scholarly journals Stress and the costs of extra-territorial movement in a social carnivore

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 439-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J Young ◽  
Steven L Monfort
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Delayed Dispersal ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Suricata Suricatta ◽  
Related Distribution ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Animal Societies ◽  
Pituitary Adrenal Axis

Costs associated with extra-territorial movement are believed to have favoured the evolution of delayed dispersal and sociality across a range of social vertebrates, but remain surprisingly poorly understood. Here we reveal a novel mechanism that may contribute substantially to the costs of extra-territorial movement: physiological stress. We show that subordinate male meerkats, Suricata suricatta , exhibit markedly elevated faecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels (a non-invasive measure of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity) while conducting extra-territorial prospecting forays. While brief increases in glucocorticoid levels are unlikely to be costly, chronic elevations, arising from prolonged and/or frequent forays, are expected to compromise fitness through their diverse negative effects on health. Our findings strongly suggest that prolonged extra-territorial movements do result in chronic stress, as the high glucocorticoid levels of prospectors do not diminish on longer forays and are no lower among males with greater prospecting experience. A generalized ‘stress’ of extra-territorial movement may therefore have strengthened selection for delayed dispersal and sociality in this and other species, and favoured the conduct of brief forays over extended periods of floating. Our findings have implications too for understanding the rank-related distribution of physiological stress in animal societies, as extra-territorial movements are often conducted solely by subordinates.

An intervention study on the effectiveness of an anti-stress-app on psychophysiological acute and chronic stress (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franziska Lautenbach
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Subjective Perception ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Acute And Chronic Stress

BACKGROUND Dealing with stress is of central importance. Lately, smartphone applications (apps) are deployed in stress interventions as they offer maximal flexibility for users. First results of experimental studies show that anti-stress apps effect subjective perception of stress positively (Ly et al., 2014). However, current literature lacks studies on physiological stress reactions (e.g., cortisol), although they are of special interest to health issues. OBJECTIVE Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an anti-stress app in chronic and acute stress reduction on a physiological (cortisol) and psychological level (subjective perception of stress) in comparison to a face-to-face and a control group in a pre-post design, for the first time. METHODS Sixty-two participants took part in the pretesting procedure (drop-out of 53 %). Based on age, gender, physical activity and subjectively perceived acute stress due to the Trier Social Stress Test for groups (TSST-G; von Dawans et al., 2011) as well as based on subjectively chronic stress assessed during the pretest, participants were parallelized in three groups (anti-stress-app: n = 10, face-to-face: n = 11, control group: n = 9). RESULTS After six weeks of the cognitive-based resource-oriented intervention, participants were exposed to the TSST-G for post testing. Results did not show a change of cortisol secretion or cognitive appraisal of the acute stressor. Further, no changes were detected in the chronic physiological stress reaction. CONCLUSIONS Possible causes are discussed extensively. CLINICALTRIAL no

scholarly journals Opportunities and limits of controlled-environment plant phenotyping for climate response traits

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Langstroff ◽  
Marc C. Heuermann ◽  
Andreas Stahl ◽  
Astrid Junker
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Plant Phenotyping ◽  
Controlled Environment ◽  
Climate Response ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Phenotypic Data ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Controlled Environments ◽  
Response Traits

AbstractRising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns will affect agricultural production substantially, exposing crops to extended and more intense periods of stress. Therefore, breeding of varieties adapted to the constantly changing conditions is pivotal to enable a quantitatively and qualitatively adequate crop production despite the negative effects of climate change. As it is not yet possible to select for adaptation to future climate scenarios in the field, simulations of future conditions in controlled-environment (CE) phenotyping facilities contribute to the understanding of the plant response to special stress conditions and help breeders to select ideal genotypes which cope with future conditions. CE phenotyping facilities enable the collection of traits that are not easy to measure under field conditions and the assessment of a plant‘s phenotype under repeatable, clearly defined environmental conditions using automated, non-invasive, high-throughput methods. However, extrapolation and translation of results obtained under controlled environments to field environments is ambiguous. This review outlines the opportunities and challenges of phenotyping approaches under controlled environments complementary to conventional field trials. It gives an overview on general principles and introduces existing phenotyping facilities that take up the challenge of obtaining reliable and robust phenotypic data on climate response traits to support breeding of climate-adapted crops.

Couples’ Communication Behaviors and Diurnal Cortisol Patterns

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (18) ◽  
pp. 2871-2892
Author(s):  
Natasha S. Seiter ◽  
Rachel G. Lucas-Thompson ◽  
Kim L. Henry
Keyword(s):  
Marital Conflict ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal Axis ◽  
Communication Behaviors ◽  
Important Indicator ◽  
Diurnal Cortisol ◽  
Couple Communication ◽  
Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal ◽  
Adrenal Axis ◽  
Pituitary Adrenal Axis

Previous research suggests that more negative or less positive couple communication can be stressful and that chronic stress can lead to less healthy patterns of physiological stress functioning. Our goal was to investigate whether couples’ observed communication behaviors and reported relationship conflict were related to diurnal cortisol patterns, an important indicator of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis functioning. Sixty-two couples ( n = 124 individuals) reported marital conflict and were video-recorded engaging in a coded conflict discussion. Diurnal cortisol samples were collected. Results suggested that men’s greater observed communication quality predicted women’s higher awakening cortisol levels as well as men’s steeper decreases in cortisol across the day (i.e., slopes), men’s greater reported conflict predicted women’s lower awakening levels, and, in some models, women’s greater reported resolution predicted women’s lower awakening levels and men’s steeper slopes. These findings suggest that less positive and more negative marital conflict contribute to dysfunction of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis.

Are roads and traffic sources of physiological stress for the Florida scrub-jay?

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gina M. Morgan ◽  
Travis E. Wilcoxen ◽  
Michelle A. Rensel ◽  
Stephan J. Schoech
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Condition Index ◽  
Physiological Effects ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Florida Scrub ◽  
The Road ◽  
Threatened And Endangered Species ◽  
Chronic Stressor

Context Anthropogenic disturbances induce physiological and behavioural responses in numerous species. The negative effects of human disturbance are of special concern to threatened and endangered species. Aims The present study aims to compare physiological stress measures and reproductive success of Florida scrub-jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) living near roads with jays that live away from roads. Specifically, it aims to test whether roads are stressful. Methods We assessed physiological measures that can serve as indicators of ‘stress’ to determine whether a highway that bisects our study site had physiological effects on adult male Florida scrub-jays. We captured male breeders from three territory types, including scrub habitat that (1) bordered a highway with a grassy shoulder that created an ‘edge’ habitat (roadside), (2) bordered human-maintained habitat (a plowed firebreak of sand with adjacent pasture) that served as a control for the edge-effect of the road (pasture) and (3) contained only natural scrub habitat (interior). We measured baseline concentrations of the stress hormone corticosterone (CORT), body mass, and a suite of longitudinal body measures to generate a body condition index in males from each territory type over three breeding seasons. Key results Roadside jays had greater body mass than did interior and pasture jays, although there were no differences in overall baseline CORT concentrations or body condition among territory classes. There was no difference in clutch initiation date or size and nestling and independent-young survival. Conclusions Our results suggest that the road through our study site has physiological effects on Florida scrub-jays; however, there is mixed evidence as to whether it acts as a chronic stressor. Implications Our findings provide evidence that roads and road-associated disturbance has neutral or potentially beneficial physiological effects of roads on Florida scrub-jays. Knowledge of these effects of roads and disturbance on jays will hopefully provide additional opportunities to improve conservation of this species.

Role of hypothalamic inputs in maintaining pituitary-adrenal responsiveness in repeated restraint

2003 ◽  
Vol 285 (5) ◽  
pp. E1110-E1117 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Zelena ◽  
Z. Mergl ◽  
A. Földes ◽  
K. J. Kovács ◽  
Z. Tóth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Mrna Level ◽  
Hormonal Changes ◽  
Mediobasal Hypothalamus ◽  
Hormonal Responses ◽  
Pomc Mrna ◽  
Paraventricular Nucleus Of Hypothalamus ◽  
Pituitary Adrenal Axis

The role of hypothalamic structures in the regulation of chronic stress responses was studied by lesioning the mediobasal hypothalamus or the paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus (PVH). Rats were acutely (60 min) and/or repeatedly (for 7 days) restrained. In controls, a single restraint elevated the plasma adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), corticosterone, and prolactin levels. Repeated restraint produced all signs of chronic stress, including decreased body and thymus weights, increased adrenal weight, basal corticosterone levels, and proopiomelanocortin (POMC) mRNA expression in the anterior pituitary. Some adaptation to repeated restraint of the ACTH response, but not of other hormonal responses, was seen. Lesioning of the mediobasal hypothalamus abolished the hormonal response and POMC mRNA activation to acute and/or repeated restraint, suggesting that the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis activation during repeated restraint is centrally driven. PVH lesion inhibited the ACTH and corticosterone rise to the first restraint by ∼50%. In repeatedly restrained rats with PVH lesion, the ACTH response to the last restraint was reduced almost to basal control levels, and the elevation of POMC mRNA level was prevented. PVH seems to be important for the repeated restraint-induced ACTH and POMC mRNA stimulation, but it appears to partially mediate other restraint-induced hormonal changes.

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