Conservation Physiology最新文献

{"title":"Estimating energy expenditure of sperm whales living in social units.","authors":"Mariana P Silva, Cláudia Oliveira, Rui Prieto, Austin S Allen, Matthew Bowers, Aimee-Kate Darias-O'Hara, Andreas Fahlman, Katarína Klementisová, Madalina Matei, Samantha E Simmons, Mónica A Silva, Leslie New, Sergi Pérez-Jorge","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coag024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coag024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Assessing species' vulnerability to stressors (e.g. changes in prey availability, noise) can be done with bioenergetics models, often within frameworks such as the Population Consequences of Disturbance. However, to successfully quantify the cumulative effects of stressors on individuals it is crucial to understand the link between behavioural change and metabolic costs. Measurements of energy expenditure (e.g. field metabolic rates, FMR) are difficult to obtain for large cetaceans because traditional methods are impractical due to whales' size. Consequently, energy expenditure must be estimated indirectly, using proxies such as respiration rates and overall dynamic body acceleration (ODBA). Here, we estimated daily FMR of sperm whales (<i>Physeter macrocephalus</i>) from social units by combining <i>in situ</i> data with these two methods. The estimated mean daily FMR, including estimated basal metabolic rates (BMR), was 412 MJ/day (95% CI: 262.20-616) using the respiration-based method and 620.5 MJ/day (95% CI: 402-839.3) using ODBA. This study provides the first estimates of daily FMR for sperm whales and revealed that averaged-sized individuals from social units have FMRs between 1.59 and 2.39 times the predicted BMR of similar-sized terrestrial mammals, based on respiration rates and ODBA estimates, respectively. Our findings, combined with data on energy acquisition, can contribute to improving predictions of how environmental stressors impact energy balance, health and the long-term population viability of deep-diving marine mammals.</p>","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"14 1","pages":"coag024"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13128299/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147823402","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimized methods for obtaining sequencing-quality RNA from blubber of free-ranging cetaceans collected under field conditions.","authors":"Kelvin K A Boateng, Robyn F Allen, Randall S Wells, Nicholas M Kellar, Jane I Khudyakov","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coag029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coag029","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cetaceans (whales, porpoises and dolphins) play critical roles in marine ecosystems, but many populations are declining and are vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbance. Understanding the impacts of disturbance on the physiology and health of cetacean populations and developing robust methods of assessing them are critical for their conservation. Many current approaches for studying stress in cetaceans do not address the downstream impacts of stress hormones and contaminants, which mediate their effects by altering gene activity in target tissues. The latter can be examined by transcriptome sequencing, which can rapidly produce species- and tissue-specific global gene expression profiles that can be correlated with hormone and contaminant levels to identify markers of stress and pollutant exposure. However, transcriptome studies of cetacean blubber have been limited by the high lipid and structural fibre content of this tissue, which typically yields low-quality RNA that is not suitable for sequencing. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive comparison of tissue handling and RNA extraction methods for transcriptome studies of blubber collected from free-ranging cetaceans under field conditions. We subsampled blubber biopsies obtained from wild bottlenose dolphins during routine health assessments and compared the effect of sample preservation, tissue homogenization and choice of nucleic acid extraction kit on RNA yield and integrity. We found that flash-freezing blubber upon collection, homogenization using cryogenic milling followed by bead beating and RNA extraction using a phenol-guanidine-chloroform and silica spin column kit designed for fatty and fibrous tissues significantly improve RNA quality. Using the pipeline that we developed, we show that it is possible to obtain large yields of intact RNA across the full depth of dolphin blubber with integrity values that exceed those reported thus far (up to 8.3) and that are suitable for stress biomarker discovery by RNA sequencing, facilitating health assessments of wild cetaceans sampled by remote biopsy.</p>","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"14 1","pages":"coag029"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13102499/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147789415","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ontogenetic thermal and metabolic patterns guide physiologically informed, size-based fishery management.","authors":"Lauren Stewart, Emily Ball, Clive Trueman, Jamie Stevens","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coag026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coag026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Wrasse species are widely used as cleaner fish in salmon aquaculture but their performance as cleaner fish may be impacted by thermal and ontogenetic changes. Understanding the conditions in which each species of wrasse is most productive as cleaner fish is hugely valuable to make informed decisions on the management of fisheries. To do this, we use a novel geochemical proxy to reconstruct ontogenetic trends in thermal habitat and field metabolic rate for six species of wrasse from two sampling locations from the Isle of Skye (Scotland) and Dorset (southern England). We describe consistent ontogenetic transitions from warmer to cooler thermal habitats across all species, and demonstrate reductions in activity levels associated with ontogenetic habitat shifts after accounting for body size and temperature effects. Field metabolic rates were not significantly different between Dorset and Skye after accounting for body size and temperature. Ontogenetic shifts in thermal habitat and activity level have implications for the effectiveness of wrasse as cleanerfish, as well as providing evidence to support size-based harvesting rules. More broadly, this work highlights the potential of otolith isotope analyses to recover field-based, context-specific data on physiology and thermal ecology, advancing fisheries conservation and management strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"14 1","pages":"coag026"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13102501/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147789428","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing animal welfare in invasive bird management: evidence for reduced stress hormones with lethal shooting.","authors":"Isabel López-Rull, Jon Blanco-González, Diego Gil, Alejandro Calvo Gómez, Fernando Enríquez, Luis Cayuela","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coag025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coag025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Refinement of management actions for invasive species requires identifying methods that minimize physiological strain on target animals. Glucocorticoid concentrations are commonly used to assess the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in response to acute stress. Using monk parakeets (<i>Myiopsitta monachus</i>) as an avian invader model, we aimed to assess the HPA response of two common control methods: shooting and live trapping followed by confinement until euthanasia. Plasma corticosterone (CORT), the primary avian glucocorticoid, was measured in 63 parakeets assigned to one of three groups: (i) shooting (<i>N</i> = 7), (ii) baseline (live-trapped birds in which blood samples were taken <3 minutes after capture, <i>N</i> = 6) and (iii) live trapping-confinement (live-trapped birds in which blood samples were collected 10-210 minutes after capture, <i>N</i> = 50). Differences among treatments were analysed using a generalized linear model with a gamma error distribution, and CORT dynamics over time were evaluated with non-linear logistic and quadratic models. CORT levels in shot birds were similar to baseline, indicating that their death occurred before a systemic HPA axis response was initiated. In contrast, live-trapped-confined birds showed markedly elevated CORT levels. The logistic model best described the stress response, showing CORT rising with time after capture until stabilizing while the stressor persisted. These results have important implications for management design. Since shooting has been proved effective in population reduction and we found it is associated with reduced CORT levels compared to trapping, we recommend that practitioners prioritize this method when controlling monk parakeets. By incorporating these objective metrics, managers can offer transparent, evidence-based justifications for the selection of control techniques, potentially reducing social conflict and fostering greater public acceptance of managing protocols for invasive species. Efforts should be made to inform the public about how different bird control techniques vary in terms of the physiological impact they may cause.</p>","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"14 1","pages":"coag025"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13102500/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147789371","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Going off to Oyster College: stress as larvae impacts performance as outplanted adults.","authors":"Emma Guerrini Romano","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coag027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coag027","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"14 1","pages":"coag027"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13093220/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147789444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sperm performance of coastal northern pike (<i>Esox lucius L.</i>) from the Baltic Sea shows no impairment between freshwater and brackish conditions.","authors":"Amanda Viving, Caroline Ek, Martin Ogonowski, Joacim Näslund, Elin Dahlgren, John L Fitzpatrick, Léa Daupagne","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coag022","DOIUrl":"10.1093/conphys/coag022","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Declining coastal populations of northern pike (<i>Esox lucius</i>) in the Baltic Sea have raised concerns about potential reproductive constraints, including reduced sperm quality linked to changing salinity regimes. This study tested whether sperm performance in coastally collected pike is impaired by activation in freshwater versus brackish water. Sperm velocity and motility were measured from adult males collected at two Baltic Sea locations (Sankt Anna, 2024; Hanöbukten, 2025) and activated in either deionized (0 ppt) or local brackish water (6-7 ppt). We found that sperm velocity and motility declined rapidly over time post-activation, but did not differ significantly between salinity treatments during the critical fertilization window ( <b><i>≤</i></b> 20 s). At later time points (25-45 s), sperm in brackish water maintained higher velocities and motilities than in deionized water, indicating greater longevity under local conditions. Overall, our results show that sperm function in coastal northern pike is not limited by salinity difference, suggesting that current recruitment declines are unlikely to result from impaired male gamete performance. Instead, reproductive limitations in Baltic pike populations may arise from later developmental stages or environmental pressures on egg and larval survival.</p>","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"14 1","pages":"coag022"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13089564/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147724639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction to: Habitat, seasonal temperature and collection year drive variable germination responses in the endangered plant <i>Harperocallis flava</i>.","authors":"","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coag032","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coag032","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coaf079.].</p>","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"14 1","pages":"coag032"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13082881/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147700721","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analytical method of steroid hormones in small blubber samples from four whale species.","authors":"Daniela Dulgheriu, Clare Andvik, Eve Jourdain, Katrine Borgå, Anders Ruus, Tore Haug, Richard Karoliussen, Jan Ludvig Lyche, Tor Einar Horsberg","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coag023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coag023","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Steroid hormones can give an indication of stress, physiological health and reproductive status in whales; however, analysis is often limited by sample mass. We developed a sensitive analytical method using solid phase extraction-liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) for the identification and quantification of eight steroid hormones (cortisol, cortisone, testosterone, androstenedione, progesterone, 11-deoxycortisol, 11-deoxycorticosterone and 17-hydroxyprogesterone) in small amounts of whale blubber (≤50 mg). Blubber biopsies were collected from stranded killer whales (<i>Orcinus orca; n</i> = 7), harbour porpoises (<i>Phocoena phocoena</i>; <i>n</i> = 3) and sperm whales (<i>Physeter macrocephalus</i>; <i>n</i> = 4), harvested common minke whales (<i>n</i> = 10; <i>Balaenoptera acutorostrata</i>) and free-living killer whales (<i>n</i> = 2) in Norway and the Barents Sea. Steroid hormones were separated using pentafluorophenyl propyl stationary phase and an optimized gradient programme with a total 20-min run. All samples (<i>n</i> = 26) were analysed at 50-mg sample mass, and a subset (<i>n</i> = 11) at 25 mg or lower. Low limit of detection and limit of quantification values resulted in high detection rates of hormones, and we found similar hormone concentrations between parallel samples and at the lowest tested sample mass (14 mg). Cortisol concentrations in sperm whales (4.3 ± 1.6 ng/g) were four times higher than stranded killer whales (1.1 ± 0.96 ng/g), which in turn were up to four times higher than free-living killer whales (0.23 ± 0.12 ng/g), harbour porpoise (0.64 ± 0.38 ng/g) and harvested minke whales (0.22 ± 0.13), possibly due to fatality type and duration of stress prior to death. We provide the first quantification of blubber steroid hormones in killer whale, minke whale, sperm whale and harbour porpoise, and in less than 50-mg sample mass. By minimizing sample mass without compromising precision or sensitivity, our method allows for steroid hormone analysis even on samples with limited availability, strengthening our ability to monitor and conserve marine mammal populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"14 1","pages":"coag023"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13076008/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147693308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"What normal used to be: Longitudinal adrenal, reproductive, and thyroid hormone profiles from four bowhead whales during a period of Arctic stability.","authors":"Jennifer Jelincic, Danielle Dillon, Joshua Reed, Matthew C Rogers, Daniela M D de Mello, Alyson Fleming, Nadine Lysiak, Leslie New, C Loren Buck, Kathleen E Hunt","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coag020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coag020","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Assessment of large whale physiological response and resiliency to environmental change requires information about historical baseline physiological data to compare with current trends. Multi-year studies of historic and modern individual bowhead whales are possible by utilizing baleen, a keratin matrix tissue that captures a time series of physiological data across multiple years. We assessed six hormones in bowhead baleen informative of stress, reproduction, and metabolism: corticosterone, cortisol, progesterone, testosterone, triiodothyronine (T3), and dehydroepiandrosterone (and its sulfated form, collectively DHEA(S)). We also performed assay validations for DHEA(S), as this hormone has not been assessed in keratin. Through examination of longitudinal endocrine profiles of two adult males and two adult females with data from the 1940's-1960's, a period of relative Arctic climatic stability, we determined that reproductive cycles could be identified in adult bowhead whale baleen more than sixty years old. Testosterone cycling was observed in males while three putative pregnancies, and a fourth confirmed pregnancy, were observed in females. Strong correlations were observed between DHEA(S) and testosterone in males and pregnant females. Pregnancy displayed the strongest correlations among hormones, indicating that pregnancy is likely a form of physiological stressor that should be controlled for when studying adrenal hormones. However, in non-pregnant females, cortisol was strongly negatively correlated with progesterone and testosterone, indicating that physiological stress may influence ovarian cycling and/or likelihood of future pregnancy. Our findings underscore the importance of utilizing museum specimens to establish historical baselines, as well the value of panels of multiple hormones (representing different physiological axes) when assessing multiple stressors in free-ranging wildlife. Understanding how age, sex, and life-history stage (e.g. pregnancy) influence those hormone patterns is useful for addressing greater conservation-relevant questions, particularly related to environmental change.</p>","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"14 1","pages":"coag020"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13070563/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147678461","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Embracing complexity at the physiology and behaviour interface will benefit conservation science.","authors":"Suzanne Currie, M Danielle McDonald, Katherine A Sloman","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coag021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coag021","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Over recent years, the opinion that physiology or behaviour are the most sensitive indicators of environmental change has become less prominent, with the recognition that complex dynamic feedback loops exist between an individual's physiology and behaviour. The fluidity of the physiology/behaviour interface and its sensitivity to abiotic factors, such as exposure to temperature change and low oxygen (hypoxia), or biotic factors, such as genetics, reproductive status or social interaction, form an organism's context. Individual contexts can make the way animals respond to an environmental challenge difficult to predict and conservation efforts incredibly challenging. Our Perspective draws on examples from across the animal kingdom presented at the 2024 Society for Experimental Biology symposium, 'Linking Physiology and Behaviour in a Changing World', which investigated the interplay between an animal's context and the environmental challenges they experience, in shaping the physiology/behaviour interface. Our <i>Perspective</i> highlights that if we want to address the conservation and biodiversity implications of the rapid environmental change we now face, it is critical that we continue to move away from reductionist methodologies and adopt holistic interdisciplinary approaches to provide conservation biologists with the tools they need to solve our most pressing conservation challenges.</p>","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"14 1","pages":"coag021"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13069989/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147678472","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}