Manipulating glucocorticoids in wild animals: Basic and applied perspectives

One of the most comprehensively studied responses to stressors in vertebrates is the endogenous production and regulation of glucocorticoids (GCs). Extensive laboratory research using experimental elevation of GCs in model species is instrumental in learning about stressor-induced physiological and behavioural mechanisms; however, such studies fail to inform our understanding of ecological and evolutionary processes in the wild. We reviewed emerging research that has used GC manipulations in wild vertebrates to assess GC-mediated effects on survival, physiology, behaviour, reproduction and offspring quality. Within and across taxa, exogenous manipulation of GCs increased, decreased or had no effect on traits examined in the reviewed studies. The notable diversity in r

Understanding gas bubble trauma in an era of hydropower expansion: How do fish compensate at depth?

Hydrostatic pressure is known to protect fish from damage by total dissolved gas (TDG) supersaturation, but empirical relationships are lacking. In this study we demonstrate the relationship between depth, TDG, and gas bubble trauma (GBT). Hydroelectric dams generate TDG supersaturation that causes bubble growth in the tissues of aquatic animals, resulting in sublethal and lethal effects. We exposed fish to 100%, 115%, 120%, and 130% TDG at 16 and 63 cm of depth and recorded time to 50% loss of equilibrium and sublethal symptoms. Our linear model of the log-transformed time to 50% LOE (R2 = 0.94) was improved by including depth. Based on our model, a depth of 47 cm compensated for the effects of 4.1% (±1.3% SE) TDG supersaturation. Our experiment reveals that once the surface threshold for GBT from TDG supersaturation is known, depth protects rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from GBT by 9.7% TDG supersaturation per metre depth. Our results can be used to estimate the impacts of TDG on fish downstream of dams and to develop improved guidelines for TDG