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Fecal glucocorticoid metabolites are correlated with urbanization but not body condition in eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus)

Urban Ecosystems volume 26, pages 1483–1492 (2023)Cite this article

Abstract

Urban spaces offer both benefits (elevated food resources from human food sources and fewer predators) and energetic costs (the physiological stress response related to human activity) to wildlife. We investigated whether chipmunks (Tamias striatus) experienced variation in fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGMs) and body condition across an urbanization gradient. We predicted that chipmunks in more urban environments would have lower levels of FGMs and be in better body condition, compared to chipmunks living in more natural areas resulting from the novel environments found in urban spaces, and increased food resources. Fecal samples and body measurements were collected from chipmunks across 20 locations throughout Sudbury, Ontario, Canada to determine FGM concentrations and body condition, respectively. Each location was surveyed over a three-day period to determine the level of human activity to generate urbanization gradient scores. Our findings show a positive effect of an urbanization gradient on FGMs, suggesting chipmunks in more urban habitats exhibit higher levels of FGMs compared to conspecifics in less urban habitats. We also found that body condition was not related to urbanization, which may be because food is readily available within city limits. These findings highlight the importance of using an urbanization gradient to consider the effects of urbanization on stress-related metrics and consuming a human food waste diet on a small mammal species.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Canada Research Chair in Applied Evolutionary Ecology and a Discovery Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada (RGPIN-2019-07012). We thank the City of Greater Sudbury, Lake Laurentian Conservation Area, and the many private property owners who permitted us to sample chipmunks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, ON, P3E 2C6, Canada

    Raven Ouellette & Albrecht I Schulte-Hostedde

  2. Reproductive Physiology, Toronto Zoo, 361A Old Finch Avenue, Toronto, ON, M1B 5K7, Canada

    Gabriela Mastromonaco

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, 50 Sifton Road, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada

    Colin J. Garroway

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  1. Raven Ouellette
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  4. Albrecht I Schulte-Hostedde
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Correspondence to Albrecht I Schulte-Hostedde.

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Ouellette, R., Mastromonaco, G., Garroway, C.J. et al. Fecal glucocorticoid metabolites are correlated with urbanization but not body condition in eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus). Urban Ecosyst 26, 1483–1492 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-023-01395-z

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