| Title |
Can synchronizing feather-based measures of corticosterone and stable isotopes help us better understand habitat–physiology relationships?
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Oecologia, May 2013
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00442-013-2678-8 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Graham D. Fairhurst, Matthias Vögeli, David Serrano, Antonio Delgado, José L. Tella, Gary R. Bortolotti |
| Abstract |
Physiological mechanisms link the environment with population dynamics, and glucocorticoid hormones are of particular interest because they respond adaptively to environmental change and can influence vertebrate reproduction and fitness. We tested a novel approach of synchronizing feather-based measures of corticosterone (the primary avian glucocorticoid; CORTf) and ratios of stable isotopes (SIs) of C (δ(13)C) and N (δ(15)N) to provide information about environmental conditions and an integrated physiological response to those conditions over the same period of feather synthesis. Using a fragmented metapopulation of Dupont's larks Chersophilus duponti, an endangered steppe songbird, we analyzed interrelationships among CORTf, δ(13)C, δ(15)N, and the physical environment, including measures of habitat loss and fragmentation. CORTf was not related to any habitat variable measured directly. However, we detected a significant spatial structure to CORTf values and food availability, with greater similarity in both at smaller spatial scales. Using SIs as proxies for the local environment, we found CORTf was negatively related to δ(13)C. Values of CORTf, δ(13)C, and the relationship between the two were likely driven by variation in agricultural land use surrounding lark habitat patches. Our feather-based approach revealed that individual physiology was sensitive to environmental conditions (e.g., an interaction of food availability and variation in habitat) at a local scale, but not patch or landscape scales. Combining CORTf and SIs may be a promising tool because it can provide individual-based information about habitat, physiology, and their relationship during the same time period. |
X Demographics
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Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 2 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 126 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | 4 | 3% |
| Portugal | 1 | <1% |
| Sweden | 1 | <1% |
| France | 1 | <1% |
| Romania | 1 | <1% |
| Mexico | 1 | <1% |
| Unknown | 117 | 93% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 37 | 29% |
| Researcher | 33 | 26% |
| Student > Master | 23 | 18% |
| Professor > Associate Professor | 7 | 6% |
| Student > Bachelor | 6 | 5% |
| Other | 10 | 8% |
| Unknown | 10 | 8% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 84 | 67% |
| Environmental Science | 20 | 16% |
| Business, Management and Accounting | 1 | <1% |
| Earth and Planetary Sciences | 1 | <1% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 1 | <1% |
| Other | 2 | 2% |
| Unknown | 17 | 13% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 06 November 2013.
All research outputs
#15,271,909
of 22,710,079 outputs
Outputs from Oecologia
#3,243
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Outputs of similar age
#119,769
of 193,695 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Oecologia
#17
of 30 outputs
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