Fecal cortisol levels predict breeding but not survival of females in the short-lived rodent, Octodon degus.
Gen Comp Endocrinol
; 186: 164-71, 2013 Jun 01.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-23524002
ABSTRACT
The cort-adaptation hypothesis indicates that an association between glucocorticoid (cort) levels and fitness may vary with the extent to which reproduction or breeding effort is a major determinant of cort levels. Support for a context dependent association between cort and fitness comes mostly from relatively long-lived, bird species. We tested the hypothesis that there are gender and context (life-history) specific cort-fitness relationships in degus, a short-lived and generally semelparous social rodent. In particular, we used demographical records on a natural population to estimate adult survival through seasons and years and linked that to records of baseline cort (based on fecal cortisol metabolites). We found no evidence for a direct relationship between baseline cort and adult survival across seasons, and this lack of association was recorded irrespective of sex and life history stage. Yet, cort levels during early lactation predicted the probability that females produce a second litter during the same breeding season, supporting a connection between baseline cort levels and breeding effort. Overall, the differential effects of cort on survival and breeding supported that the extent of cort-fitness relationships depends on the fitness component examined.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Cruzamiento
/
Hidrocortisona
/
Octodon
/
Heces
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Gen Comp Endocrinol
Año:
2013
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Chile