Corticosterone and Morph-Specific Variation in the Reproductive Behavior of the Polymorphic White-Throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

TL;DRAbstract

Corticosterone is a multifaceted hormone that can influence physiological and behavioral adjustments to changes in energy demand. Across and within species, breeding birds show great variation in the secretion of corticosterone, the primary avian energy-regulating steroid. Two factors are hypothesized to influence variation in corticosoterone secretion in birds: 1) the unpredictability of the breeding environment and 2) the degree of parental care. To examine how corticosterone secretion varies as a function of parental care, while controlling for the breeding environment, I measured baseline corticosterone and the adrenocortical response to capture stress in the polymorphic white-throated sparrow. Within each sex, this species exhibits morphspecific variation in reproductive behavior, including differences in parental care, in the same breeding environment. I found that baseline corticosterone as well as the adrenocortical response to capture stress varied with morph, sex, and stage o

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