Like mother, like daughter: heritability of female Richardson's ground squirrel Urocitellus richardsonii cortisol stress responses

Blind date: female fossorial amphisbaenians prefer scent marks of large and healthy males

Selecting a good mate is a decision with important fitness consequences. For this reason, mate choice has promoted the evolution of sexual ornaments signaling the quality of an individual. In fossorial animals, inhabiting visually restricted underground environments, chemical senses should be very important for mate choice. We examined whether sexual chemical signals (substrate scent marks) produced by males of the Iberian worm lizard, Blanus cinereus, a strictly fossorial blind amphisbaenian, provide information to females on morphological traits and health state. We administered corticosterone (CORT) to males simulating a continuous stressor affecting their health. Females preferred settling at sites scent-marked by males in comparison with similar sites with female scent or unmarked sites, but the attractiveness of males' scent differed between individuals. Females preferred scent marks of larger/older males and with a higher immune response, while their body condition and CORT treatment were unrelated to female preferences. Chemical analyses showed that proportions of some compounds in precloacal secretions of males (used to produce scent marks) were correlated with the morphological (body size) and health state (immune response and body condition, but not CORT treatment) of these males. These results suggest that females may make site-selection decisions based on assessing the chemical characteristics of males' scent marks, which were reliably related to some of the traits of the male that produced the scent. Therefore, females might use chemical senses to increase the opportunities to find and mate with males of high quality, coping with the restrictions of the subterranean environment.

Shared community effects and the non-genetic maternal environment shape cortisol levels in wild chimpanzees

Mechanisms of inheritance remain poorly defined for many fitness-mediating traits, especially in long-lived animals with protracted development. Using 6,123 urinary samples from 170 wild chimpanzees, we examined the contributions of genetics, non-genetic maternal effects, and shared community effects on variation in cortisol levels, an established predictor of survival in long-lived primates. Despite evidence for consistent individual variation in cortisol levels across years, between-group effects were more influential and made an overwhelming contribution to variation in this trait. Focusing on within-group variation, non-genetic maternal effects accounted for 8% of the individual differences in average cortisol levels, significantly more than that attributable to genetic factors, which was indistinguishable from zero. These maternal effects are consistent with a primary role of a shared environment in shaping physiology. For chimpanzees, and perhaps other species with long life histories, community and maternal effects appear more relevant than genetic inheritance in shaping key physiological traits.

Ophidiomycosis is associated with alterations in the acute glycemic and glucocorticoid stress response in a free-living snake species

Emerging fungal pathogens are a direct threat to vertebrate biodiversity. Elucidating the mechanisms by which mycoses impact host fitness is an important step towards effective prediction and management of disease outcomes in populations. The vertebrate acute stress response is an adaptive mechanism that allows individuals to meet challenges to homeostasis and survival in dynamic environments. Disease may cause stress, and coping with fungal infections may require shifts in resource allocation that alter the ability of hosts to mount an acute response to other external stressors. We examined the glucocorticoid and glycemic response to acute capture stress in a population of free-living pygmy rattlesnakes, Sistrurus miliarius, afflicted with an emerging mycosis (ophidiomycosis) across seasons. In all combinations of disease status and season, acute capture stress resulted in a significant glucocorticoid and glycemic response. While disease was not associated with elevated baseline or stress-induced corticosterone (CORT), disease was associated with an increased glucocorticoid stress response (post-stress minus baseline) across seasons. Both baseline and stress-induced glucose were lower in snakes with ophidiomycosis compared to uninfected snakes. The relationship between glucose and pre- and post-stress CORT depended on infection status, and positive correlations were only observed in uninfected snakes. The variables which explained CORT and glucose levels were different. The pattern of CORT was highly seasonal (winter high - summer low) and negatively related to body condition. Glucose, on the other hand, did not vary seasonally or with body condition and was strongly related to sex (male high - female low). Our results highlight the fact that circulating CORT and glucose are sensitive to different intrinsic and extrinsic predictor variables and support the hypothesis that disease alters the acute physiological stress response. Whether the effects of ophidiomycosis on the acute stress response result in sublethal effects on fitness should be investigated in future studies.

Gene expression in the female tree swallow brain is associated with inter- and intra-population variation in glucocorticoid levels

Studies of the evolutionary causes and consequences of variation in circulating glucocorticoids (GCs) have begun to reveal how they are shaped by selection. Yet the extent to which variation in circulating hormones reflects variation in other important regulators of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and whether these relationships vary among populations inhabiting different environments, remain poorly studied. Here, we compare gene expression in the brain of female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) from populations that breed in environments that differ in their unpredictability. We find evidence of inter-population variation in the expression of glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors in the hypothalamus, with the highest gene expression in a population from an extreme environment, and lower expression in a population from a more consistent environment as well as in birds breeding at an environmentally variable high-altitude site that are part of a population that inhabits a mixture of high and low altitude habitats. Within some populations, variation in circulating GCs predicted differences in gene expression, particularly in the hypothalamus. However, some patterns were present in all populations, whereas others were not. These results are consistent with the idea that some combination of local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity may modify components of the HPA axis affecting stress resilience. Our results also underscore that a comprehensive understanding of the function and evolution of the stress response cannot be gained from measuring circulating hormones alone, and that future studies that apply a more explicitly evolutionary approach to important regulatory traits are likely to provide significant insights.

Great tits differ in glucocorticoid plasticity in response to spring temperature

Fluctuations in environmental temperature affect energy metabolism and stimulate the expression of reversible phenotypic plasticity in vertebrate behavioural and physiological traits. Changes in circulating concentrations of glucocorticoid hormones often underpin environmentally induced phenotypic plasticity. Ongoing climate change is predicted to increase fluctuations in environmental temperature globally, making it imperative to determine the standing phenotypic variation in glucocorticoid responses of free-living populations to evaluate their potential for coping via plastic or evolutionary changes. Using a reaction norm approach, we repeatedly sampled wild great tit (Parus major) individuals for circulating glucocorticoid concentrations during reproduction across five years to quantify individual variation in glucocorticoid plasticity along an environmental temperature gradient. As expected, baseline and stress-induced glucocorticoid concentrations increased with lower environmental temperatures at the population and within-individual level. Moreover, we provide unique evidence that individuals differ significantly in their plastic responses to the temperature gradient for both glucocorticoid traits, with some displaying greater plasticity than others. Average concentrations and degree of plasticity covaried for baseline glucocorticoids, indicating that these two reaction norm components are linked. Hence, individual variation in glucocorticoid plasticity in response to a key environmental factor exists in a wild vertebrate population, representing a crucial step to assess their potential to endure temperature fluctuations.

Glucocorticoid receptor expression as an integrative measure to assess glucocorticoid plasticity and efficiency in evolutionary endocrinology: A perspective

Organisms have to cope with the changes that take place in their environment in order to keep their physical and psychological stability. In vertebrates, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis plays a key role in mediating phenotypic adjustments to environmental changes, primarily by regulating glucocorticoids (GCs). Although circulating GCs have widely been used as proxy for individual health and fitness, our understanding of HPA regulation is still very limited, especially in free-living animals. Circulating GCs only exert their actions when they are bound to receptors, and therefore, GC receptors play a pivotal role mediating HPA regulation and GC downstream phenotypic changes. Because under challenging conditions GC actions (as well as negative feedback activation) occur mainly through binding to low-affinity glucocorticoid receptors (GR), we propose that GR activity, and in particular GR expression, may play a crucial role in GC regulation and dynamics, and be ultimately related to organismal capacity to appropriately respond to environmental changes. Thus, we suggest that GR expression will provide more comprehensive information of GC variation and function. To support this idea, we compile previous evidence demonstrating the fundamental role of GR on GC responses and the fine-tuning of circulating GCs. We also make predictions about the phenotypic differences in GC responsiveness - and ultimately HPA regulation capacity - associated with differences in GR expression, focusing on GC plasticity and efficiency. Finally, we discuss current priorities and limitations of integrating measures of GR expression into evolutionary endocrinology and ecology studies, and propose further research directions towards the use of GR expression and the study of the mechanisms regulating GR activity to gather information on coping strategies and stress resilience. Our goals are to provide an integrative perspective that will prompt reconsideration on the ecological and physiological interpretation of current GC measurements, and motivate further research on the role of GR in tuning individual responses to dynamic environments.

Evolution of hormone-phenotype couplings and hormone-genome interactions

When selection favors a new relationship between a cue and a hormonally mediated response, adaptation can proceed by altering the hormonal signal that is produced or by altering the phenotypic response to the hormonal signal. The field of evolutionary endocrinology has made considerable progress toward understanding the evolution of hormonal signals, but we know much less about the evolution of hormone-phenotype couplings, particularly at the hormone-genome interface. We briefly review and classify the mechanisms through which these hormone-phenotype couplings likely evolve, using androgens and their receptors and genomic response elements to illustrate our view. We then present two empirical studies of hormone-phenotype couplings, one rooted in evolutionary quantitative genetics and another in comparative transcriptomics, each focused on the regulation of sexually dimorphic phenotypes by testosterone (T) in the brown anole lizard (Anolis sagrei). First, we illustrate the potential for hormone-phenotype couplings to evolve by showing that coloration of the dewlap (an ornament used in behavioral displays) exhibits significant heritability in its responsiveness to T, implying that anoles harbor genetic variance in the architecture of hormonal pleiotropy. Second, we combine T manipulations with analyses of the liver transcriptome to ask whether and how statistical methods for characterizing modules of co-expressed genes and in silico techniques for identifying androgen response elements (AREs) can improve our understanding of hormone-genome interactions. We conclude by emphasizing important avenues for future work at the hormone-genome interface, particularly those conducted in a comparative evolutionary framework.

Low heritability and high phenotypic plasticity of salivary cortisol in response to environmental heterogeneity in a wild pinniped

Individuals are unique in how they interact with and respond to their environment. Correspondingly, unpredictable challenges or environmental stressors often produce an individualized response of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and its downstream effector cortisol. We used a fully crossed, repeated measures design to investigate the factors shaping individual variation in baseline cortisol in Antarctic fur seal pups and their mothers. Saliva samples were collected from focal individuals at two breeding colonies, one with low and the other with high density, during two consecutive years of contrasting food availability. Mothers and pups were sampled concurrently at birth and shortly before weaning, while pups were additionally sampled every 20 days. We found that heritability was low for baseline cortisol, while within-individual repeatability and among-individual variability were high. A substantial proportion of the variation in baseline cortisol could be explained in pups and mothers by a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors including sex, weight, day, season, and colony of birth. Our findings provide detailed insights into the individualization of endocrine phenotypes and their genetic and environmental drivers in a wild pinniped. Furthermore, the strong associations between cortisol and life history traits that we report in fur seals could have important implications for understanding the population dynamics of species impacted by environmental change.

Validation and utility of hair cortisol analysis as a measure of long-term physiological stress in the Pallas's squirrel Callosciurus erythraeus

In various mammalian species, there has been an increase in the use of hair cortisol analysis to evaluate long-term stress. This trend is because of some advantages relative to the standard tools, such as hormone analysis using blood, urine, or feces. Here, I carried out assay validation and adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) challenge to measure long-term stress in Pallas's squirrel Callosciurus erythraeus. In addition, I investigated the effects of sex, body condition, season, and reproductive conditions on hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) in free-living individuals. The assay validation was reported in this study. Hair cortisol concentrations in squirrels given repeated ACTH injections were significantly higher than those that received a single-ACTH injection and a saline injection. I found a negative effect of body condition on adult HCC. In contrast, body condition had a positive effect on HCC in juveniles. I found no effects of other factors in either adult or juvenile squirrels. Furthermore, although I investigated whether reproductive conditions, such as pregnancy, lactation, and non-breeding in females or testis size in males, affected HCC, I found that there were no effects of reproductive conditions. This study validated the assay and utility of hair cortisol analysis to assess long-term stress, and continuous investigation of the relationship between HCC and fitness is important for determining whether hair cortisol analysis is a reliable method for estimating population health in Pallas's squirrels.

Prenatal Exposure to High Cortisol Induces ADHD-like Behaviors with Delay in Spatial Cognitive Functions during the Post-weaning Period in Rats

High levels of cortisol in blood are frequently observed in patients with major depressive disorders and increased cortisol level induces depressivelike symptoms in animal models. However, it is still unclear whether maternal cortisol level during pregnancy is a critical factor resulting in neuropsychiatric disorders in offspring. In this study, we increased cortisol level in rats by repetitively injecting corticosterone subcutaneously (Corti. Mom, 20 mg/kg/day) during pregnancy and evaluated the behavioral patterns of their pups (Corti.Pups) via forced swimming (FS), open field (OF), elevated plus maze (EPM) and Morris water maze (MWM) tests during the immediate post-weaning period (postnatal day 21 to 25). In results, corticosterone significantly increased plasma cortisol levels in both Corti.Moms and Corti.Pups. Unlike depressive animal models, Corti.Pups showed higher hyperactive behaviors in the FS and OF tests than normal pups (Nor.Pups) born from rats (Nor.Moms) treated with saline. Furthermore, Corti.Pups spent more time and traveled longer distance in the open arms of EPM test, exhibiting higher extremity. These patterns were consistent with behavioral symptoms observed in animal models of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which is characterized by hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention. Additionally, Corti.Pups swam longer and farther to escape in MWM test, showing cognitive declines associated with attention deficit. Our findings provide evidence that maternal cortisol level during pregnancy may affect the neuroendocrine regulation and the brain development of offspring, resulting in heterogeneous developmental brain disorders such as ADHD.

Gone girl: Richardson's ground squirrel offspring and neighbours are resilient to female removal

Within matrilineal societies, the presence of mothers and female kin can greatly enhance survival and reproductive success owing to kin-biased alarm calling, cooperation in territory defence, protection from infanticidal conspecifics, joint care of young and enhanced access to resources. The removal of mothers by predators or disease is expected to increase the stress experienced by offspring via activation of their hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, increasing circulating glucocorticoids and reducing offspring survival and reproductive success. Yet, few studies have removed mothers in the post-weaning period to examine the assumed physiological and fitness consequences associated with these mortality events. We examined how the loss of a mother affects juvenile Richardson's ground squirrels' (Urocitellus richardsonii) faecal glucocorticoid metabolites and their survival. Given that neighbours are often close kin, we further hypothesized that conspecific removal would similarly diminish the fitness of neighbouring individuals. Upon removing the mother, we detected no impact on offspring or neighbouring conspecific faecal glucocorticoid metabolites in the removal year, or on overwinter survival in the following year. Furthermore, no impact on neighbour reproductive success was detected. Given the high predation rates of ground squirrels in wild populations, resilience to a changing social environment would prove adaptive for both surviving kin and non-kin.

Individual variation in phenotypic plasticity of the stress axis

Phenotypic plasticity-one individual's capacity for phenotypic variation under different environments-is critical for organisms facing fluctuating conditions within their lifetime. North American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) experience drastic among-year fluctuations in conspecific density. This shapes juvenile competition over vacant territories and overwinter survival. To help young cope with competition at high densities, mothers can increase offspring growth rates via a glucocorticoid-mediated maternal effect. However, this effect is only adaptive under high densities, and faster growth often comes at a cost to longevity. While red squirrels can adjust hormones in response to fluctuating density, the degree to which mothers differ in glucocorticoid plasticity across changing densities remains unknown. Findings from our reaction norm approach revealed significant individual variation not only in a female red squirrel's mean endocrine phenotype but also in endocrine plasticity in response to changes in local density. Future work on proximate and ultimate drivers of variation in endocrine plasticity and maternal effects is needed, particularly in free-living animals experiencing fluctuating environments.