The corticosterone stress response and mercury contamination in free-living tree swallows, Tachycineta bicolor |
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Authors: | Melinda D. Franceschini Oksana P. Lane David C. Evers J. Michael Reed Bart Hoskins L. Michael Romero |
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Affiliation: | (1) Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA;(2) BioDiversity Research Institute, Gorham, ME 04038, USA;(3) US Environmental Protection Agency, New England Regional Laboratory, North Chelmsford, MA 01863, USA |
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Abstract: | We determined mercury concentrations in tree swallows, Tachycineta bicolor, from Massachusetts and Maine with different levels of contamination. Baseline and stress-induced plasma corticosterone concentrations from adults and nestlings (Massachusetts only) were compared with mercury concentrations. In Massachusetts, adult baseline corticosterone was negatively correlated with blood mercury, but showed a nearly-significant positive correlation with feather mercury. There was a negative relationship between baseline corticosterone and blood mercury in nestlings and between baseline corticosterone and egg mercury. There was no relationship between mercury and stress-induced corticosterone in any of the groups, or with baseline corticosterone in Maine sites where mercury levels were lower. The findings suggest blood and egg mercury may be a better indicator of current condition than feather mercury. Further, mercury contamination may not alter stress-induced corticosterone concentrations in tree swallows but appears to have a significant impact on baseline circulating corticosterone. |
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Keywords: | Corticosterone Mercury Stress Tree swallows |
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