title: Stress, nutrition and parental care in a teleost fish: exploring mechanisms with supplemental feeding and cortisol manipulation.
abstract: Parental care is an essential life-history component of reproduction for many animal species, and it entails a suite of behavioural and physiological investments to enhance offspring survival. These investments can incur costs to the parent, reducing their energetic and physiological condition, future reproductive capabilities and survival. In fishes, relatively few studies have focused on how these physiological costs are mediated. Male smallmouth bass provide parental care for developing offspring until the brood reaches independence. During this energetically demanding life stage, males cease active foraging as they vigorously defend their offspring. Experimental manipulation of cortisol levels (via implantation) and food (via supplemental feeding) in parental males was used to investigate the fitness consequences of parental care. Improving the nutritional condition of nest-guarding males increased their reproductive success by reducing premature nest abandonment. However, supplemental feeding and cortisol treatment had no effect on parental care behaviours. Cortisol treatment reduced plasma lymphocyte numbers, but increased neutrophil and monocyte concentrations, indicating a shift in immune function. Supplemental feeding improved the physiological condition of parental fish by reducing the accumulation of oxidative injury. Specifically, supplemental feeding reduced the formation of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) on DNA nucleotides. Increasing the nutritional condition of parental fish can reduce the physiological cost associated with intensive parental activity and improve overall reproductive success, illustrating the importance of nutritional condition as a key modulator of parental fitness.
authors.affiliation: Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Lab, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6 azolderdo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Zolderdo
authors.affiliation: Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Lab, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Algera
authors.affiliation: Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Lab, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, 30 Marie Curie, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5.
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Gilmour
authors.affiliation: Pathology and Microbiology Department, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada C1A 4P3.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Fast
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Institute of Biochemistry, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thuswaldner
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Institute of Biochemistry, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6.
authors.forename: W G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Willmore
authors.affiliation: Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Lab, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6 Institute of Environmental Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Cooke
mesh_terms: D000080242:8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine; D000818:Animals; D001492:Bass / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D002712:Chlorides / Q000097:blood; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism; D003849:Deoxyguanosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood*; D060106:Lakes; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D008274:Magnesium / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D009864:Ontario; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D002712:Chlorides; D000080242:8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine; D002784:Cholesterol; D003849:Deoxyguanosine; D008274:Magnesium; D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Immune function; Nutrition; Oxidative stress; Smallmouth bass