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Food restricted Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata) nestlings increase vocal activity during handling without modulating total or free corticosterone

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Abstract

In some species, corticosterone (CORT) appears to play a role in the control of begging behavior. Because of the potentially high costs associated with chronic elevation of CORT, it has also been proposed as a mechanism to ensure begging is an honest signal. We determined the effects of moderate food restriction (50% of high calorie treatment) on vocal behavior during handling, and on baseline levels of both total and ‘free’ unbound CORT in Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata) nestlings. Chick vocalizations during handling were similar to begging calls, and we assumed they were representative of begging behavior. We also measured total and free CORT in free-living Tufted Puffin chicks to determine if hormone levels in our experiment were comparable to natural levels. We found no effect of caloric restriction on either total or free baseline CORT, yet food-restricted nestlings vocalized more intensely during handling than chicks in the high calorie group. Mean plasma concentrations of total and free CORT in experimentally manipulated birds did not differ from levels in free-living nestlings. These results suggest that CORT does not play a role in modulating begging behavior in this species.

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Acknowledgments

We thank T. Cooper and R. Orben for assistance with field work and E. Kitaiskaia for assistance with hormone assays. Funding was provided by NOAA/NMFS (NA16FX1270) to C.L.B. Additional financial support was provided by AK EPSCoR to C.T.W. and by NPRB grant No. RO320 to A.S.K. All procedures were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (No. 05–43) and authorized under state and federal permits.

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Correspondence to C. Loren Buck.

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Communicated by P.H. Becker.

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Williams, C.T., Kitaysky, A.S. & Buck, C.L. Food restricted Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata) nestlings increase vocal activity during handling without modulating total or free corticosterone. J Ornithol 149, 277–283 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-008-0274-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-008-0274-1

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