10.5061/DRYAD.1JG00
Jerem, Paul
University of Glasgow
Jenni-Eiermann, Susanne
Swiss Ornithological Institute
Herborn, Katherine
University of Glasgow
McKeegan, Dorothy
University of Glasgow
McCafferty, Dominic J.
University of Glasgow
Nager, Ruedi G.
University of Glasgow
Data from: Eye region surface temperature reflects both energy reserves
and circulating glucocorticoids in a wild bird
Dryad
dataset
2019
stressor
Homeostasis
Cyanistes caeruleus
welfare
Holocene
Avian
2019-01-18T00:00:00Z
2019-01-18T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-20240-4
34855 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Body temperature of endotherms shows substantial within- and
between-individual variation, but the sources of this variation are not
fully understood in wild animals. Variation in body temperature can
indicate how individuals cope with their environment via metabolic or
stress-induced effects, both of which may relate to depletion of energy
reserves. Body condition can reflect heat production through changes to
metabolic rate made to protect energy reserves. Additionally, changes in
metabolic processes may be mediated by stress-related glucocorticoid
secretion, which is associated with altered blood-flow patterns that
affect regional body temperatures. Accordingly, both body condition and
glucocorticoid secretion should relate to body temperature. We used
thermal imaging, a novel non-invasive method of temperature measurement,
to investigate relationships between body condition, glucocorticoid
secretion and body surface temperature in wild blue tits (Cyanistes
caeruleus). Individuals with lower body condition had lower eye-region
surface temperature in both non-breeding and breeding seasons. Eye-region
surface temperature was also negatively correlated with baseline
circulating glucocorticoid levels in non-breeding birds. Our results
demonstrate that body surface temperature can integrate multiple aspects
of physiological state. Consequently, remotely-measured body surface
temperature could be used to assess such aspects of physiological state
non-invasively in free-living animals at multiple life history stages.
Blue tit physiological/biometric data, plus environmental parameters at
time of collectionCollected in the field. Microsoft Excel OpenXML
file.Scientific Reports Dataset.xlsx
56.13ºN 4.13ºW