Modulation of the Adrenocortical Response to Perturbations of the Environment

极端天气事件，如风暴，在频率、持续时间和强度上都在增加。结合人类干扰导致的其他全球变化，很明显，生物与环境相互作用的机制是应对压力环境因素的关键。这些反应通常被称为“应激反应”，帮助动物通过改变生理和行为来应对，从而促进生存。这里的重点将放在应激激素反应上，特别是肾上腺，这是一套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都是保守的。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如何调整其生理和行为，以应对日益变化无常的环境，以及跨越物种范围的物种，重点是那些处于其地理范围极限或已经超越其地理范围的种群。pi的目标是教育K-12的学生和教师，同时也向代表性不足的少数民族（特别是加利福尼亚的拉丁裔）伸出援助之手，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，这项工作可以广泛地传播给广大公众。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。生物与环境相互作用的机制对环境扰动的反应是生存的关键。这里的重点是荷尔蒙的反应，特别是肾上腺的皮质类固醇。pi对生物医学背景下的环境应激反应有很好的理解，通常是在慢性应激范式下。然而，这些方法并不能模拟自然界中生物体在环境条件下经历季节性循环和应激反应相应调节的情况。从基础科学和保护的角度来看，了解个体如何突破其应对策略和地理范围的界限是至关重要的。拟议的工作将评估肾上腺皮质应激反应是如何通过实验室和实地研究来调节的，以告知我们哪些大脑中心负责控制应激反应的季节性波动。此外，重点将放在这些大脑区域的活动如何在环境严重程度的年度周期中波动，以及在物种范围内波动，重点放在那些处于地理范围极限或已经超越其地理范围的种群上。对HPA轴在压力反应中经历季节性调节的物种中如何工作的基本了解，也将使pi能够预测脊椎动物如何调整其生理和行为以应对日益变化无常的环境。

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.