‘Fight-or-flight’ stress responses allow animals to cope adaptively with sudden threats by mobilizing energy resources and priming the body to action. Because such responses can be costly and redirect behavior and energy from reproduction to survival, they are likely shaped by specific life-history stages, considering available energy resources and the commitment to reproduction. Here, we consider how heart rate responses to acute stressors are affected by advancing breeding season in a colonial seabird, the king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus). We subjected 77 birds (44 males, 33 females) at various stages of incubation and chick-rearing to three experimental stressors (a metal sound, a distant approach and a capture) known to vary both in their intensity and associated risk, and monitored their heart rate (HR) responses. Our results show that HR excess in response to acute stressors was progressively attenuated with an advancement in breeding from incubation to chick-rearing. Stress responses did not vary according to nutritional status, nor seasonal timing (whether breeding was initiated early or late in the season), but were markedly lower during chick-rearing than during incubation. This pattern was obvious for all 3 stressors. We discuss how ‘fight-or-flight’ responses may be modulated considering the energy commitment to breeding, nutritional status and reproductive value of the brood in breeding seabirds.
Modulation of heart rate responses to acute stressors throughout the breeding season in a colonial seabird, the king penguin
Currently Viewing Accepted Manuscript - Newer Version Available
Vincent A. Viblanc, Andrew D. Smith, Benoit Gineste, Marion Kauffmann, René Groscolas; Modulation of heart rate responses to acute stressors throughout the breeding season in a colonial seabird, the king penguin. J Exp Biol 2015; jeb.112003. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.112003
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