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Relationship between feather corticosterone and subsequent health status and survival in wild Eurasian Sparrowhawk

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Abstract

In birds, integrated levels of corticosterone (CORT) measured in feathers (CORTf) allow us to make inferences on past levels of stress demands. It has been suggested that levels of CORTf track carry-over effects across seasons. Nevertheless, our understanding of how this measure can be used to assess future health status is far from complete. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether CORT deposited in feathers over the moulting period was related to subsequent mortality and health status in wild raptors admitted to rehabilitation centres. Thirty-four Eurasian Sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus) admitted during the non-moulting period were sampled. Body condition (BC) was used as an indicator of health status to classify individuals’ health as good, poor or cachexia depending on their pectoral muscle score. Mortality was recorded over the non-moulting period. Other potential sources of CORTf variation were assessed, such as sex, age and feather type, primary or body covert feathers. While CORTf did not vary with age or sex, significant differences were found between primary and body feathers, highlighting the importance of sampling the same feather type. Our results also revealed that birds in poor BC showed higher CORTf levels than individuals in good condition; however, CORTf levels in cachectic birds did not differ from those in good condition. This finding suggests caution when assuming that only high CORTf levels represent individuals in poor condition, and limits the utility of CORTf for the prediction of BC. The present study also showed that individuals which died following admission had higher CORTf levels than individuals which survived, suggesting the potential utility of CORTf as a metric for the study of subsequent mortality.

Zusammenfassung

Zusammenhang zwischen Feder-Kortikosteron und späterem Gesundheitszustand und Überleben bei Europäischen Sperbern

Der Messung von Kortikosteron in Federn (CORTf) erlaubt Rückschlüsse auf vergangene Stresssituationen. Es werde angenommen, dass über CORTf-Spiegel Carry-over Effekte über die Zeit hinweg verfolgt werden können. Gleichwohl ist unser Verständnis, wie solche Werte zur Abschätzung des zukünftigen Gesundheitszustandes genutzt werden können bei Weitem nicht vollständig. Ziel dieser Studie war zu untersuchen, ob in Federn zur Mauserzeit eingelagertes Kortikosteron (CORT) mit späterer Mortalität und dem Gesundheitszustand von Sperbern, die in Greifvogelauffangstationen eingeliefert wurden, zusammenhängen. Dazu beprobten wir 34 außerhalb der Mauserperiode eingelieferte Europäische Sperber (Accipiter nisus). In Abhängigkeit vom Brustmuskelwert wurde die individuelle Gesundheit als gut, schwach oder abgemagert klassifizieren. Zudem wurde die Sterblichkeit über die Nichtmauserzeit ermittelt. Andere potentielle Quellen für Unterschiede im CORTf wie bspw. Geschlecht, Altern und Federtypen, Großgefieder oder Körperfedern wurden ebenfalls berücksichtigt. Während CORTf nicht mit Alter und Geschlecht variierte, wurden signifikante Unterschiede zwischen Groß- und Körpergefieder gefunden, was die Bedeutung der Beprobung desselben Federtyps hervorhebt. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen auch, dass Vögel mit schlechter Kondition höhere CORTf Werte zeigten als Individuen in guter Kondition, wobei aber die CORTf Werte abgemagerter Vögel sich nicht von denen in guter Kondition unterschieden. Dieses Ergebnis unterstreicht die nötige Vorsicht, wenn angenommen wird, dass nur hohe CORtf Werte für Individuen mit schwacher Kondition stehen und reduziert gleichzeitig die Nützlichkeit von CORTf zur Vorhersage von Körperkonditionen. Die vorliegende Studie zeigt auch, dass Individuen, die später starben, höhere CORTf Werte hatten als Individuen, die überlebten, was zeigt, dass Federkortikosteron als ein Maß für spätere Mortalität verwendet werden kann.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the staff of Torreferrussa Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre for providing all the samples and data that allowed us to carry out the present study; the Fundación Tatiana Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno for financial support through a pre-doctoral fellowship to M. L.; Dr Joaquim Casellas for his helpful advice on the statistical analysis; and Darío Fernández-Bellon for the English language revision of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Health and Anatomy, Veterinary Faculty, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Spain

    L. Monclús, A. Carbajal, O. Tallo-Parra, M. Sabés-Alsina, L. Darwich & M. Lopez-Bejar

  2. Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal, UAB-IRTA, Campus Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Spain

    L. Darwich

  3. Centre de Fauna Salvatge de Torreferrussa, Catalan Wildlife Service, Forestal Catalana, 08130, Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, Spain

    R. A. Molina-López

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  1. L. Monclús
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Monclús, L., Carbajal, A., Tallo-Parra, O. et al. Relationship between feather corticosterone and subsequent health status and survival in wild Eurasian Sparrowhawk. J Ornithol 158, 773–783 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-016-1424-5

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