A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Surface temperatures are influenced by handling stress independently of corticosterone levels in wild king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus)
Authors: Lewden Agnès, Ward Chelsea, Noiret Aude, Avril Sandra, Abolivier Lucie, Gérard Caroline, Hammer Tracey L., Raymond Émilie, Robin Jean-Patrice, Viblanc Vincent A., Bize Pierre, Stier Antoine
Publisher: Pergamon Press
Publication year: 2024
Journal: Journal of Thermal Biology
Journal name in source: Journal of Thermal Biology
Article number: 103850
Volume: 121
ISSN: 0306-4565
eISSN: 1879-0992
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2024.103850
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2024.103850
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/387651526
Assessing the physiological stress responses of wild animals opens a window for understanding how organisms cope with environmental challenges. Since stress response is associated with changes in body temperature, the use of body surface temperature through thermal imaging could help to measure acute and chronic stress responses non-invasively. We used thermal imaging, acute handling-stress protocol and an experimental manipulation of corticosterone (the main glucocorticoid hormone in birds) levels in breeding king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus), to assess: 1. The potential contribution of the Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis in mediating chronic and acute stress-induced changes in adult surface temperature, 2. The influence of HPA axis manipulation on parental investment through thermal imaging of eggs and brooded chicks, and 3. The impact of parental treatment on offspring thermal's response to acute handling. Maximum eye temperature (Teye) increased and minimum beak temperature (Tbeak) decreased in response to handling stress in adults, but neither basal nor stress-induced surface temperatures were significantly affected by corticosterone implant. While egg temperature was not significantly influenced by parental treatment, we found a surprising pattern for chicks: chicks brooded by the (non-implanted) partner of corticosterone-implanted individuals exhibited higher surface temperature (both Teye and Tbeak) than those brooded by glucocorticoid-implanted or control parents. Chick's response to handling in terms of surface temperature was characterized by a drop in both Teye and Tbeak independently of parental treatment. We conclude that the HPA axis seems unlikely to play a major role in determining chronic or acute changes in surface temperature in king penguins. Changes in surface temperature may primarily be mediated by the Sympathetic-Adrenal-Medullary (SAM) axis in response to stressful situations. Our experiment did not reveal a direct impact of parental HPA axis manipulation on parental investment (egg or chick temperature), but a potential influence on the partner's brooding behaviour.
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Funding information in the publication:
We are grateful to the French Polar Institute (IPEV) and the Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises for providing financial and logistical support for this study through the polar program #119 (ECONERGY). This study is part of the long-term Studies in Ecology and Evolution (SEE-Life) program of the CNRS. We wish to thank the Zone Atelier Antarctique et Terres Australes (ZATA) from the CNRS for financial support, and the members of the Alfred Faure field station for their help and support in the field. AL was supported by ISblue project, Interdisciplinary graduate school for the blue planet (ANR-17-EURE-0015) and co-funded by a grant from the French government under the program “Investissements d'Avenir" embedded in France (2030). AS was supported by a ‘Turku Collegium for Science and Medicine’ Fellowship, a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships (#894963) and the IdEx Université de Strasbourg (HotPenguin). SA and CG were funded by the French Polar Institute.
