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Environmental variability and allostatic load in the Eurasian red squirrel Sciurus vulgaris

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Abstract

The analysis of eco-physiological parameters in wildlife may represent a priority for their conservation and management, not only to establish causal relationships, obtaining a set of raw data, but also to monitor the effectiveness of management strategies. We studied Hair Cortisol concentration (HCC) in Eurasian red squirrels Sciurus vulgaris in four selected study areas in Italy. Areas differed from one another for vegetation type, degree of urbanization and anthropic disturbance, density of red squirrel populations and presence or absence of alien squirrel species. HCC measurements showed the highest values in a high-density population, subjected to a high predation pressure (i.e. in areas characterized by deciduous vegetation). Conversely, the lowest HCC levels have been observed in areas with the lowest squirrel density, i.e. in urbanized environments, where the species is established for a rather long time, and in areas with mixed vegetation and presence of conifers. Measuring HCC provides reliable information on the long-term activity of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and associated allostatic load. Furthermore, it constitutes a non-invasive method of investigation. The use of hair tubes further supports our non-invasive approach. Because of its simplicity and low costs, hair collection might be applied to monitor the long-term physiological response of wild species even in larger areas, besides focusing in the promotion of citizen-science data collection.

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Acknowledgements

The “U.O. Manutenzione e Valorizzazione del Verde Urbano” office of the Municipality of Roma provided us with permits to set up the hair tube survey in Villa Ada (prot. QL 41697). Thanks to Count Giuseppe Sigurtà and Roberto Mattinzioli, who allowed us to work at the Sigurtà Garden Park. Dr. Rudy Zozzoli and Dr. Giuseppe Mazza helped us in the fieldwork at the Sigurtà Garden Park. A special thanks is due to architect Carlo Alberto Martens, who kindly provided cultural support for the Ansedonia study area. We thank two anonymous Reviewers for their comments on the first draft of this paper.

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  1. Giulia Cordeschi and Tanja Peric contributed equally.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy

    Giulia Cordeschi & Francesca Zoratto

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze agroalimentari, ambientali e animali, Università degli Studi di Udine, Via Sondrio 2a, 33100, Udine, Italy

    Tanja Peric & Alberto Prandi

  3. Istituto di Ricerca sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Madonna del Piano 10, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019, Florence, Italy

    Emiliano Mori

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  1. Giulia Cordeschi
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Contributions

The independent contributions of each author have been agreed on by all listed co-authors. Conceptualization: EM, AP. Methodology: TP, EM. Validation: TP. Formal analysis: FZ. Investigation: GC, TP. Resources: AP, EM. Data curation: FZ. Writing—original draft preparation: GC, TP, FZ, EM. Writing—review and editing: AP. Visualization: FZ. Supervision: RZ, EM.

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Correspondence to Francesca Zoratto or Emiliano Mori.

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Cordeschi, G., Peric, T., Prandi, A. et al. Environmental variability and allostatic load in the Eurasian red squirrel Sciurus vulgaris. Rend. Fis. Acc. Lincei 32, 437–448 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-021-01000-5

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