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Santicchia F, Tranquillo C, Wauters LA, Palme R, Panzeri M, Preatoni D, Bisi F, Martinoli A. Physiological stress response to urbanisation differs between native and invasive squirrel species. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 922:171336. [PMID: 38423339 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Novel pressures derived from urbanisation can alter native habitats and ultimately impact wildlife. Coping with such human-driven changes might induce shifts in species phenotypic traits, such as physiological responses to anthropogenic stressors. Preadaptation to face those challenges has been suggested to favour settlement and spread of invasive alien species in urbanised areas which, consequently, might respond differently than ecologically similar native species to stressors posed by urbanisation. The activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the subsequent release of glucocorticoids (GCs) has been suggested to mediate responses to anthropogenic disturbance in vertebrates. Furthermore, intraspecific competition, in conjunction with stressors related to urbanisation, might affect invasive and native species physiological stress responses differently. Using a parallel pseudo-experimental study system we measured faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentrations of the native Eurasian red squirrel and the invasive alien Eastern grey squirrel along a rural-urban gradient and in relation to conspecific density. The two species responded differently to challenges posed by the synergic effect of urbanisation and intraspecific competition. Association of FGMs and conspecific density in native red squirrels varied between rural and suburban sites, potentially depending on differential HPA axis responses. In urban sites, this relationship did not differ significantly from that in rural and suburban ones. Conversely, invasive grey squirrels' FGMs did not vary in relation to conspecific density, nor differed along the rural-urban gradient. Improving knowledge about native and competing invasive species' physiological responses to anthropogenic stressors can support conservation strategies in habitats altered by man. Our findings suggested that the invasive squirrels might be preadapted to cope with these challenges in urbanised areas, potentially increasing their success under the future global change scenario.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Santicchia
- Environment Analysis and Management Unit, Guido Tosi Research Group, Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, via J. H. Dunant 3, 21100 Varese, Italy.
| | - Claudia Tranquillo
- Environment Analysis and Management Unit, Guido Tosi Research Group, Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, via J. H. Dunant 3, 21100 Varese, Italy.
| | - Lucas A Wauters
- Environment Analysis and Management Unit, Guido Tosi Research Group, Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, via J. H. Dunant 3, 21100 Varese, Italy; Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Campus Drie Eiken Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
| | - Rupert Palme
- Unit of Physiology, Pathophysiology and Experimental Endocrinology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Mattia Panzeri
- Environment Analysis and Management Unit, Guido Tosi Research Group, Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, via J. H. Dunant 3, 21100 Varese, Italy
| | - Damiano Preatoni
- Environment Analysis and Management Unit, Guido Tosi Research Group, Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, via J. H. Dunant 3, 21100 Varese, Italy.
| | - Francesco Bisi
- Environment Analysis and Management Unit, Guido Tosi Research Group, Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, via J. H. Dunant 3, 21100 Varese, Italy.
| | - Adriano Martinoli
- Environment Analysis and Management Unit, Guido Tosi Research Group, Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, via J. H. Dunant 3, 21100 Varese, Italy.
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Bonier F. Future directions in urban endocrinology - The effects of endocrine plasticity on urban tolerance. Mol Cell Endocrinol 2023; 565:111886. [PMID: 36775244 DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2023.111886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Revised: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Abstract
After twenty years of studies of endocrine traits in animals living in cities, the field of urban endocrinology has built a robust literature including numerous studies looking for signatures of the effects of urban living, usually in mean circulating hormone concentrations. The findings of this past research have primarily demonstrated the absence of any generalizable endocrine responses to city life. In this opinion paper, I suggest that a strong route forward would include investigations of the role of variation in endocrine plasticity in determining the degree to which organisms tolerate urban challenges (i.e., urban tolerance). Achieving this research aim will require creative experimental and comparative studies, consideration of alternative study systems, and teasing apart of sources of variation in plastic phenotypes (plasticity, sorting, and contemporary evolution). Insight into the role of endocrine plasticity in influencing urban tolerance could help us better understand and predict impacts of expanding urbanization on biodiversity across the globe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frances Bonier
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada.
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Brooks MR, Medley S, Ponder M, Alexander KA. Campylobacter in aquatic and terrestrial mammals is driven by life traits: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Ecol Evol 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2023.1070519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
IntroductionCampylobacter spp. infections are responsible for significant diarrheal disease burden across the globe, with prevalence thought to be increasing. Although wild avian species have been studied as reservoirs of Campylobacter spp., our understanding of the role of wild mammalian species in disease transmission and persistence is limited. Host factors influencing infection dynamics in wild mammals have been neglected, particularly life traits, and the role of these factors in zoonotic spillover risk is largely unknown.MethodsHere, we conducted a systematic literature review, identifying mammalian species that had been tested for Campylobacter spp. infections (molecular and culture based). We used logistic regression to evaluate the relationship between the detection of Campylobacter spp. in feces and host life traits (urban association, trophic level, and sociality).ResultsOur analysis suggest that C. jejuni transmission is associated with urban living and trophic level. The probability of carriage was highest in urban-associated species (p = 0.02793) and the most informative model included trophic level. In contrast, C. coli carriage appears to be strongly influenced by sociality (p = 0.0113) with trophic level still being important. Detection of Campylobacter organisms at the genus level, however, was only associated with trophic level (p = 0.0156), highlighting the importance of this trait in exposure dynamics across host and Campylobacter pathogen systems.DiscussionWhile many challenges remain in the detection and characterization of Camploybacter spp., these results suggest that host life traits may have important influence on pathogen exposure and transmission dynamics, providing a useful starting point for more directed surveillance approaches.
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Brunton E, Brunton A, Hohwieler K, Ogbourne S, Conroy G. Spatial genetic structure and gene flow of the eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), in a rapidly urbanising landscape. Glob Ecol Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
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Di Francesco J, Kwong GPS, Deardon R, Checkley SL, Mastromonaco GF, Mavrot F, Leclerc LM, Kutz S. Qiviut cortisol is associated with metrics of health and other intrinsic and extrinsic factors in wild muskoxen ( Ovibos moschatus). CONSERVATION PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 10:coab103. [PMID: 35492408 PMCID: PMC9040286 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coab103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 10/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/27/2021] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Glucocorticoid (GC) levels are increasingly and widely used as biomarkers of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity to study the effects of environmental changes and other perturbations on wildlife individuals and populations. However, identifying the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence GC levels is a key step in endocrinology studies to ensure accurate interpretation of GC responses. In muskoxen, qiviut (fine woolly undercoat hair) cortisol concentration is an integrative biomarker of HPA axis activity over the course of the hair's growth. We gathered data from 219 wild muskoxen harvested in the Canadian Arctic between October 2015 and May 2019. We examined the relationship between qiviut cortisol and various intrinsic (sex, age, body condition and incisor breakage) and extrinsic biotic factors (lungworm and gastrointestinal parasite infections and exposure to bacteria), as well as broader non-specific landscape and temporal features (geographical location, season and year). A Bayesian approach, which allows for the joint estimation of missing values in the data and model parameters estimates, was applied for the statistical analyses. The main findings include the following: (i) higher qiviut cortisol levels in males than in females; (ii) inter-annual variations; (iii) higher qiviut cortisol levels in a declining population compared to a stable population; (iv) a negative association between qiviut cortisol and marrow fat percentage; (v) a relationship between qiviut cortisol and the infection intensity of the lungworm Umingmakstrongylus pallikuukensis, which varied depending on the geographical location; and (vi) no association between qiviut cortisol and other pathogen exposure/infection intensity metrics. This study confirmed and further identified important sources of variability in qiviut cortisol levels, while providing important insights on the relationship between GC levels and pathogen exposure/infection intensity. Results support the use of qiviut cortisol as a tool to monitor temporal changes in HPA axis activity at a population level and to inform management and conservation actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliette Di Francesco
- Corresponding author: Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada.
| | - Grace P S Kwong
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada
- Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Rob Deardon
- Department of Production Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Sylvia L Checkley
- Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Gabriela F Mastromonaco
- Reproductive Physiology Unit, Toronto Zoo, 361A Old Finch Avenue, Scarborough, Ontario M1B 5K7, Canada
| | - Fabien Mavrot
- Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Lisa-Marie Leclerc
- Department of Environment, Government of Nunavut, P.O. Box 377, Kugluktuk, Nunavut X0B 0E0, Canada
| | - Susan Kutz
- Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada
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Herbert CA, Snape MA, Wimpenny CE, Coulson G. Kangaroos in peri‐urban areas: A fool’s paradise? ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT & RESTORATION 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/emr.12487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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Brandimarti ME, Gray R, Silva FRO, Herbert CA. Kangaroos at maximum capacity: health assessment of free-ranging eastern grey kangaroos on a coastal headland. J Mammal 2021; 102:837-851. [PMID: 34385895 PMCID: PMC8355480 DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyab022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2020] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Sprawling urban development is fragmenting the landscape and native wildlife habitats on the Australian east coast. The impact of this rapid urbanization on wildlife health is largely unknown. This study surveyed the health of a high-density (5.4 individuals per ha) population of eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) affected by urban encroachment and prolonged drought. Blood parameters (hematological and serum protein), trace element and heavy metal concentrations, and parasite counts (fecal worm egg counts, ticks, and mites) are reported for a sample of ≤ 54 kangaroos at Look at Me Now Headland, New South Wales, Australia. These parameters were compared to lower density kangaroo populations from other sites in New South Wales. We found the health and welfare of this population to be severely compromised, with nonregenerative anemia and nutritional deficiencies evident. Our results indicate that high-density kangaroo populations isolated by urban encroachment are at significant health risk. To prevent further decline in this population’s health, we discuss management strategies that could be employed, concurrent with ongoing health and disease monitoring, to mitigate the poor health outcomes in this population. We conclude that it is essential to retain habitat connectivity when altering land use in areas with resident kangaroo populations if managers are to maintain healthy populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maquel E Brandimarti
- School of Life and Environmental Science, The University of Sydney, JD Stewart Building, Camperdown, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Rachael Gray
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, McMaster Building, Camperdown, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Fabiola R O Silva
- School of Life and Environmental Science, The University of Sydney, JD Stewart Building, Camperdown, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Catherine A Herbert
- School of Life and Environmental Science, The University of Sydney, JD Stewart Building, Camperdown, New South Wales 2006, Australia
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Iglesias-Carrasco M, Aich U, Jennions MD, Head ML. Stress in the city: meta-analysis indicates no overall evidence for stress in urban vertebrates. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201754. [PMID: 33023414 PMCID: PMC7657868 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
As cities continue to grow it is increasingly important to understand the long-term responses of wildlife to urban environments. There have been increased efforts to determine whether urbanization imposes chronic stress on wild animals, but empirical evidence is mixed. Here, we conduct a meta-analysis to test whether there is, on average, a detrimental effect of urbanization based on baseline and stress-induced glucocorticoid levels of wild vertebrates. We found no effect of urbanization on glucocorticoid levels, and none of sex, season, life stage, taxon, size of the city nor methodology accounted for variation in the observed effect sizes. At face value, our results suggest that urban areas are no more stressful for wildlife than rural or non-urban areas, but we offer a few reasons why this conclusion could be premature. We propose that refining methods of data collection will improve our understanding of how urbanization affects the health and survival of wildlife.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maider Iglesias-Carrasco
- Division of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
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