title: The effect of extreme spring weather on body condition and stress physiology in Lapland longspurs and white-crowned sparrows breeding in the Arctic.
abstract: Climate change is causing rapid shifts in temperature while also increasing the frequency, duration, and intensity of extreme weather. In the northern hemisphere, the spring of 2013 was characterized as extreme due to record high snow cover and low temperatures. Studies that describe the effects of extreme weather on phenology across taxa are limited while morphological and physiological responses remain poorly understood. Stress physiology, as measured through baseline and stress-induced concentrations of cortisol or corticosterone, has often been studied to understand how organisms respond to environmental stressors. We compared body condition and stress physiology of two long-distance migrants breeding in low arctic Alaska - the white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) and Lapland longspur (Calcarius lapponicus) - in 2013, an extreme weather year, with three more typical years (2011, 2012, and 2014). The extended snow cover in spring 2013 caused measureable changes in phenology, body condition and physiology. Arrival timing for both species was delayed 4-5days compared to the other three years. Lapland longspurs had reduced fat stores, pectoralis muscle profiles, body mass, and hematocrit levels, while stress-induced concentrations of corticosterone were increased. Similarly, white-crowned sparrows had reduced pectoralis muscle profiles and hematocrit levels, but in contrast to Lapland longspurs, had elevated fat stores and no difference in mass or stress physiology relative to other study years. An understanding of physiological mechanisms that regulate coping strategies is of critical importance for predicting how species will respond to the occurrence of extreme events in the future due to global climate change.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA. Electronic address: jskrause@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: Jesse S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Krause
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Helen E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Chmura
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA.
authors.forename: Shannan K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sweet
authors.affiliation: The Roslin Institute, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian EH25 9RG, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Simone L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Meddle
authors.affiliation: John H. Prescott Marine Laboratory, Research Department, New England Aquarium, Boston, MA 02110, USA.
authors.forename: Kathleen E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Towson University, Towson, MD 21252, USA.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gough
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA.
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Boelman
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Wingfield
mesh_terms: D000413:Alaska; D000818:Animals; D001110:Arctic Regions; D001835:Body Weight; D001947:Breeding; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006400:Hematocrit; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000502:physiology; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000502:physiology; D012621:Seasons; D012914:Snow; D046370:Sparrows / Q000502:physiology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D013696:Temperature; D014887:Weather
chemical_list: D003345:Corticosterone
keywords: Climate change; Corticosterone; Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis; Life history trade-offs