The role of glucocorticoids in the vertebrate response to weather
The role of glucocorticoids in the vertebrate response to weather
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DOI：
10.1016/j.ygcen.2018.07.007
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发表时间：
2018-12-01
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
Romero, L. Michael
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
de Bruijn, Robert;Romero, L. Michael
与恶劣天气有关的环境变化可通过直接不利暴露和间接减少食物供应威胁生存和繁殖成功。作为应激反应的一部分，下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴在激活过程中释放的糖皮质激素是脊椎动物应对气候机制的重要候选者。本综述试图确定糖皮质激素对暴露于天气相关刺激（包括食物供应、降水、温度和气压）是否有一致的反应。纳入的研究涵盖了所有脊椎动物分类群的野外和实验室研究，并分为四个暴露期，如小时、天、周和月。每个报告的结果都根据糖皮质激素的反应进行评分，例如，增加，无变化或减少。短期暴露于与天气有关的刺激（最多24小时）通常与糖皮质激素增加有关（79%的研究），这表明这些刺激被大多数动物视为应激源。相比之下，暴露时间超过24小时的模式显示出更多的变化，尽管大多数研究仍然报告增加（64%）。缺乏糖皮质激素的增加似乎是由于以下情况造成的：(1)长期暴露是动物生活史中可预测的一部分；(2)环境背景对刺激的最终效果很重要（例如，降水在一种环境中限制了食物供应，但在另一种环境中增加了食物供应）；(3)长时间暴露诱发慢性应激；(4)长期反应反映了对季节变化的适应，而不是对短期天气的适应。然而，对驯化的实验室物种和圈养的野生动物的研究存在强烈的偏见，这表明需要进行实地研究，特别是在爬行动物和两栖动物方面。综上所述，积累的文献支持糖皮质激素在恶劣天气下促进体能的生理机制。
Changes in the environment related to inclement weather can threaten survival and reproductive success both through direct adverse exposure and indirectly by decreasing food availability. Glucocorticoids, released during activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis as part of the stress response, are an important candidate for linking vertebrate coping mechanisms to weather. This review attempts to determine if there is a consensus response of glucocorticoids to exposure to weather-related stimuli, including food availability, precipitation, temperature and barometric pressure. The included studies cover field and laboratory studies for all vertebrate taxa, and are separated into four exposure periods, e.g., hours, days, weeks and months. Each reported result was assigned a score based on the glucocorticoid response, e.g., increased, no change, or decreased. Short-term exposure to weather-related stimuli, of up to 24 h, is generally associated with increased glucocorticoids (79% of studies), suggesting that these stimuli are perceived as stressors by most animals. In contrast, the pattern for exposures longer than 24 h shows more variation, even though a majority of studies still report an increase (64%). Lack of glucocorticoid increases appeared to result from instances where: (1) prolonged exposure was a predictable part of the life history of an animal; (2) environmental context was important for the ultimate effect of a stimulus (e.g., precipitation limited food availability in one environment, but increased food in another); (3) prolonged exposure induced chronic stress; and (4) long-term responses appeared to reflect adaptations to seasonal shifts, instead of to short-term weather. However, there is a strong bias towards studies in domesticated laboratory species and wild animals held in captivity, indicating a need for field studies, especially in reptiles and amphibians. In conclusion, the accumulated literature supports the hypothesis that glucocorticoids can serve as the physiological mechanism promoting fitness during inclement weather.