Department of Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, 51014 Tartu, Estonia
J Exp Biol. 2019 May 17;222(Pt 10):jeb200659. doi: 10.1242/jeb.200659.
Prolonged stress can have long-lasting effects on an individual's physiology and growth. However, the impact of chronically elevated glucocorticoids on the expression of early antipredator responses is still poorly documented. In this study, I simulated the effect of repeated acute stress on offspring phenotype in free-living pied flycatchers () by administering adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) to nestlings for 6 days. The results showed that frequent induction of stress responses by ACTH injections, independent of parental care, adversely affected offspring final body size, wing length and baseline corticosterone levels. Nestling behavioural activity did not differ between ACTH- and saline-treated groups during exposure to control sounds, whereas behavioural activity during exposure to alarm calls was reduced in manipulated offspring only. I conclude that prolonged physiological stress may have short-term benefits to nest-bound offspring, such as more effective antipredator behaviour, but at the expense of negative effects on body size and developmental speed.
长期的压力会对个体的生理和生长产生持久的影响。然而，慢性升高的糖皮质激素对早期抗捕食反应的表达的影响仍鲜有记录。在这项研究中，我通过给雏鸟注射促肾上腺皮质激素 (ACTH) 6 天，模拟了反复急性压力对自由生活的白腰文鸟后代表型的影响。结果表明，ACTH 注射频繁诱导应激反应，与亲代抚育无关，会对后代的最终身体大小、翼长和基础皮质酮水平产生不利影响。在暴露于对照声音时，ACTH 处理组和盐水处理组的雏鸟行为活动没有差异，而在暴露于警报声时，处理组的雏鸟行为活动减少。我得出结论，长期的生理压力可能对巢内的后代有短期的益处，例如更有效的抗捕食行为，但代价是对体型和发育速度产生负面影响。
