DOI: 10.5061/dryad.tx95x6b48
title: Disturbance history alters the development of the HPA axis in altricial nestling birds

description: Glucocorticoid (GC) hormones regulate the vertebrate stress response and
 are secreted by the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. Acute
 elevation of GCs is thought be adaptive because it promotes physiological
 and behavioural changes that allow animals to cope with disturbances. In
 contrast, chronic elevation of GCs is associated with reduced body
 condition, immune function, reproductive success, and survival. In adult
 birds, the effects of chronic stress have been well documented, including
 human-related disturbances. In contrast, the effects of chronic stress on
 nestlings have rarely been addressed. This is of interest, as many
 ecological or monitoring studies of wild birds require nestlings to be
 regularly handled. However, the consequences of repeated handling of
 nestlings on HPA axis function and body mass o remain poorly quantified.
 We examined whether daily exposure to handling stress increased
 corticosterone (the dominant avian glucocorticoid) secretion and reduced
 pre-fledging body mass relative to undisturbed control nestlings of the
 Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala), a native Australian passerine bird.
 Daily handling resulted in an elevated baseline and attenuated
 stress-induced corticosterone levels in disturbed 14-day nestlings, in
 comparison with control nestlings handled for the first time. Despite
 this, disturbed and control nestlings fledged at a similar body mass.
 Baseline and stress-induced corticosterone increased with nestling age but
 remained independent of nestling sex and hatching order. These findings
 suggest that chronic stress causes physiological alterations to the
 development of the HPA axis in nestling birds, in turn suggesting that
 researchers should minimise or account for handling stress in their
 experiments. These data also raise the possibility that other chronic
 stressors may have physiological consequences for the development of the
 HPA axis in nestling birds.  
description: Raw data sent for Disturbance history alters the development of the HPA
 axis in altricial nestling birds Ahmad Barati1, Ondi L. Crino2,3,4, Paul
 G. McDonald1 , Katherine L. Buchanan2 1Avian Behavioural Ecology
 Laboratory, Zoology, University of New England, Armidale NSW 2351
 Australia 2 Deakin Centre of Integrative Ecology, School of Life and
 Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and the Built
 Environment, Deakin Univ., c/- 221 Burwood Hwy, VIC 3125, Australia
 3Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The
 Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia 4School of
 Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA, Australia
 Corresponding Author: Ahmad Barati1 1Avian Behavioural Ecology Laboratory,
 Zoology, University of New England, Armidale NSW 2351 Australia, Email:
   This data set is the raw data collected for
 the above research, looking at the impact of handling stress on nestling
 birds. Each of the columns are described below: ServiceID Nestling ID Nest
 Nest ID Time Time of sampling (0: immediate sampling after disturbance,
 30: 30 minutes after disturbance) date Date of sampling sex birds’ sex
 (male of female) Col Colony ID (location id) Age Age of nestling (days)
 TimetoFirstSample(s) Time between first disturbance and sampling (in
 seconds, NA if not measured) UnCorr Uncorrected Corticosterone level
 (ng/ml, Nanogram per Milligram) CorrIR Corrected Corticosterone (ng/ml,
 Nanogram per Milligram) CorrAR Corrected Corticosterone (ng/ml, Nanogram
 per Milligram) Tr Treatment (Handled or Control) Age3 Age of nestling
 (Days, same as Age but different formatting for R scrip purposes) FBM
 Pre-fledging body mass (Grams) FTS Pre-fledging tarsus length (mm,
 millimetres) FHB Pre-fledging Head-bill length (mm, millimetres) HO
 Hatching order (hatching order within a nest)