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Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
Are physiological and behavioural responses to stressors displayed concordantly by wild urban rodents?
The Science of Nature, Vol.108(1), pp.1-15
02/2021
PMCID: PMC7790802
PMID: 33411125
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Source: InCites
Abstract
Understanding wild animal responses to stressors underpins effective wildlife management. In order for responses to stressors to be correctly interpreted, it is critical that measurements are taken on wild animals using minimally invasive techniques. Studies investigating wild animal responses to stressors often measure either a single physiological or behavioural variable, but whether such responses are comparable and concordant remains uncertain. We investigated this question in a pilot study that measured responses of wild-caught urban brown and black rats (Rattus norvegicus, Rattus rattus) to fur-based olfactory cues from a predator, the domestic cat (Felis catus); a novel herbivore, the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus); and a familiar herbivore and competitor, the common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula). Physiological responses, measured by assaying faecal glucocorticoid metabolites, were compared to behavioural responses observed via video recordings. We found that physiological and behavioural responses to stressors were expressed concordantly. There was no sizeable physiological response observed, and the behavioural response when considered across the night was negligible. However, the behavioural response to the predator and competitor cues changed across the observation period, with activity increasing with increasing hours of exposure. Our results indicate that responses of wild rodents to cues are nuanced, with stress responses modulated by behaviour changes that vary over time according to the severity of the perceived threat as animals gather further information. If the physiological response alone had been assessed, this moderated response may not have been evident, and in terms of wildlife management, vital information would have been lost.
Details
- Title
- Are physiological and behavioural responses to stressors displayed concordantly by wild urban rodents?
- Creators
- Loren L. Fardell - University of SydneyMiguel A. Bedoya-Pérez - University of SydneyChristopher R. Dickman - Sydney, New South Wales 2006 AustraliaMathew S. Crowther - University of SydneyChris R. Pavey - CSIRO Land and WaterEdward J. Narayan - University of Queensland
- Publication Details
- The Science of Nature, Vol.108(1), pp.1-15
- Publisher
- Springer
- Grant note
- This work was supported by a Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment to L.L.F and by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project, Grant ID DP160105003, to M.A.B-P, M.S.C, Mark Connor, and Iain McGregor. L.L.F was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Stipend and a University of Sydney Merit Award Scholarship.
- Identifiers
- 991013269110602368
- Copyright
- © The Author(s) 2021 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article