Reproduction elevates the corticosterone stress response in common fruit bats |
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Authors: | Stefan M Klose Carolynn L Smith Andrea J Denzel Elisabeth KV Kalko |
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Institution: | (1) Ecological Endocrinology Lab (EEL), Department of Experimental Ecology, University of Ulm, Albert Einstein Allee 11, 89069 Ulm, Germany;(2) School of Integrative Biology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia;(3) Department of Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, 2109, NSW, Australia;(4) Biological Sciences Directorate, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230, USA;(5) Department of General Zoology and Endocrinology, University of Ulm, Albert Einstein Allee 11, 89069 Ulm, Germany;(6) Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Panama |
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Abstract: | Changes in reproductive state or the environment may affect the sensitivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-andrenal (HPA) axis.
However, little is known about the dynamics of the resulting corticosteroid stress response, in particular in tropical mammals.
In this study, we address the modulation of corticosterone release in response to different reproductive conditions and seasonality
in 326 free-living common fruit-eating bats (Artibeus jamaicensis) on Barro Colorado Island in Panama during dry and wet seasons. We present strong evidence that stress sensitivity is primarily
modulated by reproductive condition. In reproductively active females, corticosterone increases were more rapid and reached
higher levels, but also decreased significantly faster than in inactive females. The corticosterone response was weaker in
reproducing males than in females and delayed compared to non-reproductive males. Testes volume in reproductively active males
was negatively correlated with corticosterone concentrations. Our findings suggest differentiated dynamics in the corticosterone
stress response between sexes, potentially reflecting conflicting ecological demands. In females, a strong acute corticosterone
response may represent high stress- and risk-sensitivity that facilitates escape and thus helps to protect reproduction. In
males, suppression during reproductive activity could reflect lowered stress sensitivity to avoid chronically elevated corticosterone
levels in times of frequent aggressive and therefore costly inter-male encounters. |
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Keywords: | Glucocorticoids Reproduction Behaviour Phyllostomidae Chiroptera |
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