada
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20
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Le Pogam A, O'Connor RS, Love OP, Petit M, Régimbald L, Vézina F. Coping with the worst of both worlds: Phenotypic adjustments for cold acclimatization benefit northward migration and arrival in the cold in an Arctic‐breeding songbird. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Audrey Le Pogam
- Département de biologie, chimie et géographie Université du Québec à Rimouski Rimouski QC Canada
- Groupe de recherche sur les environnements nordiques BORÉAS Centre d'Études Nordiques Centre de la Science de la Biodiversité du Québec Rimouski QC Canada
| | - Ryan S. O'Connor
- Département de biologie, chimie et géographie Université du Québec à Rimouski Rimouski QC Canada
- Groupe de recherche sur les environnements nordiques BORÉAS Centre d'Études Nordiques Centre de la Science de la Biodiversité du Québec Rimouski QC Canada
| | - Oliver P. Love
- Department of Integrative Biology University of Windsor Windsor ON Canada
| | - Magali Petit
- Département de biologie, chimie et géographie Université du Québec à Rimouski Rimouski QC Canada
- Groupe de recherche sur les environnements nordiques BORÉAS Centre d'Études Nordiques Centre de la Science de la Biodiversité du Québec Rimouski QC Canada
| | - Lyette Régimbald
- Département de biologie, chimie et géographie Université du Québec à Rimouski Rimouski QC Canada
| | - François Vézina
- Département de biologie, chimie et géographie Université du Québec à Rimouski Rimouski QC Canada
- Groupe de recherche sur les environnements nordiques BORÉAS Centre d'Études Nordiques Centre de la Science de la Biodiversité du Québec Rimouski QC Canada
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21
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Jagielski PM, Dey CJ, Gilchrist HG, Richardson ES, Love OP, Semeniuk CAD. Polar bears are inefficient predators of seabird eggs. R Soc Open Sci 2021; 8:210391. [PMID: 33868701 PMCID: PMC8025307 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Climate-mediated sea-ice loss is disrupting the foraging ecology of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) across much of their range. As a result, there have been increased reports of polar bears foraging on seabird eggs across parts of their range. Given that polar bears have evolved to hunt seals on ice, they may not be efficient predators of seabird eggs. We investigated polar bears' foraging performance on common eider (Somateria mollissima) eggs on Mitivik Island, Nunavut, Canada to test whether bear decision-making heuristics are consistent with expectations of optimal foraging theory. Using aerial-drones, we recorded multiple foraging bouts over 11 days, and found that as clutches were depleted to completion, bears did not exhibit foraging behaviours matched to resource density. As the season progressed, bears visited fewer nests overall, but marginally increased their visitation to nests that were already empty. Bears did not display different movement modes related to nest density, but became less selective in their choice of clutches to consume. Lastly, bears that capitalized on visual cues of flushing eider hens significantly increased the number of clutches they consumed; however, they did not use this strategy consistently or universally. The foraging behaviours exhibited by polar bears in this study suggest they are inefficient predators of seabird eggs, particularly in the context of matching behaviours to resource density.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick M. Jagielski
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON Canada, N9B 3P4
| | - Cody J. Dey
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON Canada, N9B 3P4
| | - H. Grant Gilchrist
- Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, ON Canada
| | - Evan S. Richardson
- Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Winnipeg, MB Canada
| | - Oliver P. Love
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON Canada
| | - Christina A. D. Semeniuk
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON Canada, N9B 3P4
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22
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Le Pogam A, Love OP, Régimbald L, Dubois K, Hallot F, Milbergue M, Petit M, O'Connor RS, Vézina F. Wintering Snow Buntings Elevate Cold Hardiness to Extreme Levels but Show No Changes in Maintenance Costs. Physiol Biochem Zool 2021; 93:417-433. [PMID: 33048603 DOI: 10.1086/711370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
AbstractResident temperate passerines adjust their phenotypes to cope with winter constraints, with peak performance in metabolic traits typically occurring during the coldest months. However, it is sparsely known whether cold-adapted northern species make similar adjustments when faced with variable seasonal environments. Life in near-constant cold could be associated with limited flexibility in traits underlying cold endurance. We investigated this by tracking individual physiological changes over five consecutive winters in snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis), an Arctic-breeding migratory passerine typically confronted with nearly constant cold. Buntings were held in an outdoor aviary and exposed to seasonal temperature variation typical of temperate zone climates. We measured phenotypic changes in body composition (body, fat, and lean mass, pectoralis muscle thickness), oxygen transport capacity (hematocrit), metabolic performance (basal metabolic rate [BMR] and summit metabolic rate [Msum]), thermogenic endurance (time to reach Msum), and cold tolerance (temperature at Msum). Snow buntings showed flexibility in functions underlying thermogenic capacity and cold endurance comparable to that observed in temperate resident passerines wintering at similar latitudes. Specifically, they increased body mass (13%), fat mass (246%), hematocrit (23%), pectoralis muscle thickness (8%), and Msum (27%). We also found remarkable cold tolerance in these birds, with individuals reaching Msum in helox at temperatures equivalent to less than -90°C in air. However, in contrast with resident temperate passerines, lean mass decreased by 12%, and there was no clear increase in maintenance costs (BMR). Our results show that the flexibility of traits underlying thermal acclimatization in a cold-adapted northern species is comparable to that of temperate resident species living at lower latitudes and is therefore not limited by life in near-constant cold.
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23
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O'Connor RS, Le Pogam A, Young KG, Robitaille F, Choy ES, Love OP, Elliott KH, Hargreaves AL, Berteaux D, Tam A, Vézina F. Limited heat tolerance in an Arctic passerine: Thermoregulatory implications for cold-specialized birds in a rapidly warming world. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:1609-1619. [PMID: 33613993 PMCID: PMC7882984 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2020] [Revised: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Arctic animals inhabit some of the coldest environments on the planet and have evolved physiological mechanisms for minimizing heat loss under extreme cold. However, the Arctic is warming faster than the global average and how well Arctic animals tolerate even moderately high air temperatures (T a) is unknown.Using flow-through respirometry, we investigated the heat tolerance and evaporative cooling capacity of snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis; ≈31 g, N = 42), a cold specialist, Arctic songbird. We exposed buntings to increasing T a and measured body temperature (T b), resting metabolic rate (RMR), rates of evaporative water loss (EWL), and evaporative cooling efficiency (the ratio of evaporative heat loss to metabolic heat production).Buntings had an average (±SD) T b of 41.3 ± 0.2°C at thermoneutral T a and increased T b to a maximum of 43.5 ± 0.3°C. Buntings started panting at T a of 33.2 ± 1.7°C, with rapid increases in EWL starting at T a = 34.6°C, meaning they experienced heat stress when air temperatures were well below their body temperature. Maximum rates of EWL were only 2.9× baseline rates at thermoneutral T a, a markedly lower increase than seen in more heat-tolerant arid-zone species (e.g., ≥4.7× baseline rates). Heat-stressed buntings also had low evaporative cooling efficiencies, with 95% of individuals unable to evaporatively dissipate an amount of heat equivalent to their own metabolic heat production.Our results suggest that buntings' well-developed cold tolerance may come at the cost of reduced heat tolerance. As the Arctic warms, and this and other species experience increased periods of heat stress, a limited capacity for evaporative cooling may force birds to increasingly rely on behavioral thermoregulation, such as minimizing activity, at the expense of diminished performance or reproductive investment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan S. O'Connor
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et GéographieUniversité du Québec à RimouskiRimouskiQCCanada
- Groupe de recherche sur les environnements nordiques BORÉASRimouskiCanada
- Centre d'études nordiquesRimouskiCanada
- Centre de la science de la biodiversité du QuébecRimouskiCanada
| | - Audrey Le Pogam
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et GéographieUniversité du Québec à RimouskiRimouskiQCCanada
- Groupe de recherche sur les environnements nordiques BORÉASRimouskiCanada
- Centre d'études nordiquesRimouskiCanada
- Centre de la science de la biodiversité du QuébecRimouskiCanada
| | - Kevin G. Young
- Department of BiologyAdvanced Facility for Avian ResearchWestern UniversityLondonONCanada
| | - Francis Robitaille
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et GéographieUniversité du Québec à RimouskiRimouskiQCCanada
| | - Emily S. Choy
- Department of Natural Resource SciencesMcGill UniversityQCCanada
| | - Oliver P. Love
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of WindsorWindsorONCanada
| | - Kyle H. Elliott
- Department of Natural Resource SciencesMcGill UniversityQCCanada
| | | | - Dominique Berteaux
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et GéographieUniversité du Québec à RimouskiRimouskiQCCanada
- Groupe de recherche sur les environnements nordiques BORÉASRimouskiCanada
- Centre d'études nordiquesRimouskiCanada
- Centre de la science de la biodiversité du QuébecRimouskiCanada
| | - Andrew Tam
- Department of National Defence, 8 Wing EnvironmentAstraONCanada
| | - François Vézina
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et GéographieUniversité du Québec à RimouskiRimouskiQCCanada
- Groupe de recherche sur les environnements nordiques BORÉASRimouskiCanada
- Centre d'études nordiquesRimouskiCanada
- Centre de la science de la biodiversité du QuébecRimouskiCanada
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24
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van Dijk JGB, Iverson SA, Gilchrist HG, Harms NJ, Hennin HL, Love OP, Buttler EI, Lesceu S, Foster JT, Forbes MR, Soos C. Herd immunity drives the epidemic fadeout of avian cholera in Arctic-nesting seabirds. Sci Rep 2021; 11:1046. [PMID: 33441657 PMCID: PMC7806777 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-79888-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Avian cholera, caused by the bacterium Pasteurella multocida, is a common and important infectious disease of wild birds in North America. Between 2005 and 2012, avian cholera caused annual mortality of widely varying magnitudes in Northern common eiders (Somateria mollissima borealis) breeding at the largest colony in the Canadian Arctic, Mitivik Island, Nunavut. Although herd immunity, in which a large proportion of the population acquires immunity to the disease, has been suggested to play a role in epidemic fadeout, immunological studies exploring this hypothesis have been missing. We investigated the role of three potential drivers of fadeout of avian cholera in eiders, including immunity, prevalence of infection, and colony size. Each potential driver was examined in relation to the annual real-time reproductive number (Rt) of P. multocida, previously calculated for eiders at Mitivik Island. Each year, colony size was estimated and eiders were closely monitored, and evaluated for infection and serological status. We demonstrate that acquired immunity approximated using antibody titers to P. multocida in both sexes was likely a key driver for the epidemic fadeout. This study exemplifies the importance of herd immunity in influencing the dynamics and fadeout of epidemics in a wildlife population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacintha G B van Dijk
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada.,Centre for Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems, Linnaeus University, 391 82, Kalmar, Sweden
| | - Samuel A Iverson
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada.,Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, Gatineau, QC, K1A 0H3, Canada
| | - H Grant Gilchrist
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada.,Environment and Climate Change Canada, National Wildlife Research Center, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada
| | - N Jane Harms
- Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5B4, Canada.,Environment Yukon, Animal Health Unit, Whitehorse, YT, Y1A 4Y9, Canada
| | - Holly L Hennin
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, National Wildlife Research Center, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada.,Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, N9B 3P4, Canada
| | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, N9B 3P4, Canada
| | - E Isabel Buttler
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada
| | | | - Jeffrey T Foster
- Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA
| | - Mark R Forbes
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada
| | - Catherine Soos
- Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5B4, Canada. .,Ecotoxicology and Wildlife Health Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 0X4, Canada.
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25
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Cooke SJ, Bergman JN, Madliger CL, Cramp RL, Beardall J, Burness G, Clark TD, Dantzer B, de la Barrera E, Fangue NA, Franklin CE, Fuller A, Hawkes LA, Hultine KR, Hunt KE, Love OP, MacMillan HA, Mandelman JW, Mark FC, Martin LB, Newman AEM, Nicotra AB, Raby GD, Robinson SA, Ropert-Coudert Y, Rummer JL, Seebacher F, Todgham AE, Tomlinson S, Chown SL. One hundred research questions in conservation physiology for generating actionable evidence to inform conservation policy and practice. Conserv Physiol 2021; 9:coab009. [PMID: 33859825 PMCID: PMC8035967 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coab009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Environmental change and biodiversity loss are but two of the complex challenges facing conservation practitioners and policy makers. Relevant and robust scientific knowledge is critical for providing decision-makers with the actionable evidence needed to inform conservation decisions. In the Anthropocene, science that leads to meaningful improvements in biodiversity conservation, restoration and management is desperately needed. Conservation Physiology has emerged as a discipline that is well-positioned to identify the mechanisms underpinning population declines, predict responses to environmental change and test different in situ and ex situ conservation interventions for diverse taxa and ecosystems. Here we present a consensus list of 10 priority research themes. Within each theme we identify specific research questions (100 in total), answers to which will address conservation problems and should improve the management of biological resources. The themes frame a set of research questions related to the following: (i) adaptation and phenotypic plasticity; (ii) human-induced environmental change; (iii) human-wildlife interactions; (iv) invasive species; (v) methods, biomarkers and monitoring; (vi) policy, engagement and communication; (vii) pollution; (viii) restoration actions; (ix) threatened species; and (x) urban systems. The themes and questions will hopefully guide and inspire researchers while also helping to demonstrate to practitioners and policy makers the many ways in which physiology can help to support their decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven J Cooke
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada
- Corresponding author: Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada.
| | - Jordanna N Bergman
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada
| | - Christine L Madliger
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada
| | - Rebecca L Cramp
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
| | - John Beardall
- Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future, School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Gary Burness
- Department of Biology, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario K9L 0G2, Canada
| | - Timothy D Clark
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria 3216, Australia
| | - Ben Dantzer
- Department of Psychology, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Erick de la Barrera
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Antigua Carretera a Pátzcuaro 8701, Morelia, Michoacán, 58190, Mexico
| | - Nann A Fangue
- Department of Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Craig E Franklin
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
| | - Andrea Fuller
- Brain Function Research Group, School of Physiology, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Rd, Parktown, 2193, South Africa
| | - Lucy A Hawkes
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hatherly Laboratories, University of Exeter, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter EX4 4PS, UK
| | - Kevin R Hultine
- Department of Research, Conservation and Collections, Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, AZ 85008, USA
| | - Kathleen E Hunt
- Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation, 1500 Remount Road, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA
| | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada
| | - Heath A MacMillan
- Department of Biology and Institute of Biochemistry, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada
| | - John W Mandelman
- Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Boston, MA, 02110, USA
| | - Felix C Mark
- Department of Integrative Ecophysiology, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - Lynn B Martin
- Global Health and Infectious Disease Research, University of South Florida, 3720 Spectrum Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
| | - Amy E M Newman
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Adrienne B Nicotra
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
| | - Graham D Raby
- Department of Biology, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario K9L 0G2, Canada
| | - Sharon A Robinson
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences (SEALS) and Centre for Sustainable Ecosystem Solutions, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia
| | - Yan Ropert-Coudert
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS UMR 7372—La Rochelle Université, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Jodie L Rummer
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Frank Seebacher
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences A08, University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Anne E Todgham
- Department of Animal Science, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Sean Tomlinson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia
| | - Steven L Chown
- Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future, School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
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26
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Davidson SC, Bohrer G, Gurarie E, LaPoint S, Mahoney PJ, Boelman NT, Eitel JUH, Prugh LR, Vierling LA, Jennewein J, Grier E, Couriot O, Kelly AP, Meddens AJH, Oliver RY, Kays R, Wikelski M, Aarvak T, Ackerman JT, Alves JA, Bayne E, Bedrosian B, Belant JL, Berdahl AM, Berlin AM, Berteaux D, Bêty J, Boiko D, Booms TL, Borg BL, Boutin S, Boyd WS, Brides K, Brown S, Bulyuk VN, Burnham KK, Cabot D, Casazza M, Christie K, Craig EH, Davis SE, Davison T, Demma D, DeSorbo CR, Dixon A, Domenech R, Eichhorn G, Elliott K, Evenson JR, Exo KM, Ferguson SH, Fiedler W, Fisk A, Fort J, Franke A, Fuller MR, Garthe S, Gauthier G, Gilchrist G, Glazov P, Gray CE, Grémillet D, Griffin L, Hallworth MT, Harrison AL, Hennin HL, Hipfner JM, Hodson J, Johnson JA, Joly K, Jones K, Katzner TE, Kidd JW, Knight EC, Kochert MN, Kölzsch A, Kruckenberg H, Lagassé BJ, Lai S, Lamarre JF, Lanctot RB, Larter NC, Latham ADM, Latty CJ, Lawler JP, Léandri-Breton DJ, Lee H, Lewis SB, Love OP, Madsen J, Maftei M, Mallory ML, Mangipane B, Markovets MY, Marra PP, McGuire R, McIntyre CL, McKinnon EA, Miller TA, Moonen S, Mu T, Müskens GJDM, Ng J, Nicholson KL, Øien IJ, Overton C, Owen PA, Patterson A, Petersen A, Pokrovsky I, Powell LL, Prieto R, Quillfeldt P, Rausch J, Russell K, Saalfeld ST, Schekkerman H, Schmutz JA, Schwemmer P, Seip DR, Shreading A, Silva MA, Smith BW, Smith F, Smith JP, Snell KRS, Sokolov A, Sokolov V, Solovyeva DV, Sorum MS, Tertitski G, Therrien JF, Thorup K, Tibbitts TL, Tulp I, Uher-Koch BD, van Bemmelen RSA, Van Wilgenburg S, Von Duyke AL, Watson JL, Watts BD, Williams JA, Wilson MT, Wright JR, Yates MA, Yurkowski DJ, Žydelis R, Hebblewhite M. Ecological insights from three decades of animal movement tracking across a changing Arctic. Science 2020; 370:712-715. [PMID: 33154141 DOI: 10.1126/science.abb7080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Revised: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The Arctic is entering a new ecological state, with alarming consequences for humanity. Animal-borne sensors offer a window into these changes. Although substantial animal tracking data from the Arctic and subarctic exist, most are difficult to discover and access. Here, we present the new Arctic Animal Movement Archive (AAMA), a growing collection of more than 200 standardized terrestrial and marine animal tracking studies from 1991 to the present. The AAMA supports public data discovery, preserves fundamental baseline data for the future, and facilitates efficient, collaborative data analysis. With AAMA-based case studies, we document climatic influences on the migration phenology of eagles, geographic differences in the adaptive response of caribou reproductive phenology to climate change, and species-specific changes in terrestrial mammal movement rates in response to increasing temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C Davidson
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.,Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany.,Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Gil Bohrer
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
| | - Eliezer Gurarie
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.,Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA
| | - Scott LaPoint
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany.,Black Rock Forest, 65 Reservoir Road, Cornwall, NY, USA.,Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
| | - Peter J Mahoney
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Natalie T Boelman
- Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
| | - Jan U H Eitel
- Department of Natural Resources and Society, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA
| | - Laura R Prugh
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Lee A Vierling
- Department of Natural Resources and Society, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA
| | - Jyoti Jennewein
- Department of Natural Resources and Society, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA
| | - Emma Grier
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Ophélie Couriot
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.,National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center, Annapolis, MD, USA
| | - Allicia P Kelly
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, Fort Smith, NT, Canada
| | - Arjan J H Meddens
- School of the Environment, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - Ruth Y Oliver
- Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.,Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Roland Kays
- College of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany.,Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | | | - Joshua T Ackerman
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Dixon Field Station, Dixon, CA, USA
| | - José A Alves
- Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.,South Iceland Research Centre, University of Iceland, Laugarvatn, Iceland
| | - Erin Bayne
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | | | - Jerrold L Belant
- Global Wildlife Conservation Center, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Andrew M Berdahl
- School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Alicia M Berlin
- U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD, USA
| | - Dominique Berteaux
- Centre d'études nordiques, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada
| | - Joël Bêty
- Centre d'études nordiques, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada
| | - Dmitrijs Boiko
- Latvian National Museum of Natural History, Riga, Latvia.,Institute of Biology, University of Latvia, Salaspils, Latvia.,Latvian Swan Research Society, Kalnciems, Latvia
| | | | - Bridget L Borg
- National Park Service, Denali National Park and Preserve, Denali Park, AK, USA
| | - Stan Boutin
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - W Sean Boyd
- Science & Technology Branch, Environment & Climate Change Canada, Delta, BC, Canada
| | | | | | - Victor N Bulyuk
- Biological Station Rybachy, Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | | | - David Cabot
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | - Michael Casazza
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Dixon Field Station, Dixon, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Tracy Davison
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, Inuvik, NT, Canada
| | | | | | - Andrew Dixon
- Reneco International Wildlife Consultants, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | | | - Götz Eichhorn
- Vogeltrekstation-Dutch Centre for Avian Migration and Demography, Wageningen, Netherlands.,Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Kyle Elliott
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada
| | | | - Klaus-Michael Exo
- Institute for Avian Research "Vogelwarte Helgoland," Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | | | - Wolfgang Fiedler
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany.,Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Aaron Fisk
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, School of the Environment, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada
| | - Jérôme Fort
- Littoral Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), CNRS, La Rochelle University, La Rochelle, France
| | - Alastair Franke
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Arctic Raptor Project, Rankin Inlet, NU, Canada
| | - Mark R Fuller
- Boise State University, Raptor Research Center, Boise, ID, USA
| | - Stefan Garthe
- Research and Technology Centre (FTZ), Kiel University, Büsum, Germany
| | - Gilles Gauthier
- Département de Biologie & Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Grant Gilchrist
- Environment & Climate Change Canada, National Wildlife Research Centre, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Petr Glazov
- Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Carrie E Gray
- School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA
| | - David Grémillet
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS, La Rochelle University, Villiers en Bois, France.,Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
| | | | - Michael T Hallworth
- Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington DC, USA.,Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Autumn-Lynn Harrison
- Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington DC, USA
| | - Holly L Hennin
- Science & Technology Branch, Environment & Climate Change Canada, Delta, BC, Canada.,Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada
| | - J Mark Hipfner
- Environment & Climate Change Canada, Pacific Wildlife Research Centre, Delta, BC, Canada
| | - James Hodson
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, NT, Canada
| | - James A Johnson
- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Management, Anchorage, AK, USA
| | - Kyle Joly
- National Park Service, Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve, Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | | | - Todd E Katzner
- U.S. Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Boise, ID, USA
| | | | - Elly C Knight
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Michael N Kochert
- U.S. Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Boise, ID, USA
| | - Andrea Kölzsch
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany.,Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.,Institute for Wetlands and Waterbird Research e.V., Verden (Aller), Germany
| | - Helmut Kruckenberg
- Institute for Wetlands and Waterbird Research e.V., Verden (Aller), Germany
| | - Benjamin J Lagassé
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Colorado, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Sandra Lai
- Centre d'études nordiques, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada
| | | | - Richard B Lanctot
- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Management, Anchorage, AK, USA
| | - Nicholas C Larter
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, Fort Simpson, NT, Canada
| | - A David M Latham
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research, Lincoln, New Zealand
| | - Christopher J Latty
- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - James P Lawler
- National Park Service, Alaska Inventory and Monitoring Program, Anchorage, AK, USA
| | | | - Hansoo Lee
- Korea Institute of Environmental Ecology, Yuseonggu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | | | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada
| | - Jesper Madsen
- Department of Bioscience-Kalø, Aarhus University, Rønde, Denmark
| | - Mark Maftei
- High Arctic Gull Research Group, Bamfield, BC, Canada
| | - Mark L Mallory
- Biology Department, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, Canada
| | - Buck Mangipane
- National Park Service, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Anchorage, AK, USA
| | - Mikhail Y Markovets
- Biological Station Rybachy, Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Peter P Marra
- Department of Biology and the McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Rebecca McGuire
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Arctic Beringia Program, Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - Carol L McIntyre
- National Park Service, Denali National Park and Preserve, Denali Park, AK, USA
| | | | - Tricia A Miller
- Conservation Science Global, Inc., West Cape May, NJ, USA.,Division of Forestry and Natural Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA
| | - Sander Moonen
- Institute for Avian Research "Vogelwarte Helgoland," Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Tong Mu
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Gerhard J D M Müskens
- Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Janet Ng
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | | | | | - Cory Overton
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Dixon Field Station, Dixon, CA, USA
| | - Patricia A Owen
- National Park Service, Denali National Park and Preserve, Denali Park, AK, USA
| | - Allison Patterson
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada
| | | | - Ivan Pokrovsky
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany.,Laboratory of Ornithology, Institute of Biological Problems of the North FEB RAS, Magadan, Russia.,Arctic Research Station of Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology UB, RAS, Labytnangi, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, Russia
| | - Luke L Powell
- Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington DC, USA.,Durham University, Durham, UK.,University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland
| | - Rui Prieto
- Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Institute of Marine Research and Okeanos R&D Centre, University of the Azores, Horta, Portugal
| | | | - Jennie Rausch
- Environment & Climate Change Canada, Yellowknife, NT, Canada
| | | | - Sarah T Saalfeld
- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Management, Anchorage, AK, USA
| | | | - Joel A Schmutz
- U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK, USA
| | - Philipp Schwemmer
- Research and Technology Centre (FTZ), Kiel University, Büsum, Germany
| | - Dale R Seip
- British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Prince George, BC, Canada
| | | | - Mónica A Silva
- Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Institute of Marine Research and Okeanos R&D Centre, University of the Azores, Horta, Portugal.,Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA
| | - Brian W Smith
- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Management, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Fletcher Smith
- Center for Conservation Biology, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA.,Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Brunswick, GA, USA
| | - Jeff P Smith
- HawkWatch International, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.,H. T. Harvey & Associates, Los Gatos, CA, USA
| | - Katherine R S Snell
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany.,Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Aleksandr Sokolov
- Arctic Research Station of Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology UB, RAS, Labytnangi, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, Russia
| | - Vasiliy Sokolov
- Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Division Russian Academy of Sciences, Ekaterinburg, Russia
| | - Diana V Solovyeva
- Laboratory of Ornithology, Institute of Biological Problems of the North FEB RAS, Magadan, Russia
| | - Mathew S Sorum
- National Park Service, Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, Central Alaska Inventory and Monitoring Network, Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | | | - J F Therrien
- Département de Biologie & Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada.,Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Kempton, PA, USA
| | - Kasper Thorup
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - T Lee Tibbitts
- U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK, USA
| | - Ingrid Tulp
- Wageningen Marine Research, IJmuiden, Netherlands
| | | | - Rob S A van Bemmelen
- Wageningen Marine Research, IJmuiden, Netherlands.,Bureau Waardenburg, Culemborg, Netherlands
| | - Steven Van Wilgenburg
- Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment & Climate Change Canada, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Andrew L Von Duyke
- North Slope Borough, Department of Wildlife Management, Utqiaġvik, AK, USA
| | - Jesse L Watson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Bryan D Watts
- Center for Conservation Biology, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA
| | - Judy A Williams
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, NT, Canada
| | | | - James R Wright
- School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | | | - David J Yurkowski
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.,University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | | | - Mark Hebblewhite
- Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA
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Warriner TR, Semeniuk CAD, Pitcher TE, Heath DD, Love OP. Mimicking Transgenerational Signals of Future Stress: Thermal Tolerance of Juvenile Chinook Salmon Is More Sensitive to Elevated Rearing Temperature Than Exogenously Increased Egg Cortisol. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.548939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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28
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Abstract
The view of maternal effects (nongenetic maternal environmental influence on offspring phenotype) has changed from one of distracting complications in evolutionary genetics to an important evolutionary mechanism for improving offspring fitness. Recent studies have shown that maternal effects act as an adaptive mechanism to prepare offspring for stressful environments. Although research into the magnitude of maternal effects is abundant, the molecular mechanisms of maternal influences on offspring phenotypic variation are not fully understood. Despite recent work identifying DNA methylation as a potential mechanism of nongenetic inheritance, currently proposed links between DNA methylation and parental effects are indirect and primarily involve genomic imprinting. We combined a factorial breeding design and gene-targeted sequencing methods to assess inheritance of methylation during early life stages at 14 genes involved in growth, development, metabolism, stress response, and immune function of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). We found little evidence for additive or nonadditive genetic effects acting on methylation levels during early development; however, we detected significant maternal effects. Consistent with conventional maternal effect data, maternal effects on methylation declined through development and were replaced with nonadditive effects when offspring began exogenous feeding. We mapped methylation at individual CpG sites across the selected candidate genes to test for variation in site-specific methylation profiles and found significant maternal effects at selected CpG sites that also declined with development stage. While intergenerational inheritance of methylated DNA is controversial, we show that CpG-specific methylation may function as an underlying molecular mechanism for maternal effects, with important implications for offspring fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare J Venney
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
| | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ellen Jane Drown
- Yellow Island Aquaculture Ltd., Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Daniel D Heath
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
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29
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Tarroux A, Cherel Y, Fauchald P, Kato A, Love OP, Ropert‐Coudert Y, Spreen G, Varpe Ø, Weimerskirch H, Yoccoz NG, Zahn S, Descamps S. Foraging tactics in dynamic sea‐ice habitats affect individual state in a long‐ranging seabird. Funct Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Arnaud Tarroux
- Department of Arctic Ecology ‐ Tromsø Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Tromsø Norway
- Biodiversity Section Norwegian Polar Institute Tromsø Norway
| | - Yves Cherel
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC) UMR 7372 du CNRS‐La Rochelle Université Villiers‐en‐Bois France
| | - Per Fauchald
- Department of Arctic Ecology ‐ Tromsø Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Tromsø Norway
| | - Akiko Kato
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC) UMR 7372 du CNRS‐La Rochelle Université Villiers‐en‐Bois France
| | - Oliver P. Love
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Windsor Windsor ON Canada
| | - Yan Ropert‐Coudert
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC) UMR 7372 du CNRS‐La Rochelle Université Villiers‐en‐Bois France
| | - Gunnar Spreen
- Biodiversity Section Norwegian Polar Institute Tromsø Norway
- Institute of Environmental Physics University of Bremen Bremen Germany
| | - Øystein Varpe
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Bergen & Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Bergen Norway
| | - Henri Weimerskirch
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC) UMR 7372 du CNRS‐La Rochelle Université Villiers‐en‐Bois France
| | - Nigel G. Yoccoz
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology University of Tromsø ‐ The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - Sandrine Zahn
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien Université de StrasbourgUMR7178 CNRS Strasbourg France
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30
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Warriner TR, Semeniuk CAD, Pitcher TE, Love OP. Exposure to exogenous egg cortisol does not rescue juvenile Chinook salmon body size, condition, or survival from the effects of elevated water temperatures. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:2466-2477. [PMID: 32184994 PMCID: PMC7069292 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2019] [Revised: 01/03/2020] [Accepted: 01/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change is leading to altered temperature regimes which are impacting aquatic life, particularly for ectothermic fish. The impacts of environmental stress can be translated across generations through maternally derived glucocorticoids, leading to altered offspring phenotypes. Although these maternal stress effects are often considered negative, recent studies suggest this maternal stress signal may prepare offspring for a similarly stressful environment (environmental match). We applied the environmental match hypothesis to examine whether a prenatal stress signal can dampen the effects of elevated water temperatures on body size, condition, and survival during early development in Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha from Lake Ontario, Canada. We exposed fertilized eggs to prenatal exogenous egg cortisol (1,000 ng/ml cortisol or 0 ng/ml control) and then reared these dosed groups at temperatures indicative of current (+0°C) and future (+3°C) temperature conditions. Offspring reared in elevated temperatures were smaller and had a lower survival at the hatchling developmental stage. Overall, we found that our exogenous cortisol dose did not dampen effects of elevated rearing temperatures (environmental match) on body size or early survival. Instead, our eyed stage survival indicates that our prenatal cortisol dose may be detrimental, as cortisol-dosed offspring raised in elevated temperatures had lower survival than cortisol-dosed and control reared in current temperatures. Our results suggest that a maternal stress signal may not be able to ameliorate the effects of thermal stress during early development. However, we highlight the importance of interpreting the fitness impacts of maternal stress within an environmentally relevant context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa R. Warriner
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental ResearchUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
| | - Christina A. D. Semeniuk
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental ResearchUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
| | - Trevor E. Pitcher
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental ResearchUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
| | - Oliver P. Love
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental ResearchUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
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31
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Cooke SJ, Madliger CL, Cramp RL, Beardall J, Burness G, Chown SL, Clark TD, Dantzer B, de la Barrera E, Fangue NA, Franklin CE, Fuller A, Hawkes LA, Hultine KR, Hunt KE, Love OP, MacMillan HA, Mandelman JW, Mark FC, Martin LB, Newman AEM, Nicotra AB, Robinson SA, Ropert-Coudert Y, Rummer JL, Seebacher F, Todgham AE. Reframing conservation physiology to be more inclusive, integrative, relevant and forward-looking: reflections and a horizon scan. Conserv Physiol 2020; 8:coaa016. [PMID: 32274063 PMCID: PMC7125050 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coaa016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2019] [Revised: 01/27/2020] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Applying physiological tools, knowledge and concepts to understand conservation problems (i.e. conservation physiology) has become commonplace and confers an ability to understand mechanistic processes, develop predictive models and identify cause-and-effect relationships. Conservation physiology is making contributions to conservation solutions; the number of 'success stories' is growing, but there remain unexplored opportunities for which conservation physiology shows immense promise and has the potential to contribute to major advances in protecting and restoring biodiversity. Here, we consider how conservation physiology has evolved with a focus on reframing the discipline to be more inclusive and integrative. Using a 'horizon scan', we further explore ways in which conservation physiology can be more relevant to pressing conservation issues of today (e.g. addressing the Sustainable Development Goals; delivering science to support the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration), as well as more forward-looking to inform emerging issues and policies for tomorrow. Our horizon scan provides evidence that, as the discipline of conservation physiology continues to mature, it provides a wealth of opportunities to promote integration, inclusivity and forward-thinking goals that contribute to achieving conservation gains. To advance environmental management and ecosystem restoration, we need to ensure that the underlying science (such as that generated by conservation physiology) is relevant with accompanying messaging that is straightforward and accessible to end users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven J Cooke
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada
- Corresponding author: Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada.
| | - Christine L Madliger
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada
| | - Rebecca L Cramp
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072, Australia
| | - John Beardall
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Gary Burness
- Department of Biology, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON, K9L 0G2, Canada
| | - Steven L Chown
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Timothy D Clark
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria 14 3216, Australia
| | - Ben Dantzer
- Department of Psychology, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Erick de la Barrera
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Antigua Carretera a Pátzcuaro 8701, Morelia, Michoacán, 58190, Mexico
| | - Nann A Fangue
- Department of Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Craig E Franklin
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072, Australia
| | - Andrea Fuller
- Brain Function Research Group, School of Physiology, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Rd, Parktown, 2193, South Africa
| | - Lucy A Hawkes
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hatherly Laboratories, University of Exeter, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK
| | - Kevin R Hultine
- Department of Research, Conservation and Collections, Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, AZ 85008, USA
| | - Kathleen E Hunt
- Department of Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
| | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, Canada
| | - Heath A MacMillan
- Department of Biology and Institute of Biochemistry, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada
| | - John W Mandelman
- Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Boston, MA 02110, USA
| | - Felix C Mark
- Department of Integrative Ecophysiology, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27574 Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - Lynn B Martin
- Global Health and Infectious Disease Research, University of South Florida, 3720 Spectrum Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
| | - Amy E M Newman
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Adrienne B Nicotra
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Sharon A Robinson
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences (SEALS) and Centre for Sustainable Ecosystem Solutions, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
| | - Yan Ropert-Coudert
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS UMR 7372 - La Rochelle Université, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Jodie L Rummer
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 5811, Australia
| | - Frank Seebacher
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences A08, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Anne E Todgham
- Department of Animal Science, University of California Davis, One Shields Ave. Davis, CA, 95616, USA
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Vézina F, Cornelius Ruhs E, O'Connor ES, Le Pogam A, Régimbald L, Love OP, Jimenez AG. Consequences of being phenotypically mismatched with the environment: rapid muscle ultrastructural changes in cold-shocked black-capped chickadees ( Poecile atricapillus). Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2019; 318:R274-R283. [PMID: 31823671 DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00203.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Phenotypic flexibility has received considerable attention in the last decade; however, whereas many studies have reported amplitude of variation in phenotypic traits, much less attention has focused on the rate at which traits can adjust in response to sudden changes in the environment. We investigated whole animal and muscle phenotypic changes occurring in black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) acclimated to cold (-5°C) and warm (20°C) temperatures in the first 3 h following a 15°C temperature drop (over 3 h). Before the temperature change, cold-acclimated birds were consuming 95% more food, were carrying twice as much body fat, and had 23% larger pectoralis muscle fiber diameters than individuals kept at 20°C. In the 3 h following the temperature drop, these same birds altered their pectoralis muscle ultrastructure by increasing the number of capillaries per fiber area and the number of nuclei per millimeter of fiber by 22%, consequently leading to a 22% decrease in myonuclear domain (amount of cytoplasm serviced per nucleus), whereas no such changes were observed in the warm-acclimated birds. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of such a rapid adjustment in muscle fiber ultrastructure in vertebrates. These results support the hypothesis that chickadees maintaining a cold phenotype are better prepared than warm-phenotype individuals to respond to a sudden decline in temperature, such as what may be experienced in their natural wintering environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- François Vézina
- Départment de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Groupe de Recherche sur les Environnements Nordiques BORÉAS, Centre d'études Nordiques, Centre de la Science de la Biodiversité du Québec Université du Québec à Rimouski, Québec, Canada
| | - Emily Cornelius Ruhs
- Départment de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Groupe de Recherche sur les Environnements Nordiques BORÉAS, Centre d'études Nordiques, Centre de la Science de la Biodiversité du Québec Université du Québec à Rimouski, Québec, Canada
| | - Erin S O'Connor
- Department of Biology, Colgate University, Hamilton, New York
| | - Audrey Le Pogam
- Départment de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Groupe de Recherche sur les Environnements Nordiques BORÉAS, Centre d'études Nordiques, Centre de la Science de la Biodiversité du Québec Université du Québec à Rimouski, Québec, Canada
| | - Lyette Régimbald
- Départment de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Groupe de Recherche sur les Environnements Nordiques BORÉAS, Centre d'études Nordiques, Centre de la Science de la Biodiversité du Québec Université du Québec à Rimouski, Québec, Canada
| | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada
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Mckinnon EA, Laplante MP, Love OP, Fraser KC, Mackenzie S, Vézina F. Tracking Landscape-Scale Movements of Snow Buntings and Weather-Driven Changes in Flock Composition During the Temperate Winter. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
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Hennin HL, Legagneux P, Gilchrist HG, Bêty J, McMurtry JP, Love OP. Plasma mammalian leptin analogue predicts reproductive phenology, but not reproductive output in a capital-income breeding seaduck. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:1512-1522. [PMID: 30805178 PMCID: PMC6374671 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2018] [Revised: 12/01/2018] [Accepted: 12/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
To invest in energetically demanding life history stages, individuals require a substantial amount of resources. Physiological traits, particularly those related to energetics, can be useful for examining variation in life history decisions and trade-offs because they result from individual responses to environmental variation. Leptin is a protein hormone found in mammals that is proportional to the amount of endogenous fat stores within an individual. Recently, researchers have confirmed that a mammalian leptin analogue (MLA), based on the mammalian sequence of leptin, is present with associated receptors and proteins in avian species, with an inhibitory effect on foraging and body mass gain at high circulating levels. While MLA has been both quantified and manipulated in avian species, little is currently known regarding whether plasma MLA in wild-living species and individuals is associated with key reproductive decisions. We quantified plasma MLA in wild, Arctic-nesting female common eiders (Somateria mollissima) at arrival on the breeding grounds and followed them to determine subsequent breeding propensity, and reproductive phenology, investment, and success. Common eiders are capital-income breeding birds that require the accumulation of substantial fat stores to initiate laying and successfully complete incubation. We found that females with lower plasma MLA initiated breeding earlier and in a shorter period of time. However, we found no links between plasma MLA levels and breeding propensity, clutch size, or reproductive success. Although little is still known about plasma MLA, based on these results and its role in influencing foraging behaviors and condition gain, plasma MLA appears to be closely linked to reproductive timing and is therefore likely to underlie trade-offs surrounding life history decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly L. Hennin
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
| | - Pierre Legagneux
- CNRS – Centre d'Etudes Biologique de ChizéVilliers‐en‐boisFrance
- Département de biologie et Centre d'etudes nordiquesUniversité LavalQuébec CityQuebecCanada
| | - H. Grant Gilchrist
- Environment and Climate Change CanadaNational Wildlife Research Centre, Carleton UniversityOttawaOntarioCanada
| | - Joël Bêty
- Départment de Biologie, chimie et géographie and Centre d’études nordiquesUniversité du Québec à RimouskiRimouskiQuebecCanada
| | - John P. McMurtry
- Southern Plains Agricultural Research CenterUnited States Department of AgricultureCollege StationTexas
| | - Oliver P. Love
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
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Sarpong K, Madliger CL, Harris CM, Love OP, Doucet SM, Bitton PP. Baseline corticosterone does not reflect iridescent plumage traits in female tree swallows. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2019; 270:123-130. [PMID: 30392885 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2018.10.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2018] [Revised: 10/03/2018] [Accepted: 10/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The production of high quality secondary sexual traits can be constrained by trade-offs in the allocation of energy and nutrients with other metabolic activities, and is mediated by physiological processes. In birds, the factors influencing male plumage quality have been well studied; however, factors affecting female plumage quality are poorly understood. Furthermore, it remains uncertain which physiological traits mediate the relationship between body condition and ornaments. In this three-year study of after-second-year female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), we investigated (1) the relationship between baseline corticosterone near the end of the brood-rearing period (CORTBR) and feather colour characteristics (hue, saturation, brightness) the following year, and (2) the relationship between baseline corticosterone measured during incubation (CORTI) and brood rearing (CORTBR), and feather colour in the same year. To control for reproductive effort, we included reproductive parameters as covariates in all analyses. In this first study between CORT and the plumage colour characteristics of a species bearing iridescent feathers, we did not find any relationship between CORTBR and the colour of subsequently-produced feathers, nor did we find any relationship between CORT and the colour of feathers displayed during that breeding season. If CORT levels at the end of breeding carry over to influence the immediately subsequent moult period as we expect, our results generally indicate that structural plumage quality may not be as sensitive to circulating CORT levels compared to carotenoid-based colouration. Future studies, particularly those employing experimental manipulations of CORT during moult in species with iridescent traits, are necessary to fully determine the role glucocorticoids play in mediating the quality of secondary sexual characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keneth Sarpong
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada.
| | - Christine L Madliger
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada.
| | - Christopher M Harris
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada.
| | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada.
| | - Stéphanie M Doucet
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada.
| | - Pierre-Paul Bitton
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada.
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Sheriff MJ, Dantzer B, Love OP, Orrock JL. Error management theory and the adaptive significance of transgenerational maternal-stress effects on offspring phenotype. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:6473-6482. [PMID: 30038749 PMCID: PMC6053571 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2017] [Revised: 02/22/2018] [Accepted: 03/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
It is well established that circulating maternal stress hormones (glucocorticoids, GCs) can alter offspring phenotype. There is also a growing body of empirical work, within ecology and evolution, indicating that maternal GCs link the environment experienced by the mother during gestation with changes in offspring phenotype. These changes are considered to be adaptive if the maternal environment matches the offspring's environment and maladaptive if it does not. While these ideas are conceptually sound, we lack a testable framework that can be used to investigate the fitness costs and benefits of altered offspring phenotypes across relevant future environments. We present error management theory as the foundation for a framework that can be used to assess the adaptive potential of maternal stress hormones on offspring phenotype across relevant postnatal scenarios. To encourage rigorous testing of our framework, we provide field-testable hypotheses regarding the potential adaptive role of maternal stress across a diverse array of taxa and life histories, as well as suggestions regarding how our framework might provide insight into past, present, and future research. This perspective provides an informed lens through which to design and interpret experiments on the effects of maternal stress, provides a framework for predicting and testing variation in maternal stress across and within taxa, and also highlights how rapid environmental change that induces maternal stress may lead to evolutionary traps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Sheriff
- Department of Ecosystem Science and ManagementHuck Institute of the Life SciencesPennsylvania State UniversityUniversity ParkPennsylvania
| | - Ben Dantzer
- Departments of Psychology, Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichigan
| | - Oliver P. Love
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of WindsorWindsorONCanada
| | - John L. Orrock
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of WisconsinMadisonWisconsin
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Madliger CL, Love OP, Hultine KR, Cooke SJ. The conservation physiology toolbox: status and opportunities. Conserv Physiol 2018; 6:coy029. [PMID: 29942517 PMCID: PMC6007632 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coy029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2018] [Revised: 05/18/2018] [Accepted: 05/24/2018] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
For over a century, physiological tools and techniques have been allowing researchers to characterize how organisms respond to changes in their natural environment and how they interact with human activities or infrastructure. Over time, many of these techniques have become part of the conservation physiology toolbox, which is used to monitor, predict, conserve, and restore plant and animal populations under threat. Here, we provide a summary of the tools that currently comprise the conservation physiology toolbox. By assessing patterns in articles that have been published in 'Conservation Physiology' over the past 5 years that focus on introducing, refining and validating tools, we provide an overview of where researchers are placing emphasis in terms of taxa and physiological sub-disciplines. Although there is certainly diversity across the toolbox, metrics of stress physiology (particularly glucocorticoids) and studies focusing on mammals have garnered the greatest attention, with both comprising the majority of publications (>45%). We also summarize the types of validations that are actively being completed, including those related to logistics (sample collection, storage and processing), interpretation of variation in physiological traits and relevance for conservation science. Finally, we provide recommendations for future tool refinement, with suggestions for: (i) improving our understanding of the applicability of glucocorticoid physiology; (ii) linking multiple physiological and non-physiological tools; (iii) establishing a framework for plant conservation physiology; (iv) assessing links between environmental disturbance, physiology and fitness; (v) appreciating opportunities for validations in under-represented taxa; and (vi) emphasizing tool validation as a core component of research programmes. Overall, we are confident that conservation physiology will continue to increase its applicability to more taxa, develop more non-invasive techniques, delineate where limitations exist, and identify the contexts necessary for interpretation in captivity and the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine L Madliger
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Ave., Ontario, Canada
| | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Ave., Ontario, Canada
| | - Kevin R Hultine
- Department of Research, Conservation and Collections, Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 N. Galvin Parkway, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - Steven J Cooke
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Carravieri A, Fort J, Tarroux A, Cherel Y, Love OP, Prieur S, Brault-Favrou M, Bustamante P, Descamps S. Mercury exposure and short-term consequences on physiology and reproduction in Antarctic petrels. Environ Pollut 2018; 237:824-831. [PMID: 29146204 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2017] [Revised: 10/31/2017] [Accepted: 11/01/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Mercury (Hg) is a pervasive contaminant reaching Antarctic environments through atmospheric transport and deposition. Seabirds as meso to top predators can accumulate high quantities of Hg through diet. Reproduction is one of the most sensitive endpoints of Hg toxicity in marine birds. Yet, few studies have explored Hg exposure and effects in Antarctic seabirds, where increasing environmental perturbations challenge animal populations. This study focuses on the Antarctic petrel Thalassoica antarctica from Svarthamaren, Antarctica, where the world's largest breeding population is thought to be in decline. Hg and the stable isotopes of carbon (δ13C, proxy of feeding habitat) and nitrogen (δ15N, trophic position/diet) were measured in red blood cells from 266 individuals over two breeding years (2012-13, 2013-14). Our aims were to 1) quantify the influence of individual traits (size and sex) and feeding ecology (foraging location, δ13C and δ15N values) on Hg exposure, and 2) test the relationship between Hg concentrations with body condition and breeding output (hatching success and chick survival). Hg concentrations in Antarctic petrels (mean ± SD, 0.84 ± 0.25, min-max, 0.42-2.71 μg g-1 dw) were relatively low when compared to other Antarctic seabirds. Hg concentrations increased significantly with δ15N values, indicating that individuals with a higher trophic level (i.e. feeding more on fish) had higher Hg exposure. By contrast, Hg exposure was not driven by feeding habitat (inferred from both foraging location and δ13C values), suggesting that Hg transfer to predators in Antarctic waters is relatively homogeneous over a large geographical scale. Hg concentrations were not related to body condition, hatching date and short-term breeding output. At present, Hg exposure is likely not of concern for this population. Nevertheless, further studies on other fitness parameters and long-term breeding output are warranted because Hg can have long-term population-level effects without consequences on current breeding success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Carravieri
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), UMR 7372 du CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, France.
| | - Jérôme Fort
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 du CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, 2 rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000 La Rochelle, France
| | - Arnaud Tarroux
- Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, 9296 Tromsø, Norway
| | - Yves Cherel
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), UMR 7372 du CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4, Canada
| | - Solène Prieur
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 du CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, 2 rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000 La Rochelle, France
| | - Maud Brault-Favrou
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 du CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, 2 rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000 La Rochelle, France
| | - Paco Bustamante
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 du CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, 2 rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000 La Rochelle, France
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Hennin HL, Dey CJ, Bêty J, Gilchrist HG, Legagneux P, Williams TD, Love OP. Higher rates of prebreeding condition gain positively impacts clutch size: A mechanistic test of the condition‐dependent individual optimization model. Funct Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Holly L. Hennin
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of Windsor Windsor Ontario Canada
| | - Cody J. Dey
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental ResearchUniversity of Windsor Windsor Ontario Canada
| | - Joël Bêty
- Département de Biologie and Centre d'études nordiquesUniversité du Québec à Rimouski Rimouski Québec Canada
| | - H. Grant Gilchrist
- National Wildlife Research CentreEnvironment and Climate Change Canada Ottawa Ontario Canada
| | - Pierre Legagneux
- Département de Biologie and Centre d'études nordiquesUniversité du Québec à Rimouski Rimouski Québec Canada
| | - Tony D. Williams
- Department of Biological SciencesSimon Fraser University Burnaby British Columbia Canada
| | - Oliver P. Love
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of Windsor Windsor Ontario Canada
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Sheriff MJ, Bell A, Boonstra R, Dantzer B, Lavergne SG, McGhee KE, MacLeod KJ, Winandy L, Zimmer C, Love OP. Integrating Ecological and Evolutionary Context in the Study of Maternal Stress. Integr Comp Biol 2018; 57:437-449. [PMID: 28957523 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icx105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Maternal stress can prenatally influence offspring phenotypes and there are an increasing number of ecological studies that are bringing to bear biomedical findings to natural systems. This is resulting in a shift from the perspective that maternal stress is unanimously costly, to one in which maternal stress may be beneficial to offspring. However, this adaptive perspective is in its infancy with much progress to still be made in understanding the role of maternal stress in natural systems. Our aim is to emphasize the importance of the ecological and evolutionary context within which adaptive hypotheses of maternal stress can be evaluated. We present five primary research areas where we think future research can make substantial progress: (1) understanding maternal and offspring control mechanisms that modulate exposure between maternal stress and subsequent offspring phenotype response; (2) understanding the dynamic nature of the interaction between mothers and their environment; (3) integrating offspring phenotypic responses and measuring both maternal and offspring fitness outcomes under real-life (either free-living or semi-natural) conditions; (4) empirically testing these fitness outcomes across relevant spatial and temporal environmental contexts (both pre- and post-natal environments); (5) examining the role of maternal stress effects in human-altered environments-i.e., do they limit or enhance fitness. To make progress, it is critical to understand the role of maternal stress in an ecological context and to do that, we must integrate across physiology, behavior, genetics, and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Sheriff
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Huck Institute of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Alison Bell
- School of Integrative Biology, Program in Neuroscience, and Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, IL 61821, USA
| | - Rudy Boonstra
- Centre for the Neurobiology of Stress, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Ben Dantzer
- Department of Psychology, and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Sophia G Lavergne
- Centre for the Neurobiology of Stress, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Katie E McGhee
- Department of Biology, the University of the South, Sewanee, TN 37383, USA
| | - Kirsty J MacLeod
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Huck Institute of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.,Department of Biology, Mueller Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Laurane Winandy
- CNRS, Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier, ENFA, UMR5174 (Laboratoire Évolution and Diversité Biologique), 31077 Toulouse, France.,CNRS, UMR5321, Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, 09200 Moulis, France
| | - Cedric Zimmer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada
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Jean-Gagnon F, Legagneux P, Gilchrist G, Bélanger S, Love OP, Bêty J. The impact of sea ice conditions on breeding decisions is modulated by body condition in an arctic partial capital breeder. Oecologia 2017; 186:1-10. [PMID: 29143150 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-017-4002-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2017] [Accepted: 11/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Determining how environmental conditions interact with individual intrinsic properties is important for unravelling the underlying mechanisms that drive variation in reproductive decisions among migratory species. We investigated the influence of sea ice conditions and body condition at arrival on the breeding propensity, i.e. the decision to reproduce or not within a single breeding season, and timing of laying in migrating common eiders (Somateria mollissima) breeding in the Arctic. Using Radarsat satellite images acquired from 2002 to 2013, we estimated the proportion of open water in the intertidal zone in early summer to track the availability of potential foraging areas for pre-breeding females. Timing of ice-breakup varied by up to 20 days across years and showed strong relationship with both breeding propensity and the timing of laying of eiders: fewer pre-breeding individuals were resighted nesting in the colony and laying was also delayed in years with late ice-breakup. Interestingly, the effect of sea ice dynamics on reproduction was modulated by the state of individuals at arrival on the breeding grounds: females arriving in low condition were more affected by a late ice-breakup. Open water accessibility in early summer, a likely proxy of food availability, is thus crucial for reproductive decisions in a (partial) capital breeder. Our predictive capacity in determining how Arctic-breeding seabirds respond to changes in environmental conditions will require incorporating such cross-seasonal cumulative effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frankie Jean-Gagnon
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0H3, Canada. .,Environment and Climate Change Canada, National Wildlife Research Centre, 1125 Colonel By Drive, RavenRoad, Ottawa, ON, K1A OH3, Canada.
| | - P Legagneux
- Département de BIOLOGIE, Géographie et Chimie et Centre D'études Nordique, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 Allée Des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada
| | - G Gilchrist
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, National Wildlife Research Centre, 1125 Colonel By Drive, RavenRoad, Ottawa, ON, K1A OH3, Canada
| | - S Bélanger
- Département de BIOLOGIE, Géographie et Chimie et Centre D'études Nordique, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 Allée Des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada
| | - O P Love
- Department of Biological Sciences and Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER), University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada
| | - J Bêty
- Département de BIOLOGIE, Géographie et Chimie et Centre D'études Nordique, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 Allée Des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada
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Steenweg RJ, Crossin GT, Kyser TK, Merkel FR, Gilchrist HG, Hennin HL, Robertson GJ, Provencher JF, Mills Flemming J, Love OP. Stable isotopes can be used to infer the overwintering locations of prebreeding marine birds in the Canadian Arctic. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:8742-8752. [PMID: 29177032 PMCID: PMC5689493 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2017] [Revised: 07/28/2017] [Accepted: 08/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Although assessments of winter carryover effects on fitness‐related breeding parameters are vital for determining the links between environmental variation and fitness, direct methods of determining overwintering distributions (e.g., electronic tracking) can be expensive, limiting the number of individuals studied. Alternatively, stable isotope analysis in specific tissues can be used as an indirect means of determining individual overwintering areas of residency. Although increasingly used to infer the overwintering distributions of terrestrial birds, stable isotopes have been used less often to infer overwintering areas of marine birds. Using Arctic‐breeding common eiders, we test the effectiveness of an integrated stable isotope approach (13‐carbon, 15‐nitrogen, and 2‐hydrogen) to infer overwintering locations. Knowing the overwinter destinations of eiders from tracking studies at our study colony at East Bay Island, Nunavut, we sampled claw and blood tissues at two known overwintering locations, Nuuk, Greenland, and Newfoundland, Canada. These two locations yielded distinct tissue‐specific isotopic profiles. We then compared the isotope profiles of tissues collected from eiders upon their arrival at our breeding colony, and used a k‐means cluster analysis approach to match arriving eiders to an overwintering group. Samples from the claws of eiders were most effective for determining overwinter origin, due to this tissue's slow growth rate relative to the 40‐day turnover rate of blood. Despite taking an integrative approach using multiple isotopes, k‐means cluster analysis was most effective when using 13‐carbon alone to assign eiders to an overwintering group. Our research demonstrates that it is possible to use stable isotope analysis to assign an overwintering location to a marine bird. There are few examples of the effective use of this technique on a marine bird at this scale; we provide a framework for applying this technique to detect changes in the migration phenology of birds' responses to rapid changes in the Arctic.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Glenn T Crossin
- Department of Biology Dalhousie University Halifax NS Canada
| | - T Kurt Kyser
- Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering Queen's University Kingston ON Canada
| | - Flemming R Merkel
- Greenland Institute of Natural Resources Nuuk Greenland.,Department of Bioscience Aarhus University Roskilde Denmark
| | - H Grant Gilchrist
- Environment and Climate Change Canada National Wildlife Research Centre Carleton University Ottawa ON Canada
| | - Holly L Hennin
- Department of Biological Sciences Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research University of Windsor Windsor ON Canada
| | - Gregory J Robertson
- Environment and Climate Change Canada Wildlife Research Division Mount Pearl NL Canada
| | | | | | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Biological Sciences Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research University of Windsor Windsor ON Canada
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Cornelius EA, Vézina F, Regimbald L, Hallot F, Petit M, Love OP, Karasov WH. Chickadees Faced with Unpredictable Food Increase Fat Reserves but Certain Components of Their Immune Function Decline. Physiol Biochem Zool 2017; 90:299. [PMID: 28277964 DOI: 10.1086/691175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Cornelius EA, Vézina F, Regimbald L, Hallot F, Petit M, Love OP, Karasov WH. Chickadees Faced with Unpredictable Food Increase Fat Reserves but Certain Components of Their Immune Function Decline. Physiol Biochem Zool 2017; 90:190-200. [DOI: 10.1086/689913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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Harris CM, Madliger CL, Love OP. An evaluation of feather corticosterone as a biomarker of fitness and an ecologically relevant stressor during breeding in the wild. Oecologia 2017; 183:987-996. [PMID: 28214946 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-017-3836-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2016] [Accepted: 02/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Feather corticosterone (CORT) levels are increasingly employed as biomarkers of environmental stress. However, it is unclear if feather CORT levels reflect stress and/or workload in the wild. We investigated whether feather CORT represents a biomarker of environmental stress and reproductive effort in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). Specifically, we examined whether individual state and investment during reproduction could predict feather CORT levels in subsequently moulted feathers and whether those levels could predict future survival and reproductive success. Through a manipulation of flight cost during breeding, we also investigated whether an increase in stress level would be reflected in subsequently grown feathers, and whether those levels could predict future success. We found that CORT levels of feathers grown during moult did not (1) reflect past breeding experience (n = 29), (2) predict reproductive output (n = 18), or (3) respond to a manipulation of flight effort during reproduction (10 experimental, 14 control females). While higher feather CORT levels predicted higher return rate (a proxy for survival), they did so only in the manipulated group (n = 36), and this relationship was opposite to expected. Overall, our results add to the mixed literature reporting that feather CORT levels can be positively, negatively, or not related to proxies of within-season and longer-term fitness (i.e., carryover effects). In addition, our results indicate that CORT levels or disturbances experienced during one time (e.g., breeding) may not carry over to subsequent stages (e.g., moult). We, therefore, petition for directed research investigating whether feather CORT represents exposure to chronic stress in feathers grown during moult.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher M Harris
- Department of Biological Sciences and the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER), University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada.
| | - Christine L Madliger
- Department of Biological Sciences and the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER), University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada
| | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Biological Sciences and the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER), University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada
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Capelle PM, Semeniuk CAD, Sopinka NM, Heath JW, Love OP. Prenatal Stress Exposure Generates Higher Early Survival and Smaller Size without Impacting Developmental Rate in a Pacific Salmon. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 325:641-650. [PMID: 28101914 DOI: 10.1002/jez.2058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2016] [Revised: 12/21/2016] [Accepted: 12/31/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Prenatal exposure to elevated glucocorticoids can act as a signal of environmental stress, resulting in modifications to offspring phenotype. While "negative" phenotypic effects (i.e., smaller size, slower growth) are often reported, recent research coupling phenotype with other fitness-related traits has suggested positive impacts of prenatal stress. Using captive Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), we treated eggs with biologically relevant cortisol levels-low (300 ng mL-1 ), high (1,000 ng mL-1 ), or control (0 ng mL-1 )-to examine the early-life impacts of maternally transferred stress hormones on offspring. Specifically, we measured early survival, rate of development, and multiple measures of morphology. Low and high cortisol dosing of eggs resulted in significantly higher survival compared to controls (37% and 24% higher, respectively). Fish reared from high dose eggs were structurally smaller compared to control fish, but despite this variation in structural size, exposure to elevated cortisol did not impact developmental rate. These results demonstrate that elevations in egg cortisol can positively influence offspring fitness through an increase in early survival while also altering phenotype at a critical life-history stage. Overall, these results suggest that exposure to prenatal stress may not always produce apparently negative impacts on offspring fitness and further proposes that complex phenotypic responses should be examined in relevant environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pauline M Capelle
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada
| | - Christina A D Semeniuk
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada
| | - Natalie M Sopinka
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada
| | - John W Heath
- Yellow Island Aquaculture Ltd, Heriot Bay, BC, V0P 1H0, Canada
| | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada.,Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada
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Madliger CL, Franklin CE, Hultine KR, van Kleunen M, Lennox RJ, Love OP, Rummer JL, Cooke SJ. Conservation physiology and the quest for a 'good' Anthropocene. Conserv Physiol 2017; 5:cox003. [PMID: 28852507 PMCID: PMC5570019 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/cox003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2016] [Revised: 12/31/2016] [Accepted: 01/06/2017] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
It has been proposed that we are now living in a new geological epoch known as the Anthropocene, which is specifically defined by the impacts that humans are having on the Earth's biological diversity and geology. Although the proposal of this term was borne out of an acknowledgement of the negative changes we are imparting on the globe (e.g. climate change, pollution, coastal erosion, species extinctions), there has recently been action amongst a variety of disciplines aimed at achieving a 'good Anthropocene' that strives to balance societal needs and the preservation of the natural world. Here, we outline ways that the discipline of conservation physiology can help to delineate a hopeful, progressive and productive path for conservation in the Anthropocene and, specifically, achieve that vision. We focus on four primary ways that conservation physiology can contribute, as follows: (i) building a proactive approach to conservation; (ii) encouraging a pragmatic perspective; (iii) establishing an appreciation for environmental resilience; and (iv) informing and engaging the public and political arenas. As a collection of passionate individuals combining theory, technological advances, public engagement and a dedication to achieving conservation success, conservation physiologists are poised to make meaningful contributions to the productive, motivational and positive way forward that is necessary to curb and reverse negative human impact on the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine L. Madliger
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, CanadaK1S 5B6
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, ON, CanadaN9B 3P4
- Corresponding author: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON, Canada N9B 3P4. Tel: +1 519 253 3000 ×2701.
| | - Craig E. Franklin
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD4072, Australia
| | - Kevin R. Hultine
- Department of Research, Conservation and Collections, Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 North Galvin Parkway, Phoenix, AZ85008, USA
| | - Mark van Kleunen
- Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, D 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Robert J. Lennox
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, CanadaK1S 5B6
| | - Oliver P. Love
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, ON, CanadaN9B 3P4
| | - Jodie L. Rummer
- ARC Centre for Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD4811, Australia
| | - Steven J. Cooke
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, CanadaK1S 5B6
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Madliger CL, Love OP. The Power of Physiology in Changing Landscapes: Considerations for the Continued Integration of Conservation and Physiology. Integr Comp Biol 2016; 55:545-53. [PMID: 25805172 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icv001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The growing field of conservation physiology applies a diversity of physiological traits (e.g., immunological, metabolic, endocrine, and nutritional traits) to understand and predict organismal, population, and ecosystem responses to environmental change and stressors. Although the discipline of conservation physiology is gaining momentum, there is still a pressing need to better translate knowledge from physiology into real-world tools. The goal of this symposium, ‘‘Physiology in Changing Landscapes: An Integrative Perspective for Conservation Biology’’, was to highlight that many current investigations in ecological, evolutionary, and comparative physiology are necessary for understanding the applicability of physiological measures for conservation goals, particularly in the context of monitoring and predicting the health, condition, persistence, and distribution of populations in the face of environmental change. Here, we outline five major investigations common to environmental and ecological physiology that can contribute directly to the progression of the field of conservation physiology: (1) combining multiple measures of physiology and behavior; (2) employing studies of dose–responses and gradients; (3) combining a within-individual and population-level approach; (4) taking into account the context-dependency of physiological traits; and (5) linking physiological variables with fitness metrics. Overall, integrative physiologists have detailed knowledge of the physiological systems that they study; however, communicating theoretical and empirical knowledge to conservation biologists and practitioners in an approachable and applicable way is paramount to the practical development of physiological tools that will have a tangible impact for conservation.
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Sopinka NM, Capelle PM, Semeniuk CAD, Love OP. Glucocorticoids in Fish Eggs: Variation, Interactions with the Environment, and the Potential to Shape Offspring Fitness. Physiol Biochem Zool 2016; 90:15-33. [PMID: 28051944 DOI: 10.1086/689994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Wild and captive vertebrates face multiple stressors that all have the potential to induce chronic maternal stress (i.e., sustained, elevated plasma glucocorticoids), resulting in embryo exposure to elevated maternally derived glucocorticoids. In oviparous taxa such as fish, maternally derived glucocorticoids in eggs are known for their capacity to shape offspring phenotype. Using a variety of methodologies, scientists have quantified maternally derived levels of egg cortisol, the primary glucocorticoid in fishes, and examined the cascading effects of egg cortisol on progeny phenotype. Here we summarize and interpret the current state of knowledge on egg cortisol in fishes and the relationships linking maternal stress/state to egg cortisol and offspring phenotype/fitness. Considerable variation in levels of egg cortisol exists across species and among females within a species; this variation is hypothesized to be due to interspecific differences in reproductive life history and intraspecific differences in female condition. Outcomes of experimental studies manipulating egg cortisol vary both inter- and intraspecifically. Moreover, while exogenous elevation of egg cortisol (as a proxy for maternal stress) induces phenotypic changes commonly considered to be maladaptive (e.g., smaller offspring size), emerging work in other taxa suggests that there can be positive effects on fitness when the offspring's environment is taken into account. Investigations into (i) mechanisms by which egg cortisol elicits phenotypic change in offspring (e.g., epigenetics), (ii) maternal and offspring buffering capacity of cortisol, and (iii) factors driving natural variation in egg cortisol and how this variation affects offspring phenotype and fitness are all germane to discussions on egg glucocorticoids as signals of maternal stress.
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50
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Madliger CL, Love OP. Conservation implications of a lack of relationship between baseline glucocorticoids and fitness in a wild passerine. Ecol Appl 2016; 26:2730-2743. [PMID: 27763712 DOI: 10.1002/eap.1401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2016] [Revised: 06/09/2016] [Accepted: 07/13/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The application of physiological measures to conservation monitoring has been gaining momentum and, while a suite of physiological traits are available to ascertain disturbance and condition in wildlife populations, glucocorticoids (i.e., GCs; cortisol and corticosterone) are the most heavily employed. The interpretation of GC levels as sensitive indicators of population change necessitates that GCs and metrics of population persistence are linked. However, the relationship between GCs and fitness may be highly context-dependent, changing direction, or significance, depending on the GC measure, fitness metric, life history stage, or other intrinsic and extrinsic contexts considered. We examined the relationship between baseline plasma corticosterone (CORT) levels measured at two periods of the breeding season and three metrics of fitness (offspring quality, reproductive output, and adult survival) in female Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). Specifically, we investigated whether (1) a relationship between baseline CORT metrics and fitness exists in our population, (2) whether the inclusion of energetic contexts, such as food availability, reproductive investment, or body mass, could alter or improve the strength of the relationship between CORT and fitness, and (3) whether energetic contexts could better predict fitness compared to CORT metrics. Importantly, we investigated these relationships in both natural conditions and under an experimental manipulation of foraging profitability (feather clipping) to determine the influence of an environmental constraint on GC-fitness relationships. We found a lack of relationship between baseline CORT and both short- and long-term metrics of fitness in control and clipped birds. In contrast, loss in body mass over reproduction positively predicted reproductive output (number of chicks leaving the nest) in control birds; however, the relationship was characterized by a low R2 (5%), limiting the predictive capacity, and therefore the application potential, of such a measure in a conservation setting. Our results stress the importance of ground-truthing GC-fitness relationships and indicate that baseline GCs will likely not be easily employed as conservation biomarkers across some species and life history stages. Given the accumulating evidence of temporally dynamic, inconsistent, and context-dependent GC-fitness relationships, placing effort towards directly measuring fitness traits, rather than plasma GC levels, will likely be more worthwhile for many conservation endeavours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine L Madliger
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4, Canada
| | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4, Canada
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4, Canada
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