Meeting Abstract

9.7  Sunday, Jan. 4  Hormones, Habitats and Habits up on the Roof: Stress Modulation across Species and Life History Stages in the Passerines of the Tibetan Plateau DAVIS, J.E.*; FOLTZ, S.L.; QI, X.; LEI, F.; WINGFIELD, J.C.; Radford University ; University of California, Davis; Qinghai University; Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Zoology; University of California, Davis jasdavis@gmail.com

At an average elevation over 3000 meters, the Tibetan Plateau is a uniquely harsh environment in which resident passerines deal with the challenges of low oxygen, low precipitation, low temperatures, and limited food sources. In addition, winter migration from the plateau is relatively uncommon in native passerines, as moving sufficiently far south to escape low winter temperatures requires birds to traverse the formidable barrier of the Himalayas. A recent increase in the human population on the plateau has resulted in heavy grazing of the grasslands, massive expansion of urban centers, increased pollution and disturbance of native habitats. However, such habitat modification also provides additional sources of food and novel locations for refuge and nesting, encouraging both invasion by non-native species and the expansion of native species into new, urban, niches. Both native and invasive birds exhibit a range of behavioral and ecological adaptations that may facilitate survival on the plateau, including modulation of reproductive timing, sociality, modulation of the adrencortical response to stress, aggression, and flexibility to make use of the "human habitat." Here we present initial results of comparative analysis of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal activity in endemic and invasive passerine species from January through August of 2008.