Journal
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
Volume 90, Issue 12, Pages 1422-1430Publisher
CANADIAN SCIENCE PUBLISHING
DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2012-0096
Keywords
biomarker; cross-fostering; developmental effect; early-life environment; feather corticosterone; microclimate; nest box; stressor; Tachycineta bicolor; Tree Swallow; temperature
Categories
Funding
- Nature Saskatchewan Graduate Student Award
- Candace Savage and Keith Bell Fellowship in Grasslands Ecology Studies
- Malcolm A. Ramsay Memorial Award
- Dr. Ruby Larson Student Research Fund
- Houston Professorship
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- University of Saskatchewan
- Environment Canada
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Although altricial young are dependent on their parents during early life, they must respond to environmental variation to maintain homeostasis. The hormone corticosterone (CORT) may be an important link between environment and phenotype during early life; however, no previous study has experimentally assessed the sensitivity of CORT to nest microclimate in altricial birds beginning to thermoregulate. We tested the hypothesis that microclimate influences CORT by cross-fostering nestling Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor (Vieillot, 1808)) between thicker-walled aspen nest boxes and thinner-walled plywood nest boxes. Quantification of CORT in nestling feathers allowed us to consider hormone secreted over days, rather than instantaneously from blood samples. In agreement with our hypothesis, we detected significant positive relationships between feather CORT and increased temperature variability and maximum, but not minimum, nest box temperatures. This could reflect the energetic challenge of warmer temperatures or positive developmental effects on the nestling hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis. Feather CORT was significantly lower in chicks hatched in aspen nest boxes compared with plywood ones, but cross-fostering did not influence nestling CORT. This suggests that the influence of natal nest box environment on feather CORT was likely greater than the influence of the foster nest box environment. The relationships we detected highlight the sensitivity of feather CORT to environmental variation and contribute insight into nestling responses to environmental change.
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