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A Test Of Whether Human Handling Causes Developmental Or Habituation Effects On The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Stress Response Of Young American Kestrels (Falco Sparverius), Erin Leigh Wonder

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Early exposure to stressors affects subsequent stress responses in both mammalian and avian species, with the likelihood for lasting effects depending, in part, on the magnitude of the stressor. However, it is unclear whether lasting effects are the result of developmental changes to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis or habituation to the stressor. I investigated the effects of human handling, a known stressor, in free-living American kestrel (Falco sparverius) nestlings to determine if this brief, non-invasive stressor causes lasting changes in the stress response of handled birds, and whether alterations in the stress response were the result of developmental …