Glucocorticoids link forest type to local abundance in tropical birds

Selective logging is a major driver of environmental changes in the tropics. Recently, there has been increasing interest in understanding which traits make bird species resilient or vulnerable to such changes. Physiological stress mediated by the steroid hormone corticosterone (CORT) might underlie changes in local abundance of species because it regulates a range of body functions and behaviours to maintain homeostasis in changing environments. We conducted a three-year study to assess: (i) the variation in CORT levels in feathers (where CORT is deposited during the moult) of ten understory bird species across both unlogged old-growth forest and selectively logged forest in Borneo, (ii) how this variation is associated with within-year variation in population abundance between forest types, and (iii) whether the difference in feather CORT (fCORT) between co-specific populations living in unlogged and logged forests in one year is related with their difference in population abundance ...

择伐作业是热带地区环境变化的主要驱动因素。近年来，学界对探究哪些性状可使鸟类物种对这类环境变化具备恢复力或易感性的关注度与日俱增。由类固醇激素皮质酮（corticosterone, CORT）介导的生理应激，或许是物种本地种群丰度变化的潜在机制：该激素可调控一系列机体功能与行为，以在变化的环境中维持内稳态。我们开展了一项为期三年的研究，旨在评估以下三项内容：(i) 婆罗洲未伐原始林与择伐林内10种林下鸟类的羽毛皮质酮水平变异情况（皮质酮会在换羽期沉积于羽毛中）；(ii) 该变异与不同林型下种群丰度的年内波动存在何种关联；以及(iii) 当年栖息于未伐林与择伐林的同种种群之间的羽毛皮质酮（feather CORT, fCORT）差异，是否与其种群丰度差异相关……