The relationship between environments, stress and reproductive function

Physiological 'stress' can occur when the body has to exist in conditions which are not ideal for normal function, this could be due to adverse weather conditions, limited food availability, competition for space etc.  Under such conditions, resources may be utilised to survive under these conditions but this can have a cost for the individual either in terms of its own fitness or in its ability to reproduce.  In collaboration with current and former colleagues within the Institute of Biodiversity  Animal Health and Comparative Medicine we have been investigating the links between the external environment and the stress axis (in Blue tits, mothers and chicks). In addition we have conducted studies in which environmental conditions were manipulated to investigate the mechanisms through which the effects of 'stressors' are mediated using Zebra finches, Lesser black backed gulls and bluetits.

Publications

  • Monaghan, P Heidinger BJ, Evans NP, D’Alba L, Spencer KA 2012 For better or worse: reduced adult lifespan following earlylife stress is transmitted to breeding. Proc Royal Soc B 279; 709-714 doi: 10.1098/rspb.2011.1291
  • Verboven N, Monaghan P, Nager RG, Evans NP 2010 Effect of maternal state on the steroid and macronutrient content of lesser black-backed gull eggs. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology; 83 , 1009-1022
  • Spencer KA, Heidinger BJ, D’Alba L, Evans NP, Monaghan P. 2010 Then versus now; effect of developmental and current environmental conditions on incubation in birds. Behavioural Ecology 21:999-1004
  • Spencer KA, Evans NP, Monaghan P. 2009 Postnatal Stress in Birds: A Novel Model of Glucocorticoid Programming of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis.  Endocrinology  150:1931-1934
  • Verboven N, Evans NP, D’Alba L, Nager RG, Blount JD, Surai PF, Monaghan P 2005 Intra-specific interactions influence egg composition in the lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus) Behav Ecol. Sociobiol, 57; 357-365
  • Verboven N, Monaghan P, Evans DM, Schwabl H, Evans N, Whitelaw C, Nager R 2003  Maternal condition, yolk androgens and offspring performance: a supplemental feeding experiment in lesser black-backed gull (Larcus Fuscus). Proc. R. Soc London B  270;2223-2232