Modulation of the Adrenocortical Response to Perturbations of the Environment

风暴等极端天气事件的频率、持续时间和强度都在增加。再加上人类干扰导致的其他全球变化，很明显，生物体与环境相互作用的机制对压力环境因素的反应是关键。这些反应，通常被称为“压力反应”，通过改变生理和行为来帮助动物科普，从而促进生存。这里的重点将是应激激素反应，特别是肾上腺，这是一个高度适应性的生理和行为特征，在包括人类在内的脊椎动物中是保守的。对压力反应的季节性调节如何起作用的基本理解将使我们能够预测脊椎动物有机体如何调整其生理和行为以应对日益多变的环境以及跨物种范围，重点是那些处于限制或已经超越其地理范围的种群。 PI旨在教育K-12学生和教师，同时也接触到代表性不足的少数民族（特别是加州的拉丁美洲人），以提高对所有生物和鸟类栖息地的认识和保护。通过这些方式，可以向广大公众广泛宣传这项工作。在环境急剧变化的时代，公众意识至关重要，更广泛的影响活动将产生深远的影响。生物体与环境相互作用对环境扰动的反应机制是生存的关键。这里的重点将是激素反应，特别是肾上腺皮质类固醇。PI对生物医学背景下的环境压力反应有很好的理解，通常是在慢性压力模式下。然而，这些方法并不能模拟生物体在环境条件下经历季节性循环的自然状态，并且相应地调节应激反应。了解个人如何推动他们的应对策略的边界以及地理范围是至关重要的，无论是从基础科学的角度来看，保护。拟议的工作将评估肾上腺皮质应激反应是如何调节使用实验室和现场研究，以告知我们的大脑中心负责控制季节性波动的压力反应。此外，重点将是这些大脑区域的活动如何在环境严重性的年度周期中波动，以及在一个物种的范围内波动，重点是那些处于地理范围极限或已经超越地理范围的种群。对HPA轴在经历季节性调节的物种中如何工作的基本理解也将使PI能够预测脊椎动物生物如何调整其生理和行为以应对日益多变的环境。

Extreme weather events such as storms, are increasing in frequency, duration and intensity. Couple this with other global changes resulting from human disturbance and it is clear that mechanisms underlying organism-environment interactions in response to stressful environmental factors are key. These responses, often called the "stress response" help the animal cope through the modification of physiology and behaviour that promote survival. The focus here will be on the stress hormone responses, particularly from the adrenal gland, that are a highly adaptive suite of physiological and behavioral traits that are conserved across vertebrates including humans. A basic understanding of how seasonal modulations of the stress response works will allow us to predict how vertebrate organisms adjust their physiology and behaviour in response to an increasingly capricious environment as well as across a species' range with an emphasis on those populations that are on the limits of, or have pushed beyond, their geographic range. The PIs aim to educate K-12 students and teachers, while also reaching out to under-represented minorities (particularly Latinos in California) to enhance awareness, and conservation, of habitat for all organisms as well as birds. In these ways the work can be broadly disseminated to the public at large. In an era of dramatic environmental change, public awareness is critical and the broader impact activities will have far reaching influence. Mechanisms underlying organism-environment interactions in response to perturbations of the environment are key for survival. The focus here will be on the hormonal response, particularly corticosteroids from the adrenal gland. The PIs have a good understanding of the responses to environmental stress in biomedical contexts, often under the chronic stress paradigm. However, these approaches do not mimic nature in which organisms experience seasonal cycles in environmental conditions and the stress response is modulated accordingly. Understanding how individuals push the boundaries of their coping strategies as well as geographic range is critical both from a basic science standpoint and for conservation. The proposed work will assess how the adrenocortical stress response is regulated using both laboratory and field studies to inform us of what brain centers are responsible for controlling seasonal fluctuation in the stress response. In addition, the focus will be on how the activity of these brain regions fluctuates across the annual cycle of environmental severity, and also across a species' range with an emphasis on those populations that are on the limits of, or have pushed beyond, their geographic range. A basic understanding of how the HPA axis works in species that undergo seasonal modulations in the stress response will also allow the PIs to predict how vertebrate organisms adjust their physiology and behavior in response to an increasingly capricious environment.