Maternal and social status affect hair cortisol concentrations in brown bears

IF 1.6 3区生物学 Q2 ZOOLOGY

Zoology Pub Date : 2025-03-01 DOI:10.1016/j.zool.2025.126257

Marcello Franchini , Ashlee J. Mikkelsen , Agnieszka Sergiel , Nuria Selva , David M. Janz , Jonas Kindberg , Andreas Zedrosser

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Hair cortisol concentration is affected by different biological factors, including age, sex, and reproductive status, and can provide important insights into fitness. Using cortisol concentrations of wild Scandinavian brown bears, Ursus arctos, the purpose of this study was to investigate cortisol variations among individuals in relation to age, sex, and reproductive status (solitary individuals vs individuals in a family group). Cortisol concentrations were measured in 448 hair samples of 303 brown bears (162 males and 141 females, from one to nine years of age) captured from 1990 to 2016. We found that members of family groups, i.e., mothers as well as their dependent offspring, had significantly higher cortisol concentrations compared to solitary individuals (males or females). Higher energetic costs in family groups are likely linked to growth of the offspring as well as maternal costs incurred by the rearing of offspring. Our findings provide valuable insights into the physiological effects of maternal care and reproductive status in mammals.

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来源期刊

Zoology 生物-动物学

CiteScore

3.90

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

70 days

期刊介绍： Zoology is a journal devoted to experimental and comparative animal science. It presents a common forum for all scientists who take an explicitly organism oriented and integrative approach to the study of animal form, function, development and evolution. The journal invites papers that take a comparative or experimental approach to behavior and neurobiology, functional morphology, evolution and development, ecological physiology, and cell biology. Due to the increasing realization that animals exist only within a partnership with symbionts, Zoology encourages submissions of papers focused on the analysis of holobionts or metaorganisms as associations of the macroscopic host in synergistic interdependence with numerous microbial and eukaryotic species. The editors and the editorial board are committed to presenting science at its best. The editorial team is regularly adjusting editorial practice to the ever changing field of animal biology.