ORCID Profile
0000-0002-6648-5819
Current Organisation
Deakin University Waurn Ponds Campus
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Research Topics
In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Evolutionary Impacts of Climate Change | Animal Behaviour | Animal Neurobiology | Ecology | Zoology | Behavioural Ecology | Evolution of Developmental Systems | Host-Parasite Interactions | Animal Physiological Ecology | Wildlife and Habitat Management | Environmental Science and Management | Conservation and Biodiversity | Evolutionary Biology not elsewhere classified | Biological Adaptation
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences | Ecosystem Adaptation to Climate Change | Expanding Knowledge in the Environmental Sciences | Sparseland, Permanent Grassland and Arid Zone Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity | Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity of environments not elsewhere classified | Effects of Climate Change and Variability on Australia (excl. Social Impacts) | Control of Pests, Diseases and Exotic Species not elsewhere classified | Disease Distribution and Transmission (incl. Surveillance and Response) |
Related Links
Publications
Developmental stressors that impair song learning in males do not appear to affect female preferences for song complexity in the zebra finch
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2011
Stress and the evolution of condition-dependent signals
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2000
DOI: 10.1016/S0169-5347(99)01812-1
Abstract: Stressful events are known to initiate a cascade of physiological mechanisms that are potentially costly for metabolic processes. Although these mechanisms are well understood, the long-term costs and the potential implications for in idual condition and behaviour have been considered only recently. Combining information from physiological, ecological and behavioural studies can help us to understand the implications of stress for in idual life history strategies. Furthermore, the concept of in idual variation in stress tolerance has implications for the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis and the evolution of secondary sexual signals.
Noninvasive endocrine data for behavioural studies: the importance of validation
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2004
Pollutants Increase Song Complexity and the Volume of the Brain Area HVC in a Songbird
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 27-02-2008
Prenatal exposure to incubation calls affects song learning in the zebra finch
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-10-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-018-33301-5
Abstract: Songbirds are important models for understanding the mechanisms and fitness consequences of imitative vocal learning. Although the effects of early-life environmental and social conditions on song learning are well-established, the impact of early sound exposure has received surprisingly little attention. Yet recent evidence hints at auditory sensitivity in songbird embryos, including in the zebra finch ( Taeniopygia guttata ), a classic model species for song learning. Here, we tested whether prenatal exposure to incubation calls—highly rhythmic parental vocalisations produced on the nest—affected song learning in zebra finches. Embryos were exposed in the egg to either incubation (treatment) or contact (control) calls, and after hatching were reared in a large colony. The playback treatment did not affect song complexity nor the accuracy of song copying from the social father, but instead increased learning of non-paternal song syllables. This, in turn, improved males’ mounting success in mating trials. These effects may be attributable to changes in juvenile social behaviours, as playback also influenced male behaviour during mating trials. Our study provides the first experimental evidence that prenatal acoustic environment affects song learning and courtship behaviour in songbirds, thereby raising interesting questions on the role of innate versus acquired biases for vocal learning.
Pair fidelity in long-lived parrots: genetic and behavioural evidence from the Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans)
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-04-2018
Mate choice in zebra finches: does corticosterone play a role?
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2007
Song parameters of the fuscous honeyeater Lichenostomus fuscus correlate with habitat characteristics in fragmented landscapes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2018
DOI: 10.1111/JAV.01493
Is there variation in the response to contact call playbacks across the hybrid zone of the parrot Platycercus elegans?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-03-2013
Endocrine disrupting chemicals accumulate in earthworms exposed to sewage effluent
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2007
DOI: 10.1016/J.CHEMOSPHERE.2007.06.045
Abstract: Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can alter endocrine function in exposed animals. Such critical effects, combined with the ubiquity of EDCs in sewage effluent and potentially in tapwater, have led to concerns that they could be major physiological disruptors for wildlife and more controversially for humans. Although sewage effluent is known to be a rich source of EDCs, there is as yet no evidence for EDC uptake by invertebrates that live within the sewage treatment system. Here, we describe the use of an extraction method and GC-MS for the first time to determine levels of EDCs (e.g., dibutylphthalate, dioctylphthalate, bisphenol-A and 17beta-estradiol) in tissue s les from earthworms (Eisenia fetida) living in sewage percolating filter beds and garden soil. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first such use of these techniques to determine EDCs in tissue s les in any organism. We found significantly higher concentrations of these chemicals in the animals from sewage percolating filter beds. Our data suggest that earthworms can be used as bioindicators for EDCs in these substrates and that the animals accumulate these compounds to levels well above those reported for waste water. The potential transfer into the terrestrial food chain and effects on wildlife are discussed.
Correlation between platelet reactivity level before implantation and clinical outcomes in patients treated with long term mechanical circulatory support
Publisher: Medical Publishing, d.o.o.
Date: 11-2016
Tests of ecogeographical relationships in a non-native species: what rules avian morphology?
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-03-2016
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-016-3590-9
Abstract: The capacity of non-native species to undergo rapid adaptive change provides opportunities to research contemporary evolution through natural experiments. This capacity is particularly true when considering ecogeographical rules, to which non-native species have been shown to conform within relatively short periods of time. Ecogeographical rules explain predictable spatial patterns of morphology, physiology, life history and behaviour. We tested whether Australian populations of non-native starling, Sturnus vulgaris, introduced to the country approximately 150 years ago, exhibited predicted environmental clines in body size, appendage size and heart size (Bergmann's, Allen's and Hesse's rules, respectively). Adult starlings (n = 411) were collected from 28 localities from across eastern Australia from 2011 to 2012. Linear models were constructed to examine the relationships between morphology and local environment. Patterns of variation in body mass and bill surface area were consistent with Bergmann's and Allen's rules, respectively (small body size and larger bill size in warmer climates), with maximum summer temperature being a strongly weighted predictor of both variables. In the only intraspecific test of Hesse's rule in birds to date, we found no evidence to support the idea that relative heart size will be larger in in iduals which live in colder climates. Our study does provide evidence that maximum temperature is a strong driver of morphological adaptation for starlings in Australia. The changes in morphology presented here demonstrate the potential for avian species to make rapid adaptive changes in relation to a changing climate to ameliorate the effects of heat stress.
Condition dependence, developmental plasticity, and cognition: implications for ecology and evolution
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2013
Parasites affect song complexity and neural development in a songbird
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 17-08-2005
Abstract: There is now considerable evidence that female choice drives the evolution of song complexity in many songbird species. However, the underlying basis for such choice remains controversial. The developmental stress hypothesis suggests that early developmental conditions can mediate adult song complexity by perturbing investment in the underlying brain nuclei during their initial growth. Here, we show that adult male canaries ( Serinus canaria ), infected with malaria ( Plasmodium relictum ) as juveniles, develop simpler songs as adults compared to uninfected in iduals, and exhibit reduced development of the high vocal centre (HVC) song nucleus in the brain. Our results show how developmental stress not only affects the expression of a sexually selected male trait, but also the structure of the underlying song control pathway in the brain, providing a direct link between brain and behaviour. This novel experimental evidence tests both proximate and ultimate reasons for the evolution of complex songs and supports the Hamilton–Zuk hypothesis of parasite-mediated sexual selection. Together, these results propose how developmental costs may help to explain the evolution of honest advertising in the complex songs of birds.
Author Correction: Senescence of song revealed by a long-term study of the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis)
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-04-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-021-88215-6
Abstract: An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Song, sexual selection, and a song control nucleus (HVc) in the brains of European sedge warblers.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2000
Ratites, seeds and biodiversity
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 06-2013
DOI: 10.1071/MUV113N2_ED
Color Signals in the Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix): Signal Properties and Their Condition Dependency
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Date: 2007
DOI: 10.1086/510140
Abstract: Recent progress in techniques of quantifying between-in idual differences of color-based ornaments has revealed undiscovered possibilities for research in sexual selection. We present how the color spectra data can be comprehensively used for studying the importance of sexual ornaments in the black grouse and how these ornaments are related to a male condition. For this, we used both correlative field and experimental data. Field data indicated that older males had more chromatic coloration than yearlings. Blue chroma of males was correlated with male mating success. We experimentally manipulated yearling birds with testosterone implants and found that testosterone-implanted males had impaired expression of several sexual ornaments: 10 months after the implantation, both structural-based blue and carotenoid-based red eye comb coloration were diminished, as well as lyre (tail) length. However, the manipulation did not affect vital traits under natural selection (wing length or body mass). Our data indicate that structural color is an important trait in sexual selection in this lekking species. Importantly, the data also indicate that male sexual ornaments are more susceptible to environmental conditions than the other male traits, thus showing their heightened condition dependency compared with the other traits mediating the honesty of signaling.
Does testosterone determine dominance in the house sparrow Passer domesticus? An experimental test
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-07-2010
Prenatal acoustic communication programs offspring for high posthatching temperatures in a songbird
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 19-08-2016
Abstract: In many species, embryos can perceive and learn external sounds. Yet, the possibility that parents may use these embryonic capacities to alter their offspring’s developmental trajectories has not been considered. Here, we demonstrate that zebra finch parents acoustically signal high ambient temperatures (above 26°C) to their embryos. We show that exposure of embryos to these acoustic cues alone adaptively alters subsequent nestling begging and growth in response to nest temperature and influences in iduals’ reproductive success and thermal preferences as adults. These findings have implications for our understanding of maternal effects, phenotypic plasticity, developmental programming, and the adaptation of endothermic species to a warming world.
Female androgen levels--what are the selective pressures in birds? A comment on Goymann and Wingfield
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 29-04-2014
Developmental stress can uncouple relationships between physiology and behaviour
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 12-2014
Abstract: Phenotypic correlations ( r P ) have frequently been observed between physiological and behavioural traits, and the nature of these associations has been shown to be modulated by a range of environmental stressors. Studies to date have examined the effects of acute stressors on physiology–behaviour interrelations, but the potential for permanent changes induced by exposure to stress during development remains unexplored. We exposed female zebra finches to dietary restriction during the nestling stage and tested how this affected r P among a variety of physiological traits (haematocrit, stress-induced corticosterone level and basal metabolic rate (BMR)) and behavioural traits (activity and feeding rates in novel and familiar environments). Developmental stress completely uncoupled the relationship between activity in a novel environment and two physiological traits: haematocrit and BMR. This suggests that nutritionally based developmental stress has provoked changes in the energy budget that alleviate the trade-off between maintenance (BMR) and locomotor activities.
Inter‐laboratory variation in corticosterone measurement: Implications for comparative ecological and evolutionary studies
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-06-2017
Influence of early-life nutritional stress on songbird memory formation
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 26-09-2018
Abstract: In birds, vocal learning enables the production of sexually selected complex songs, dialects and song copy matching. But stressful conditions during development have been shown to affect song production and complexity, mediated by changes in neural development. However, to date, no studies have tested whether early-life stress affects the neural processes underlying vocal learning, in contrast to song production. Here, we hypothesized that developmental stress alters auditory memory formation and neural processing of song stimuli. We experimentally stressed male nestling zebra finches and, in two separate experiments, tested their neural responses to song playbacks as adults, using either immediate early gene (IEG) expression or electrophysiological response. Once adult, nutritionally stressed males exhibited a reduced response to tutor song playback, as demonstrated by reduced expressions of two IEGs ( Arc and ZENK ) and reduced neuronal response, in both the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM) and mesopallium (CMM). Furthermore, nutritionally stressed males also showed impaired neuronal memory for novel songs heard in adulthood. These findings demonstrate, for the first time, that developmental conditions affect auditory memories that subserve vocal learning. Although the fitness consequences of such memory impairments remain to be determined, this study highlights the lasting impact early-life experiences can have on cognitive abilities.
Vocal panting: a novel thermoregulatory mechanism for enhancing heat tolerance in a desert-adapted bird
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-11-2020
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-020-75909-6
Abstract: Animals thriving in hot deserts rely on extraordinary adaptations and thermoregulatory capacities to cope with heat. Uncovering such adaptations, and how they may be favoured by selection, is essential for predicting climate change impacts. Recently, the arid-adapted zebra finch was discovered to program their offspring’s development for heat, by producing ‘heat-calls’ during incubation in hot conditions. Intriguingly, heat-calls always occur during panting and, strikingly, avian evaporative cooling mechanisms typically involve vibrating an element of the respiratory tract, which could conceivably produce sound. Therefore, we tested whether heat-call emission results from a particular thermoregulatory mechanism increasing the parent’s heat tolerance. We repeatedly measured resting metabolic rate, evaporative water loss (EWL) and heat tolerance in adult wild-derived captive zebra finches (n = 44) at increasing air temperatures up to 44 °C. We found high within-in idual repeatability in thermoregulatory patterns, with heat-calling triggered at an in idual-specific stage of panting. As expected for thermoregulatory mechanisms, both silent panting and heat-calling significantly increased EWL. However, only heat-calling resulted in greater heat tolerance, demonstrating that “vocal panting” brings a thermoregulatory benefit to the emitter. Our findings therefore not only improve our understanding of the evolution of passerine thermal adaptations, but also highlight a novel evolutionary precursor for acoustic signals.
Nestling testosterone controls begging behaviour in the pied flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2007
DOI: 10.1016/J.YHBEH.2007.06.008
Abstract: Begging signals and endogenous testosterone (T) levels of young birds have been shown to be positively correlated. If T is causally involved in controlling the level of begging effort, an endocrine control mechanism could explain the evolution of begging as a costly signal reflecting need. We tested experimentally whether elevated circulating T levels enhanced begging behaviour in nestling pied flycatchers, Ficedula hypoleuca. A pilot study confirmed that nestling T levels could be elevated within a natural physiological range using an oral dose of T. After T-dosing, nestling begging behaviour was measured as: i) the duration of begging displays and ii) the maximum height of begging stretches. Our results show that nestling T levels were elevated at 90 min post dosing and that at this time point both measures of begging behaviour were performed more intensely by T-dosed nestlings than controls. Nestling begging displays in response to dosing varied between in iduals, which in part was explained either by the date in the breeding season or nestling mass. The results of this study confirm the causal nature of T in controlling nestling begging signals and suggest that it may be part of the mechanism that controls begging behaviour in nestling birds.
An experimental examination of interindividual variation in feather corticosterone content in the house sparrow, Passer domesticus in southeast Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.YGCEN.2015.12.010
Abstract: Non-invasive techniques for measuring glucocorticoids (GCs) have become more prevalent, due to the advantage of eliminating the effects of animal disturbance on GC levels and their potential to provide an integrated, historic estimate of circulating GC levels. In the case of birds, corticosterone (CORT) is deposited in feathers, and may reflect a bird's GC status over the period of feather synthesis. This technique thus permits a retrospective view of the average circulating GC levels during the moult period. While it is generally assumed that differences in feather CORT content (CORT
Prenatal environmental effects match offspring begging to parental provisioning
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 06-05-2009
Abstract: The solicitation behaviours performed by dependent young are under selection from the environment created by their parents, as well as wider ecological conditions. Here we show how mechanisms acting before hatching enable canary offspring to adapt their begging behaviour to a variable post-hatching world. Cross-fostering experiments revealed that canary nestling begging intensity is positively correlated with the provisioning level of their own parents (to foster chicks). When we experimentally increased food quality before and during egg laying, mothers showed higher faecal androgen levels and so did their nestlings, even when they were cross-fostered before hatching to be reared by foster mothers that had been exposed to a standard regime of food quality. Higher parental androgen levels were correlated with greater levels of post-hatching parental provisioning and (we have previously shown) increased faecal androgens in chicks were associated with greater begging intensity. We conclude that androgens mediate environmentally induced plasticity in the expression of both parental and offspring traits, which remain correlated as a result of prenatal effects, probably acting within the egg. Offspring can thus adapt their begging intensity to variable family and ecological environments.
Mitochondria as the powerhouses of sexual selection: Testing mechanistic links between development, cellular respiration, and bird song
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.YHBEH.2022.105184
Abstract: The developmental environment can affect the expression of sexually selected traits in adulthood. The physiological mechanisms that modulate such effects remain a matter of intense debate. Here, we test the role of the developmental environment in shaping adult mitochondrial function and link mitochondrial function to expression of a sexually selected trait in males (bird song). We exposed male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) to corticosterone (CORT) treatment during development. After males reached adulthood, we quantified mitochondrial function from whole red blood cells and measured baseline CORT and testosterone levels, body condition/composition, and song structure. CORT-treated males had mitochondria that were less efficient (FCR
Metrics of progress in the understanding and management of threats to Australian birds.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-11-2019
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.13220
Abstract: Although evidence-based approaches have become commonplace for determining the success of conservation measures for the management of threatened taxa, there are no standard metrics for assessing progress in research or management. We developed 5 metrics to meet this need for threatened taxa and to quantify the need for further action and effective alleviation of threats. These metrics (research need, research achievement, management need, management achievement, and percent threat reduction) can be aggregated to examine trends for an in idual taxon or for threats across multiple taxa. We tested the utility of these metrics by applying them to Australian threatened birds, which appears to be the first time that progress in research and management of threats has been assessed for all threatened taxa in a faunal group at a continental scale. Some research has been conducted on nearly three-quarters of known threats to taxa, and there is a clear understanding of how to alleviate nearly half of the threats with the highest impact. Some management has been attempted on nearly half the threats. Management outcomes ranged from successful trials to complete mitigation of the threat, including for one-third of high-impact threats. Progress in both research and management tended to be greater for taxa that were monitored or occurred on oceanic islands. Predation by cats had the highest potential threat score. However, there has been some success reducing the impact of cat predation, so climate change (particularly drought), now poses the greatest threat to Australian threatened birds. Our results demonstrate the potential for the proposed metrics to encapsulate the major trends in research and management of both threats and threatened taxa and provide a basis for international comparisons of evidence-based conservation science.
Is sex-specific mass gain in Cory's shearwaters Calonectris diomedea related to begging and steroid hormone expression?
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-12-2007
The effects of testosterone on immune function in quail selected for divergent plasma corticosterone response
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 10-2009
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.030726
Abstract: The immunocompetence handicap hypothesis (ICHH) suggests that the male sex hormone testosterone has a dual effect it controls the development and expression of male sexually selected signals, and it suppresses the immune system. Therefore only high quality males are able to fully express secondary sexual traits because only they can tolerate the immunosuppressive qualities of testosterone. A modified version of the ICHH suggests that testosterone causes immunosuppression indirectly by increasing the stress hormone corticosterone (CORT). Lines of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)selected for ergent responses in levels of plasma CORT were used to test these hypotheses. Within each CORT response line (as well as in a control stock) we manipulated levels of testosterone in castrated quail by treatment with zero (sham), low or high testosterone implants, before testing the birds'humoral immunity and phytohaemagglutinin (PHA)-induced immune response, as well as body condition. The PHA-induced response was not significantly affected by CORT selected line, testosterone treatment or their interaction. There was, however, a significant effect of CORT line on humoral immunity in that the control birds exhibited the greatest antibody production, but there was no significant effect of testosterone manipulation on humoral immunity. The males in the sham implant treatment group had significantly greater mass than the males in the high testosterone group, suggesting a negative effect of high testosterone on general body condition. We discuss these results in the context of current hypotheses in the field of sexual selection.
Extreme Competence: Keystone Hosts of Infections
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2019
Nest box design for a changing climate: The value of improved insulation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1111/EMR.12292
Effects of developmental stress on animal phenotype and performance: a quantitative review
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-01-2019
DOI: 10.1111/BRV.12496
Environmental Influences on Neuromorphology in the Non-Native Starling <b><i>Sturnus vulgaris</i></b>
Publisher: S. Karger AG
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1159/000491672
Abstract: Cognitive traits are predicted to be under intense selection in animals moving into new environments and may determine the success, or otherwise, of dispersal and invasions. In particular, spatial information related to resource distribution is an important determinant of neural development. Spatial information is predicted to vary for invasive species encountering novel environments. However, few studies have tested how cognition or neural development varies intraspecifically within an invasive species. In Australia, the non-native common starling i Sturnus vulgaris /i inhabits a range of habitats that vary in seasonal resource availability and distribution. We aimed to identify variations in the brain mass and hippoc us volume of starlings in Australia related to environmental variation across two substantially different habitat types. Specifically, we predicted variation in brain mass and hippoc al volume in relation to environmental conditions, latitude, and climatic variables. To test this, brain mass and volumes of the hippoc us and two control brain regions (telencephalon and tractus septomesencephalicus) were quantified from starling brains gathered from across the species’ range in south eastern Australia. When comparing across an environmental gradient, there was a significant interaction between sex and environment for overall brain mass, with greater sexual dimorphism in brain mass in inland populations compared to those at the coast. There was no significant difference in hippoc al volume in relation to environmental measures (hippoc us volume, i n /i = 17) for either sex. While these data provide no evidence for intraspecific environmental drivers for changes in hippoc us volume in European starlings in Australia, they do suggest that environmental factors contribute to sex differences in brain mass. This study identifies associations between the brain volume of a non-native species and the environment further work in this area is required to elucidate the mechanisms driving this relationship.
The effect of tail streamer length on aerodynamic performance in the barn swallow
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 03-2000
Developmental stress and female mate choice behaviour in the zebra finch
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2010
Does testosterone mediate the trade-off between nestling begging and growth in the canary (Serinus canaria)?
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2007
DOI: 10.1016/J.YHBEH.2007.08.009
Abstract: Nestling birds solicit food from their parents with vigorous begging displays, involving posturing, jostling and calling. In some species, such as canaries, begging is especially costly because it causes a trade off against nestling growth. Fitness costs of begging like this are predicted by evolutionary theory because they function to resolve conflicts of interest within the family over the provision of parental investment. However, the mechanism that links these costs with nestling behaviour remains unclear. In the present study, we determine if the relationships between nestling androgen levels, nestling begging intensities and nestling growth rates are consistent with the hypothesis that testosterone is responsible for the trade-off between begging and growth. We test this idea with a correlational study, using fecal androgens as a non-invasive method for assaying nestling androgen levels. Our results show that fecal androgen levels are positively correlated with nestling begging intensity, and reveal marked family differences in each trait. Furthermore, changes in fecal androgen levels between 5 and 8 days after hatching are positively associated with changes in nestling begging intensity, and negatively associated with nestling growth during this time. Although these correlational results support our predictions, we suggest that that experimental manipulations are now required to test the direct or indirect role of testosterone in mediating the trade-off between begging and growth.
Stress reactivity, condition, and foraging behavior in zebra finches
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.YGCEN.2016.01.014
Abstract: The arid and semi-arid zones of Australia are characterized by highly variable and unpredictable environmental conditions which affect resources for flora and fauna. Environments which are highly unpredictable in terms of both resource access and distribution are likely to select for a variety of adaptive behavioral strategies, intrinsically linked to the physiological control of behavior. How unpredictable resource distribution has affected the coevolution of behavioral strategies and physiology has rarely been quantified, particularly not in Australian birds. We used a captive population of wild-derived zebra finches to test the relationships between behavioral strategies relating to food access and physiological responses to stress and body condition. We found that in iduals that were in poorer body condition and had higher peak corticosterone levels entered baited feeders earlier in the trapping sequence of birds within the colony. We also found that in iduals in poorer body condition fed in smaller social groups. Our data show that the foraging decisions which in iduals make represent not only a trade-off between food access and risk of exposure, but their underlying physiological response to stress. Our data also suggest fundamental links between social networks and physiological parameters, which largely remain untested. These data demonstrate the fundamental importance of physiological mechanisms in controlling adaptive behavioral strategies and the dynamic interplay between physiological control of behavior and life-history evolution.
Does the ring species concept predict vocal variation in the crimson rosella, Platycercus elegans, complex?
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2009
Ecoimmunology and microbial ecology
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.YHBEH.2016.12.003
Abstract: Bacteria have had a fundamental impact on vertebrate evolution not only by affecting the evolution of the immune system, but also generating complex interactions with behavior and physiology. Advances in molecular techniques have started to reveal the intricate ways in which bacteria and vertebrates have coevolved. Here, we focus on birds as an ex le system for understanding the fundamental impact bacteria have had on the evolution of avian immune defenses, behavior, physiology, reproduction and life histories. The avian egg has multiple characteristics that have evolved to enable effective defense against pathogenic attack. Microbial risk of pathogenic infection is hypothesized to vary with life stage, with early life risk being maximal at either hatching or fledging. For adult birds, microbial infection risk is also proposed to vary with habitat and life stage, with molt inducing a period of increased vulnerability. Bacteria not only play an important role in shaping the immune system as well as trade-offs with other physiological systems, but also for determining digestive efficiency and nutrient uptake. The relevance of avian microbiomes for avian ecology, physiology and behavior is highly topical and will likely impact on our understanding of avian welfare, conservation, captive breeding as well as for our understanding of the nature of host-microbe coevolution.
Birds from matched developmental environments breed faster
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-01-2020
Song sharing and repertoire size in the sedge warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus: changes within and between years
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2007
Long-term effects of prenatal sound experience on songbird behavior and their relation to song learning
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 2021
Costs of immune responses are related to host body size and lifespan
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-2017
DOI: 10.1002/JEZ.2084
How does nest-box temperature affect nestling growth rate and breeding success in a parrot?
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 09-2015
DOI: 10.1071/MU14081
Emu Austral Ornithology: the value of ornithological research for conservation
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-10-2021
What does the future hold for shorebirds in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway?
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 06-2016
DOI: 10.1071/MUV116N2_ED
Nestling testosterone is associated with begging behaviour and fledging success in the pied flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 18-10-2006
Abstract: Animal signals are hypothesized to be costly in order to honestly reflect in idual quality. Offspring solicitation signals given by nestling birds are thought to have evolved to advertise either need or in idual quality. We tested the potential role of testosterone (T) in controlling the intensity of these signals by measuring begging behaviour as: (i) duration of the begging display and (ii) maximum height of the begging stretch, and by s ling endogenous T levels in nestling blood. We tested nestling pied flycatchers ( Ficedula hypoleuca ) using well-established experimental paradigm involving transient food deprivation to encourage begging behaviour and then blood-s led nestlings at the end of these tests for T levels. Our results show that in idual nestlings with the most intense begging displays had the highest circulating levels of T immediately after testing. In addition, we found substantial differences between broods in terms of circulating T. Finally, we found evidence that broods with higher levels of T showed increased fledging success, indicating a benefit for increased T production in nestlings. The potential trade-offs involved in T-mediated begging behaviour are discussed.
Early-Developmental Stress, Repeatability, and Canalization in a Suite of Physiological and Behavioral Traits in Female Zebra Finches
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 25-06-2014
DOI: 10.1093/ICB/ICU095
Abstract: Adaptive developmental plasticity allows in iduals experiencing poor environmental conditions in early life to adjust their life-history strategy in order to prioritize short-term fitness benefits and maximize reproductive output in challenging environments. Much research has been conducted to test whether such adoption of a "faster" life-history strategy is accompanied by concordant changes in behavior and physiology, with mixed results. As research in this field has focused on comparison of mean-level responses of treatment groups, few studies include repeated measures of response variables and the effect that developmental stress may have on repeatability per se. We investigated how early-developmental stress affects the mean expression of (and repeatability in) a variety of behavioral and physiological traits in female zebra finches. We predicted that: (1) in iduals subjected to nutritional restriction in the nestling phase would have higher feeding and activity rates, with associated increases in hematocrit and basal metabolic rates (BMRs), (2) nutritional restriction in early life would alter adults' stress-induced corticosterone level, and (3) developmental stress would, respectively, influence the amount of among-in idual and within-in idual variation in behavioral and physiological traits, hence affecting the repeatability of these traits. In comparison to control females, stressed females did not differ in activity rate or stress-induced corticosterone level, but they did have higher levels of feeding, hematocrit, and BMR. Among-in idual variance and repeatability were generally higher in stressed females than in controls. Finally, we found that developmental dietary restriction significantly reduced the amount of within-in idual variance both in activity rate in the novel environment and in stress-induced corticosterone level. Our results not only confirm previous findings on the effect of early-developmental stress on BMR, but also extend its effect to feeding rate and hematocrit, suggesting that developmental plasticity in these traits is ontogenetically linked. Early-developmental stress may disable particular genetic canalizing processes, which would release cryptic genetic variation and explain why repeatability and among-in idual variance were generally higher in the stressed groups than in controls. For activity rate in the novel environment and with stress-induced corticosterone level, however, early-developmental stress significantly reduced within-in idual variance, which may be a consequence of increased canalization of these traits at the micro-environmental level.
Ensuring tests of conservation interventions build on existing literature
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-2020
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.13555
Evidence for condition mediated trade-offs between the HPA- and HPG-axes in the wild zebra finch
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.YGCEN.2017.11.025
Abstract: Opportunistic breeding is a strategy used to maximize reproductive success in unpredictable environments. Birds that breed opportunistically are thought to maintain partial activation of the reproductive axis in order to rapidly initiate breeding when environmental conditions become suitable. The physiological mechanisms that modulate reproduction in seasonally breeding birds have been well explored. In contrast, the physiological mechanisms that allow opportunistic breeding birds to maintain a continued state of reproductive readiness has not been well established. Here, we tested the hypothesis that reproductive readiness is modulated through condition-mediated effects on the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis and its downstream effects on corticosterone (CORT) secretion in wild zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). We examined the variation in body condition, HPA-axis activity (endogenous and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-induced responses), and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis activity activity (baseline and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) induced testosterone and estradiol levels) in zebra finches across five sites in the Northern Territory in Australia. We found that birds at the sites in the lowest condition had the highest level of baseline and peak CORT. Additionally, males at the sites in the lowest condition had the highest fold increase in testosterone following a GnRH challenge. Across sites, birds with low body condition had high baseline, peak, and ACTH-induced levels of CORT. Our data suggest that reproductive readiness in opportunistically breeding birds is modulated by condition-mediated trade-offs between the HPA- and the HPG-axes. Further work is needed to understand the environmental conditions that influence reproductive activation in opportunistically breeding birds.
Correlated response to selection of testosterone levels and immunocompetence in lines selected for avian personality
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2011
Transcript‐ and annotation‐guided genome assembly of the European starling
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-07-2022
Abstract: The European starling, Sturnus vulgaris , is an ecologically significant, globally invasive avian species that is also suffering from a major decline in its native range. Here, we present the genome assembly and long‐read transcriptome of an Australian‐sourced European starling ( S. vulgaris vAU), and a second, North American, short‐read genome assembly ( S. vulgaris vNA), as complementary reference genomes for population genetic and evolutionary characterization. S. vulgaris vAU combined 10× genomics linked‐reads, low‐coverage Nanopore sequencing, and PacBio Iso‐Seq full‐length transcript scaffolding to generate a 1050 Mb assembly on 6222 scaffolds (7.6 Mb scaffold N50, 94.6% busco completeness). Further scaffolding against the high‐quality zebra finch ( Taeniopygia guttata ) genome assigned 98.6% of the assembly to 32 putative nuclear chromosome scaffolds. Species‐specific transcript mapping and gene annotation revealed good gene‐level assembly and high functional completeness. Using S. vulgaris vAU, we demonstrate how the multifunctional use of PacBio Iso‐Seq transcript data and complementary homology‐based annotation of sequential assembly steps (assessed using a new tool, saaga ) can be used to assess, inform, and validate assembly workflow decisions. We also highlight some counterintuitive behaviour in traditional busco metrics, and present buscomp, a complementary tool for assembly comparison designed to be robust to differences in assembly size and base‐calling quality. This work expands our knowledge of avian genomes and the available toolkit for assessing and improving genome quality. The new genomic resources presented will facilitate further global genomic and transcriptomic analysis on this ecologically important species.
Avian Biodiversity: Evolution in Action Preface
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 03-2010
DOI: 10.1071/MUV110N1_PR
Flight, fitness, and sexual selection: a response
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 07-2001
Song as an honest signal of developmental stress in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata)
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2003
DOI: 10.1016/S0018-506X(03)00124-7
Abstract: In a wide range of bird species, females have been shown to express active preferences for males that sing more complex songs. Current sexual selection theory predicts that for this signal to remain an honest indicator of male quality, it must be associated with an underlying cost of development or maintenance. There has been considerable debate questioning the costs associated with song production and learning. Recently, the nutritional stress hypothesis proposed that song complexity could act as an indicator of early developmental history, since the song control nuclei in the brain are laid down early in life. Here we test the nutritional stress hypothesis, by investigating the effects of dietary stress on the quality of adult song produced. In addition, we tested the effects of elevated corticosterone during development on song production to test its possible involvement in mediating the effects of developmental stress. The results demonstrate that both dietary restriction and elevated corticosterone levels significantly reduced nestling growth rates. In addition, we found that experimentally stressed birds developed songs with significantly shorter song motif duration and reduced complexity. These results provide novel experimental evidence that complex song repertoires may have evolved as honest signals of male quality, by indicating early developmental rearing conditions.
Transcript- and annotation-guided genome assembly of the European starling
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 08-04-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.04.07.438753
Abstract: The European starling, Sturnus vulgaris , is an ecologically significant, globally invasive avian species that is also suffering from a major decline in its native range. Here, we present the genome assembly and long-read transcriptome of an Australian-sourced European starling ( S. vulgaris vAU), and a second North American genome ( S. vulgaris vNA), as complementary reference genomes for population genetic and evolutionary characterisation. S. vulgaris vAU combined 10x Genomics linked-reads, low-coverage Nanopore sequencing, and PacBio Iso-Seq full-length transcript scaffolding to generate a 1050 Mb assembly on 1,628 scaffolds (72.5 Mb scaffold N50). Species-specific transcript mapping and gene annotation revealed high structural and functional completeness (94.6% BUSCO completeness). Further scaffolding against the high-quality zebra finch ( Taeniopygia guttata ) genome assigned 98.6% of the assembly to 32 putative nuclear chromosome scaffolds. Rapid, recent advances in sequencing technologies and bioinformatics software have highlighted the need for evidence-based assessment of assembly decisions on a case-by-case basis. Using S. vulgaris vAU, we demonstrate how the multifunctional use of PacBio Iso-Seq transcript data and complementary homology-based annotation of sequential assembly steps (assessed using a new tool, SAAGA) can be used to assess, inform, and validate assembly workflow decisions. We also highlight some counter-intuitive behaviour in traditional BUSCO metrics, and present B uscomp , a complementary tool for assembly comparison designed to be robust to differences in assembly size and base-calling quality. Finally, we present a second starling assembly, S. vulgaris vNA, to facilitate comparative analysis and global genomic research on this ecologically important species.
Egg size is unrelated to ambient temperature in the opportunistically breeding zebra finch
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2020
DOI: 10.1111/JAV.02356
Hybridisation and the future of austral ornithology
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 03-2012
DOI: 10.1071/MUV112N1_ED
Short-term physiological and behavioural effects of high- versus low-frequency fluorescent light on captive birds
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2012
Concurrent invasions by European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) suggest selection on shared genomic regions even after genetic bottlenecks
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 19-05-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.05.19.442026
Abstract: A species’ success during the invasion of new areas hinges on an interplay between demographic processes and the outcome of localized selection. Invasive European Starlings ( Sturnus vulgaris ) established populations in Australia and North America in the 19 th century. Here, we compare whole-genome sequences among native and independently introduced European Starling populations from three continents to determine how demographic processes interact with rapid adaptive evolution to generate similar genetic patterns in these recent and replicated invasions. Our results confirm that a post-bottleneck expansion may in fact support local adaptation. We find that specific genomic regions have differentiated even on this short evolutionary timescale, and suggest that selection best explains differentiation in at least two of these regions. This infamous and highly mobile invader adapted to novel selection (e.g., extrinsic factors), perhaps in part due to the demographic boom intrinsic to many invasions.
Song as an indicator of male parental effort in the sedge warbler
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 22-02-2000
Integrating Mitochondrial Aerobic Metabolism into Ecology and Evolution.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2021
Under the weather: Corticosterone levels in wild nestlings are associated with ambient temperature and wind
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2020
DOI: 10.1016/J.YGCEN.2019.113247
Abstract: Animals time reproductive events to overlap with periods of favorable environmental conditions. However, weather conditions can be unpredictable. Young animals may be particularly susceptible to extreme weather during sensitive developmental periods. Here, we investigated the effects of adverse weather conditions on corticosterone levels (a hormone linked to the avian stress response) and body condition of wild nestling zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). We sought to tease apart the direct versus indirect (i.e. parental) effects of weather on nestling physiology and condition by increasing parental work load with a clutch manipulation experiment. We found that high temperatures were associated with lower levels of restraint-induced corticosterone and high wind speeds were associated with higher levels of baseline corticosterone. We found no associations between weather and nestling body condition. However, clutch manipulation did affect body condition, with nestlings from experimentally enlarged clutches in worse condition compared to nestlings from experimentally reduced clutches. Our findings suggest that weather can directly affect wild nestlings via changes in corticosterone levels. Further research is needed to understand how changes in corticosterone levels affect phenotype and survival in wild nestlings. Understanding how developing animals respond to changes in environmental predictability and extreme weather is vital for understanding the potential for rapid adaptation in the face of changing climatic conditions.
Cover, not caging, influences chronic physiological stress in a ground‐nesting bird
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-04-2015
DOI: 10.1111/JAV.00625
Object classification under ignorance using CaRBS: the case of the European barn swallow
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2004
Why fly the extra mile? Using stress biomarkers to assess wintering habitat quality in migratory shorebirds
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-06-2016
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-016-3679-1
Abstract: Migratory birds make decisions about how far to travel based on cost-benefit trade-offs. However, in many cases the net effect of these trade-offs is unclear. We sought to address this question by measuring feather corticosterone (CORTf), leucocyte profile, avian malaria parasite prevalence and estimating fueling rates in three spatially segregated wintering populations of the migratory shorebird ruddy turnstone Arenaria interpres during their stay in the winter habitat. These birds fly from the high-Arctic breeding ground to Australia, but differ in that some decide to end their migration early (Broome, Western Australia), whereas others travel further to either South Australia or Tasmania. We hypothesized that the extra costs in birds migrating greater distances and overwintering in colder climates would be offset by benefits when reaching their destination. This would be evidenced by lower stress biomarkers in populations that travel further, owing to the expected benefits of greater resources and improved vitality. We show that avian malaria prevalence and physiological stress levels were lower in birds flying to South Australia and Tasmania than those overwintering in Broome. Furthermore, our modeling predicts that birds in the southernmost locations enjoy higher fueling rates. Our data are consistent with the interpretation that birds occupying more costly wintering locations in terms of higher migratory flight and thermoregulatory costs are compensated by better feeding conditions and lower blood parasite infections, which facilitates timely and speedy migration back to the breeding ground. These data contribute to our understanding of cost-benefit trade-offs in the decision making underlying migratory behaviour.
Odour-based discrimination of subspecies, species and sexes in an avian species complex, the crimson rosella
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2014
Heritability of corticosterone response and changes in life history traits during selection in the zebra finch
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-11-2005
DOI: 10.1111/J.1420-9101.2005.01034.X
Abstract: Vertebrates respond to environmental stressors through the neuro-endocrine stress response, which involves the production of glucocorticoids. We have selected independent, duplicate ergent lines of zebra finches for high, low and control corticosterone responses to a mild stressor. This experiment has shown that over the first four generations, the high lines have demonstrated a significant realized heritability of about 20%. However, the low lines have apparently not changed significantly from controls. This asymmetry in response is potentially because of the fact that all birds appear to be showing increased adaptation to the environment in which they are housed, with significant declines in corticosterone response in control lines as well as low lines. Despite the existence of two- to threefold difference in mean corticosterone titre between high and low lines, there were no observed differences in testosterone titre in adult male birds from the different groups. In addition, there were no consistent, significant differences between the lines in any of the life history variables measured--number of eggs laid per clutch, number of clutches or broods produced per pair, number of fledglings produced per breeding attempt, nor in any of egg, nestling and fledgling mortality. These results highlight the fact that the mechanisms that underlie variation in the avian physiological system can be modified to respond to differences between environments through selection. This adds an additional level of flexibility to the avian physiological system, which will allow it to respond to environmental circumstances.
Avian retinal oil droplets: dietary manipulation of colour vision?
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 25-11-2009
Abstract: Avian vision is highly developed, with bird retinas containing rod and double-cone photoreceptors, plus four classes of single cones subserving tetrachromatic colour vision. Cones contain an oil droplet, rich in carotenoid pigments (except VS/ultraviolet-sensitive cones), that acts as a filter, substantially modifying light detected by the photoreceptor. Using dietary manipulations, we tested the effects of carotenoid availability on oil droplet absorbance properties in two species: Platycercus elegans and Taeniopygia guttata . Using microspectrophotometry, we determined whether manipulations affected oil droplet carotenoid concentration and whether changes would alter colour discrimination ability. In both species, increases in carotenoid concentration were found in carotenoid-supplemented birds, but only in the double cones. Magnitudes of effects of manipulations were often dependent on retinal location. The study provides, to our knowledge, the first experimental evidence of dietary intake over a short time period affecting carotenoid concentration of retinal oil droplets. Moreover, the allocation of carotenoids to the retina by both species is such that the change potentially preserves the spectral tuning of colour vision. Our study generates new insights into retinal regulation of carotenoid concentration of oil droplets, an area about which very little is known, with implications for our understanding of trade-offs in carotenoid allocation in birds.
The developmental stress hypothesis: a special case of the evolution of condition-dependent sexual traits
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2011
Spatial ability is impaired and hippocampal mineralocorticoid receptor mRNA expression reduced in zebra finches ( Taeniopygia guttata ) selected for acute high corticost
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 31-10-2006
Abstract: In mammals, stress hormones have profound influences on spatial learning and memory. Here, we investigated whether glucocorticoids influence cognitive abilities in birds by testing a line of zebra finches selectively bred to respond to an acute stressor with high plasma corticosterone (CORT) levels. Cognitive performance was assessed by spatial and visual one-trial associative memory tasks. Task performance in the high CORT birds was compared with that of the random-bred birds from a control breeding line. The birds selected for high CORT in response to an acute stressor performed less well than the controls in the spatial task, but there were no significant differences between the lines in performance during the visual task. The birds from the two lines did not differ in their plasma CORT levels immediately after the performance of the memory tasks nevertheless, there were significant differences in peak plasma CORT between the lines. The high CORT birds also had significantly lower mineralocorticoid receptor mRNA expression in the hippoc us than the control birds. There was no measurable difference between the lines in glucocorticoid receptor mRNA density in either the hippoc us or the paraventricular nucleus. Together, these findings provide evidence to suggest that stress hormones have important regulatory roles in avian spatial cognition.
Testosterone manipulation postcastration does not alter cloacal gland growth differences in male quail selected for divergent plasma corticosterone stress response
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2010
Abstract: Japanese quail selected for reduced (low-stress, LS) rather than exaggerated (high-stress, HS) plasma corticosterone response to brief restraint have consistently shown greater cloacal gland (CG) development, an androgen-dependent trait. In this study, the effects of testosterone implants on levels of plasma testosterone and CG development in castrated LS and HS quail were determined. Stress-line males were castrated and randomly allocated to 1 of 3 testosterone treatments: the empty testosterone (ET), low testosterone (LT), or high testosterone (HT) implant group. Cloacal gland volume was determined at 4 weekly intervals that represented ranges of 1 to 9 d, 8 to 17 d, 15 to 24 d, and 22 to 31 d after castration and testosterone implantation. Levels of plasma testosterone were also assessed at the end of the study. Development of the CG was affected by quail line (LS > HS), testosterone treatment (HT > LT > ET), and time of measurement (1 to 9 d < 8 to 17 d LT > ET), neither quail line nor its interaction with testosterone treatment affected plasma testosterone. The present findings suggest that the often-observed depressed CG development in the HS line may be independent of testosterone effects.
Optimal immune responses: immunocompetence revisited
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2005
DOI: 10.1016/J.TREE.2005.10.003
Abstract: The function of the immune system of an animal is to provide defence against infection, in order to maximize fitness. Understanding this and, particularly, how limiting resources are traded off between costly immune responses and other physiological demands, is central to properly understanding life-history traits and their evolution. Here, we propose that functional (rather than immunological) measures of immune responses should be used when investigating this. We further suggest that optimal immune responses are context specific, rather than generic that is, a maximum immune response is not necessarily optimal. The nature of an optimal immune response will depend on the specific circumstances and infection status of the animal. Identifying and understanding such optimality requires that the effects of different immune strategies on fitness be considered.
The application of a fuzzy-rule-based system in an exposition of the antecedents of sedge warbler song flight
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2004
Developmental conditions have intergenerational effects on corticosterone levels in a passerine
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2021
Detection of endocrine disrupting chemicals in aerial invertebrates at sewage treatment works
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2009
DOI: 10.1016/J.CHEMOSPHERE.2009.08.063
Abstract: Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) constitute a erse group of chemical compounds which can alter endocrine function in exposed animals. Whilst most studies have focussed on exposure of wildlife to EDCs via aquatic routes, there is the potential for transfer into the terrestrial food chain through consumption of contaminated prey items developing in sewage sludge and waste water at sewage treatment works. In this study, we determine levels of EDCs in aerial insects whose larval stages develop on percolating filter beds at sewage treatment works. We compare absolute concentrations of known EDCs with those collected from aquatic environments not exposed to sewage effluent outflow. Our findings document for the first time that aerial invertebrates developing on sewage filter beds take up a range of chemicals thought to be incorporated from the sewage effluent, which act as endocrine disruptors. For two synthetic chemicals (17alpha-ethinylestradiol and butylated hydroxy aniline), concentrations were significantly higher in insects captured around percolating filter beds than sites over 2 km from the nearest sewage works. A number of species of insectivorous bats and birds, some of which are declining or threatened, use sewage works as principle foraging sites. We calculate approximate exposure levels for a species of bat known to forage within sewage works and suggest that further research is warranted to assess the ecological implications of consuming contaminated invertebrate prey.
Song as an honest signal of past developmental stress in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 07-06-2003
Stress, resource allocation, and mortality
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 29-09-2005
Host heterozygosity and genotype rarity affect viral dynamics in an avian subspecies complex
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-10-2017
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-017-13476-Z
Abstract: Genetic ersity at community, population and in idual levels is thought to influence the spread of infectious disease. At the in idual level, inbreeding and heterozygosity are associated with increased risk of infection and disease severity. Host genotype rarity may also reduce infection risk if pathogens are co-adapted to common or local hosts, but to date, no studies have investigated the relative importance of genotype rarity and heterozygosity for infection in a wild, sexually reproducing vertebrate. With beak and feather disease virus (BFDV) infection in a wild parrot ( Platycercus elegans ), we show that both heterozygosity and genotype rarity of in idual hosts predicted infection, but in contrasting ways. Heterozygosity was negatively associated with probability of infection, but not with infection load. In contrast, increased host genotype rarity was associated with lower viral load in infected in iduals, but did not predict infection probability. These effects were largely consistent across subspecies, but were not evident at the population level. Subspecies and age were also strongly associated with infection. Our study provides novel insights into infection dynamics by quantifying rarity and ersity simultaneously. We elucidate roles that host genetic ersity can play in infection dynamics, with implications for understanding population ergence, intraspecific ersity and conservation.
A quantum leap in avian biology
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 03-2015
DOI: 10.1071/MUV115N1_ED
Learned Vocal Variation Is Associated with Abrupt Cryptic Genetic Change in a Parrot Species Complex
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 05-12-2012
Impact of nest sanitation on the immune system of parents and nestlings in a passerine bird
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.130948
Abstract: Bacterial communities are thought to have fundamental effects on the growth and development of nestling birds. The antigen exposure hypothesis suggests that, for both nestlings and adult birds, exposure to a erse range of bacteria would select for stronger immune defences. However, there are relatively few studies that have tested the immune/bacterial relationships outside of domestic poultry. We therefore sought to examine indices of immunity (microbial killing ability in naïve birds, which is a measure of innate immunity and the antibody response to sheep red blood cells, which measures adaptive immunity) in both adult and nestling zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). We did this throughout breeding and between reproductive attempts in nests that were experimentally manipulated to change the intensity of bacterial exposure. Our results suggest that nest sanitation and bacterial load affected measures of the adaptive immune system, but not the innate immune parameters tested. Adult finches breeding in clean nests had a lower primary antibody response to sheep red blood cells (SRBC), particularly males, and a greater difference between primary and secondary responses. Adult microbial killing of E.coli decreased as parents moved from incubation to nestling rearing for both nest treatments however, killing of C.albicans remained consistent throughout. In nestlings, both innate microbial killing and the adaptive antibody response did not differ between nest environments. Together, these results suggest that the exposure to microorganisms in the environment affect the adaptive immune system in nesting birds, with exposure upregulating the antibody response in adult birds.
Senescence of song revealed by a long-term study of the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis)
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 24-11-2020
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-020-77405-3
Abstract: Senescence is widespread in nature, often resulting in diminishing survival or reproduction with age, but its role in age-dependent variation in sexual traits is often poorly understood. One reason is that few studies of sexual traits consider non-linear relationships with age, or only consider a narrow range of years relative to the life span of the species. Birdsong has evolved to allow assessment of conspecific quality in numerous bird species. Whilst theory and empirical work suggests that song may become more elaborate with age, there are a paucity of long-term studies testing whether song is associated with age or longevity. In particular, the occurrence of song senescence has rarely been demonstrated. Using an exceptional long-term dataset for the Seychelles warbler ( Acrocephalus sechellensis ), we analysed relationships between male song, age, survival, and longevity. This species is a long-lived songbird with early life increases, followed by senescent declines, in survival and reproduction. The study population (Cousin Island, Seychelles) is a closed population, with no depredation of adults, providing an excellent opportunity to study senescence in free-living animals. We tested whether song traits were related to age at recording, future survival, longevity, and territory quality. We found age-dependent changes in five song traits (duration, maximum frequency, peak frequency of songs, and duration and frequency bandwidth of trills). Relationships with age were quadratic, indicating reversal in the expression of song coinciding with the onset of senescence in reproduction and survival in this species. One song trait (trill bandwidth) had a quadratic relationship with future survival, but no song traits were related to longevity, suggesting age-related patterns were not the result of selective disappearance. Our study provides one of the first ex les of functional senescence in song, offering new insights into avian senescence. Late-life declines in avian song, and possibly other sexual traits, may be more common than currently known, and may play a fundamental role in age-dependent changes in reproductive success.
Effects of testosterone and corticosterone on immunocompetence in the zebra finch
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2007
DOI: 10.1016/J.YHBEH.2006.09.004
Abstract: The original immunocompetence handicap hypothesis (ICHH) suggested that testosterone has a handicapping effect in males by both promoting the development of sexual signals and suppressing immune function. A modified version, the stress-linked ICHH, has recently proposed that testosterone is immunosuppressive indirectly by increasing production of corticosterone. To test both the original and stress-mediated versions of the ICHH, we implanted male zebra finches taken from lines selected for ergent maximum stress-induced levels of corticosterone (high, low and control) with either empty or testosterone-filled implants. Their humoral and cell-mediated immune responses were then assessed by challenge with diphtheria:tetanus vaccine and phytohemagglutinin respectively. We found no effect of the hormone manipulations on either PHA or tetanus antibody responses, but found a significant interaction between titers of both testosterone and corticosterone on diphtheria secondary antibody response antibody response was greatest in in iduals with high levels of both hormones. There was also a significant interactive effect between testosterone treatment group and corticosterone titer on body mass the body mass of males in the elevated testosterone treatment group decreased with increasing corticosterone titer. These results suggest that, contrary to the assumption of the stress-mediated version of the ICHH, high plasma levels of corticosterone are not immunosuppressive, but are in fact immuno-enhancing in the presence of high levels of plasma testosterone. Equally, the central assumption of the ICHH that testosterone is obligately immunosuppressive is also not supported. The same in iduals with the highest levels of both hormones and consequently the most robust antibody response also possessed the lowest body mass.
Developmental stress affects the attractiveness of male song and female choice in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata)
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-05-2005
Prevalence of beak and feather disease virus in wild Platycercus elegans: comparison of three tissue types using a probe-based real-time qPCR test
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.1071/ZO14052
Abstract: The detection of avian viruses in wild populations has considerable conservation implications. For DNA-based studies, feathers may be a convenient s le type for virus screening and are, therefore, an increasingly common technique. This is despite recent concerns about DNA quality, ethics, and a paucity of data comparing the reliability and sensitivity of feather s ling to other common s le types such as blood. Alternatively, skeletal muscle tissue may offer a convenient s le to collect from dead birds, which may reveal viraemia. Here, we describe a probe-based quantitative real-time PCR for the relative quantification of beak and feather disease virus (BFDV), a pathogen of serious conservation concern for parrots globally. We used this method to test for BFDV in wild crimson rosellas (Platycercus elegans), and compared three different s le types. We detected BFDV in s les from 29 out of 84 in iduals (34.5%). However, feather s les provided discordant results concerning virus presence when compared with muscle tissue and blood, and estimates of viral load varied somewhat between different s le types. This study provides evidence for widespread infection of BFDV in wild crimson rosellas, but highlights the importance of s le type when generating and interpreting qualitative and quantitative avian virus data.
Yolk corticosterone in the Gouldian Finch (Erythrura gouldiae)
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-12-2019
Variation in Reproductive Success Across Captive Populations: Methodological Differences, Potential Biases and Opportunities
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-12-2016
DOI: 10.1111/ETH.12576
Divorce in the socially monogamous zebra finch
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.YHBEH.2016.11.004
Abstract: Up to 80% of all bird species are socially monogamous. Divorce (switching partners) or pair disruption (due to the death of a partner) has been associated with decreased reproductive success, suggesting social monogamy is a strategy that may maximize fitness via coordination between partners. Previous studies have demonstrated the effects of orce and pair disruption on immediate reproductive success. Here, we used a paired experimental design in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) to examine the hormonal mechanisms that modulate parental behavior and reproductive success in response to a partnership change (hereafter orce). Specifically, we examined the effects of orce on the avian stress hormone corticosterone (CORT) in both parents and nestlings, parental behaviors (incubation and nestling provisioning), prolactin (PRL), and reproductive success. We found that orce resulted in delayed clutch initiation, reduced clutch mass, and an increase in nestling CORT response to a standardized stressor. These effects on reproductive investment and chick CORT response were not clearly determined by parental endocrine responses. Divorce had no effect on the level of parental CORT. PRL levels were highly correlated within a pair regardless of treatment, were negatively related to the investment that males made in incubation, and increased in experimental males as a result of pair disruption. This study demonstrates the fundamental impact which orce has not only on reproduction, but also the physiological stress responses of offspring and suggests that in socially monogamous animals the maintenance of a stable partnership over time could be advantageous for long term fitness.
Parent-embryo acoustic communication: a specialised heat vocalisation allowing embryonic eavesdropping
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-12-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-018-35853-Y
Abstract: Sound is arguably the external cue most accessible to embryos of many species, and as such may constitute an unrivalled source of early information. Recent evidence shows that prenatal sounds, similarly to maternal effects, may shape developmental trajectories. Establishing whether parental vocalisations are signals directed at embryos, or parental cues on which embryos eavesdrop, can elucidate whether parents or embryos control developmental outcomes. Prenatal exposure to a characteristic heat-related parental call was recently shown to alter zebra finch growth and fitness. Here, we test the ecological context of this behaviour in the wild, and assess the information value and specificity of this vocalisation for an embryonic audience. We show that wild zebra finches also produce this characteristic call, only at high temperatures. In addition, in the lab, we demonstrate experimentally that calling is specifically triggered by high air temperatures, can occur without an embryonic audience, and importantly, is predicted by in iduals’ body mass. Overall, our findings reveal a specialised heat vocalisation that enables embryonic eavesdropping, by indicating high ambient temperatures, and parents’ capacity to cope with such conditions. This challenges the traditional view of embryos as passive agents of their development, and opens exciting research avenues on avian adaptation to extreme heat.
Calling in the heat: the zebra finch incubation call depends on heat AND reproductive stage—a comment on McDiarmid et al. 2018
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 22-04-2019
Ornithological Forum: a medium for discussion in a changing ornithological world
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-01-2020
Phylogenetic analysis of beak and feather disease virus across a host ring-species complex
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 15-09-2014
Abstract: The roles of disease and species hybridization in maintaining bio ersity are of wide interest, yet are rarely studied simultaneously in wild populations. Using genomic analysis of beak and feather disease virus in an avian ring-species complex, Platycercus elegans , to our knowledge we find viral phylogenetic structure analogous to Mayr’s ring-species hypothesis for the first time in any pathogen. Across 8 y, the host’s viral prevalence and infection load was lower in hybrid birds and in phenotypically intermediate subspecies. Viral genetic variation did not explain host prevalence or infection load, supporting conclusions that the evolved host response is more important. We show how host–species complexes and viral genomic analyses can provide insight into maintenance of bio ersity.
Extra‐pair paternity in the socially monogamous Sedge Warbler Actocephalus schoenobaenus as revealed by multilocus DNA fingerprinting
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2000
The role of testosterone in bib size determination in the male house sparrow Passer domesticus, is age dependent
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2012
ENVIRONMENTAL AND GENETIC CONTROL OF BRAIN AND SONG STRUCTURE IN THE ZEBRA FINCH
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-09-2013
DOI: 10.1111/EVO.12261
Abstract: Birdsong is a classic ex le of a learned trait with cultural inheritance, with selection acting on trait expression. To understand how song responds to selection, it is vital to determine the extent to which variation in song learning and neuroanatomy is attributable to genetic variation, environmental conditions, or their interactions. Using a partial cross fostering design with an experimental stressor, we quantified the heritability of song structure and key brain nuclei in the song control system of the zebra finch and the genotype-by-environment (G × E) interactions. Neuroanatomy and song structure both showed low levels of heritability and are unlikely to be under selection as indicators of genetic quality. HVC, in particular, was almost entirely under environmental control. G × E interaction was important for brain development and may provide a mechanism by which additive genetic variation is maintained, which in turn may promote sexual selection through female choice. Our study suggests that selection may act on the genes determining vocal learning, rather than directly on the underlying neuroanatomy, and emphasizes the fundamental importance of environmental conditions for vocal learning and neural development in songbirds.
Tough decisions: Reproductive timing and output vary with individuals' physiology, behavior and past success in a social opportunistic breeder
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2015
DOI: 10.1016/J.YHBEH.2015.03.011
Abstract: This article is part of a Special Issue "SBN 2014". Photoperiod and the hormonal response it triggers are key determinants of reproductive timing in birds. However, other cues and physiological traits may permit flexibility in the timing of breeding and perhaps facilitate adaptation to global change. Opportunistic breeders are excellent models to study the adaptive significance of this flexibility, especially at the in idual level. Here, we sought to quantify whether particular male physiological and behavioral traits were linked to reproductive timing and output in wild-derived zebra finches. We repeatedly assessed male stress-induced corticosterone levels (CORT), basal metabolic rate (BMR), and activity before releasing them into outdoor aviaries and quantifying each pair's breeding timing, investment, and output over a seven-month period. Despite unlimited access to food and water, the colony breeding activity occurred in waves, probably due to interpair social stimulations. Pairs adjusted their inter-clutch interval and clutch size to social and temperature cues, respectively, but only after successful breeding attempts, suggesting a facultative response to external cues. When these effects were controlled for statistically or experimentally, breeding intervals were repeatable within in iduals across reproductive attempts. In addition, males' first laying date and total offspring production varied with complex interactions between pre-breeding CORT, BMR and activity levels. These results suggest that no one trait is under selection but that, instead, correlational selection acts on hormone levels, metabolism, and behavior. Together our results suggest that studying inter-in idual variation in breeding strategy and their multiple physiological and behavioral underpinnings may greatly improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the evolution of breeding decisions.
Sexual selection and individual genetic diversity in a songbird
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 07-11-2003
How parrots see their colours: novelty in the visual pigments ofPlatycercus elegans
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 12-2013
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.094136
Abstract: Intraspecific differences in retinal physiology have been demonstrated in several vertebrate taxa and are often subject to adaptive evolution. Nonetheless, such differences are currently unknown in birds, despite variations in habitat, behaviour and visual stimuli that might influence spectral sensitivity. The parrot Platycercus elegans is a species complex with extreme plumage colour differences between (and sometimes within) subspecies, making it an ideal candidate for intraspecific differences in spectral sensitivity. Here, the visual pigments of P. elegans were fully characterised through molecular sequencing of five visual opsin genes and measurement of their absorbance spectra using microspectrophotometry. Three of the genes, LWS, SW1 and SWS2, encode for proteins similar to those found in other birds however, both the RH1 and RH2 pigments had polypeptides with carboxyl termini of different lengths and unusual properties that are unknown previously for any vertebrate visual pigment. Specifically, multiple RH2 transcripts and protein variants (short, medium and long) were identified for the first time that are generated by alternative splicing of downstream coding and non-coding exons. Our work provides the first complete characterisation of the visual pigments of a parrot, perhaps the most colourful order of birds, and moreover suggests more variability in avian eyes than hitherto considered.
Testosterone, dominance signalling and immunosuppression in the house sparrow, Passer domesticus
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-2003
Prenatal acoustic programming of mitochondrial function for high temperatures in an arid-adapted bird
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 08-12-2021
Abstract: Sound is an essential source of information in many taxa and can notably be used by embryos to programme their phenotypes for postnatal environments. While underlying mechanisms are mostly unknown, there is growing evidence for the involvement of mitochondria—main source of cellular energy (i.e. ATP)—in developmental programming processes. Here, we tested whether prenatal sound programmes mitochondrial metabolism. In the arid-adapted zebra finch, prenatal exposure to ‘heat-calls’—produced by parents incubating at high temperatures—adaptively alters nestling growth in the heat. We measured red blood cell mitochondrial function, in nestlings exposed prenatally to heat- or control-calls, and reared in contrasting thermal environments. Exposure to high temperatures always reduced mitochondrial ATP production efficiency. However, as expected to reduce heat production, prenatal exposure to heat-calls improved mitochondrial efficiency under mild heat conditions. In addition, when exposed to an acute heat-challenge, LEAK respiration was higher in heat-call nestlings, and mitochondrial efficiency low across temperatures. Consistent with its role in reducing oxidative damage, LEAK under extreme heat was also higher in fast growing nestlings. Our study therefore provides the first demonstration of mitochondrial acoustic sensitivity, and brings us closer to understanding the underpinning of acoustic developmental programming and avian strategies for heat adaptation.
Developmental stress, social rank and song complexity in the European starling ( Sturnus vulgaris )
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 07-02-2004
Sex steroid profiles and pair-maintenance behavior of captive wild-caught zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata)
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-11-2016
DOI: 10.1007/S00359-015-1050-3
Abstract: Here, we studied the life-long monogamous zebra finch, to examine the relationship between circulating sex steroid profiles and pair-maintenance behavior in pairs of wild-caught zebra finches (paired in the laboratory for >1 month). We used liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to examine a total of eight androgens and progestins [pregnenolone, progesterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), androstenediol, pregnan-3,17-diol-20-one, androsterone, androstanediol, and testosterone]. In the plasma, only pregnenolone, progesterone, DHEA, and testosterone were above the limit of quantification. Sex steroid profiles were similar between males and females, with only circulating progesterone levels significantly different between the sexes (female > male). Circulating pregnenolone levels were high in both sexes, suggesting that pregnenolone might serve as a circulating prohormone for local steroid synthesis in zebra finches. Furthermore, circulating testosterone levels were extremely low in both sexes. Additionally, we found no correlations between circulating steroid levels and pair-maintenance behavior. Taken together, our data raise several interesting questions about the neuroendocrinology of zebra finches.
Fairy-wrens and their relatives (Maluridae) as model organisms in evolutionary ecology: the scientific legacy of Ian Rowley and Eleanor Russell
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 09-2013
DOI: 10.1071/MUV113N3_ED
Song and female choice for extrapair copulations in the sedge warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2007
The function and evolution of the tail streamer in hirundines
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 03-2001
Repeatability of behavior and physiology: No impact of reproductive investment
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2020
DOI: 10.1016/J.YGCEN.2020.113403
Abstract: Animals have well-documented in idual differences in their behaviour, including in their response to stressful stimuli. The physiological bases for the repeatability of these traits has been the focus of much research in recent years, in an attempt to explain the mechanistic drivers for behavioral syndromes. Whilst a range of studies have demonstrated repeatable in idual differences in physiological traits, little is known about potential trade-offs between reproductive investment and the physiological responses to subsequent stressors. We therefore sought to test the behavioral and physiological responses of male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) to a novel environment, quantifying a series of repeated "temporal reaction norms" before and after reproduction. Given that reproductive investment is costly both in time and energy, it is likely to affect expression of behavioral and physiological traits. We hypothesised that reproductive investment would impact the consistency of these temporal reaction norms. Specifically, we predicted that in iduals which invested more in reproduction would show altered rates of habituation to a stressful stimulus. Therefore, we quantified temporal reaction norm components (i.e., intercept and slope) of two behaviours and metabolic rate (MR) within and among in iduals before and after a breeding season. We found that in iduals consistently differed in how their locomotor and feeding activity increased upon introduction into a novel environment and also how their MR decreased after being handled and confined within the metabolic chamber. We also found that the slope of the feeding activity reaction norm was negatively correlated with stress-induced corticosterone levels at the within-in idual level. Finally, in contrast to our prediction, we found that neither the intercept nor slope of the reaction norms were influenced by the reproductive effort (the number of fledglings produced) displayed by in idual males. This suggests that the substantial in idual variation in the expression of physiological and behavioural traits is not plastic with respect to the immediate consequences of reproductive investment. This study is the first quantification of metabolic rate reaction norms and their relationships with fitness, which represents an important first step towards understanding the evolutionary significance of instantaneous habituation to stressful and novel situations.
Assessing the aerodynamic effects of tail elongations in the house martin (Delichon urbica): implications for the initial selection pressures in hirundines
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-10-2000
Sex steroid profiles in zebra finches
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.YGCEN.2016.02.018
Abstract: The zebra finch is a common model organism in neuroscience, endocrinology, and ethology. Zebra finches are generally considered opportunistic breeders, but the extent of their opportunism depends on the predictability of their habitat. This plasticity in the timing of breeding raises the question of how domestication, a process that increases environmental predictability, has affected their reproductive physiology. Here, we compared circulating steroid levels in various "strains" of zebra finches. In Study 1, using radioimmunoassay, we examined circulating testosterone levels in several strains of zebra finches (males and females). Subjects were wild or captive (Captive Wild-Caught, Wild-Derived, or Domesticated). In Study 2, using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), we examined circulating sex steroid profiles in wild and domesticated zebra finches (males and females). In Study 1, circulating testosterone levels in males differed across strains. In Study 2, six steroids were detectable in plasma from wild zebra finches (pregnenolone, progesterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), testosterone, androsterone, and 5α-dihydrotestosterone (5α-DHT)). Only pregnenolone and progesterone levels changed across reproductive states in wild finches. Compared to wild zebra finches, domesticated zebra finches had elevated levels of circulating pregnenolone, progesterone, DHEA, testosterone, androstenedione, and androsterone. These data suggest that domestication has profoundly altered the endocrinology of this common model organism. These results have implications for interpreting studies of domesticated zebra finches, as well as studies of other domesticated species.
Olfactory eavesdropping: The odor of feathers is detectable to mammalian predators and competitors
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-10-2017
DOI: 10.1111/ETH.12701
Developmental stress selectively affects the song control nucleus HVC in the zebra finch
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 22-11-2004
Immunosuppression under stress: necessary for condition-dependent signalling? Reply
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2000
Fruitful use of bioacoustic alarm stimuli as a deterrent for Crimson Rosellas (Platycercus elegans)
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 12-2011
DOI: 10.1071/MU10080
A meta-heuristic method for solving scheduling problem: crow search algorithm
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Date: 04-2018
Stress and sexual traits: why are there no clear relationships? A comment on Moore et al.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 18-12-2016
Male song structure predicts reproductive success in a wild zebra finch population
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2012
Wetland conservation in the Murray-Darling Basin - is it going down the drain?
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 06-2009
DOI: 10.1071/MUV109N2_ED
Pollutants affect development in nestling starlings Sturnus vulgaris
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-12-2010
Begging and provisioning of thin-billed prions, Pachyptila belcheri, are related to testosterone and corticosterone
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2006
Acoustic developmental programming: a mechanistic and evolutionary framework
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2021
Prevalence of BFDV in wild breeding Platycercus elegans
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-02-2019
Prenatal sound experience affects song preferences in male zebra finches
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2023
Maternal effects in the Zebra Finch: a model mother reviewed
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 09-2010
DOI: 10.1071/MU10006
Good vibrations in the nest
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-07-2019
An illustration of variable precision rough set theory: The gender classification of the European barn swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-2003
Sexy streamers? The role of natural and sexual selection in the evolution of hirundine tail streamers
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2001
Developmental stress reduces body condition across avian life-history stages: A comparison of quantitative magnetic resonance data and condition indices
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.YGCEN.2018.11.008
Abstract: Animals exposed to stressful developmental conditions can experience sustained physiological, behavioral, and fitness effects. While extensive research shows how developmental stress affects development, few studies have examined the effects on body composition. To test the effects of developmental stress on nestling and adult body composition, we dosed nestling zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) with either a corticosterone (CORT) or control treatment. We calculated condition indices (scaled mass, residual mass, and ratio indices) from morphometric measurements and used quantitative magnetic resonance (QMR) to assess body composition during early development and adulthood. We compared these three traditionally-used condition indices to QMR-derived body composition measurements, to test how well they predict relative fat mass. Our results show that developmental stress decreases body mass, and has a dose-dependent effect on tarsus length in nestling birds. Furthermore, stress treatment during the nestling period had long-lasting effects on adult body mass, lean mass and tarsus length. None of the three condition indices were good indicators of relative fat mass in nestlings, but all indices were closely associated with relative fat mass in adults. The scaled mass index was more closely associated with relative fat mass than the other condition indices, when calculated from wing chord length in nestlings. In adults however, the residual mass index and the ratio index were better indicators of relative body fat than the scaled mass index, when calculated from tarsus length. Our data demonstrate the short and long-term impact of developmental stress on birds, and highlight important age-related factors to consider when using condition indices.
Testing the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis: a review of the evidence
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2004
Acute exposure to high temperature affects expression of heat shock proteins in altricial avian embryos
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2022
Experimental manipulation of maternal corticosterone: Hormone transfer to the yolk in the zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2021
Song as an indicator of parasitism in the sedge warbler
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-1999
Song, sperm quality and testes asymmetry in the sedge warbler
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-1997
Physiological, morphological and behavioural effects of selecting zebra finches for divergent levels of corticosterone
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 15-12-2007
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.007104
Abstract: The effects of environmental stress on the physiology and behaviour of higher vertebrates has become an important avenue of research in recent years. Evidence from recent studies has suggested that the avian stress-related hormone corticosterone (CORT) may play a role in immunocompetence and sexual selection. We tested whether CORT is immunosuppressive by studying humoral and cell-mediated immune responses in populations of captive zebra finches selected for ergent peak levels of CORT. We also investigated whether selection for peak CORT has an effect on the quality of several sexually selected regions of the male zebra finch in addition we compared morphometric parameters and the dominance ranking in males from the different selection lines. We also tested whether different components of the immune system compete for limited resources. We found that selection for ergent levels of peak CORT had little effect on humoral immunity, male sexual signal quality or dominance ranking. However, contrary to expectations, we did find a positive relationship between CORT titre and cell-mediated immunity, as well as a greater cell-mediated response in the birds selected for high CORT titre than those selected for low CORT titre. Consistent with predictions, significant negative relationships were found between both testosterone and CORT titre on humoral immunity. Birds from the low CORT lines were significantly larger in terms of skeletal size than those from the high CORT lines. Overall, our results suggest that the cell-mediated immune response is associated with a reduction in the humoral response, but only in males, and that there is no simple relationship between peak CORT levels and immune function.
Early Life Nutrition and the Programming of the Phenotype
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2022
Related Organisations
Royal Holloway University Of London
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
University Of Stirling
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
University Of Glasgow
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Cardiff University
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Related Funding Activities
Threats Of Avian Pathogens To Endangered Parrots And Human Health: Developing And Using Tools To Reduce Risk
Start Date: 2014
End Date: 2017
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityARC Future Fellowships - Grant ID: FT140100131
Start Date: 03-2015
End Date: 12-2020
Amount: $769,222.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityDiscovery Projects - Grant ID: DP180101207
Start Date: 2018
End Date: 12-2022
Amount: $393,192.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityDiscovery Projects - Grant ID: DP130100417
Start Date: 03-2013
End Date: 12-2016
Amount: $435,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityLinkage Projects - Grant ID: LP140100691
Start Date: 02-2015
End Date: 02-2018
Amount: $315,138.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityDiscovery Projects - Grant ID: DP210101238
Start Date: 12-2021
End Date: 12-2023
Amount: $426,483.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded Activity