Behavioral and hormonal responses of Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) to tourism and nest site visitation

One of the results of human disturbance at seabird colonies may be the provocation of the typical vertebrate adrenocortical response to stressors, but there have been few studies that demonstrate this. The present study demonstrates that simple human presence at the nest site, without effects of capture or handling, is physiologically stressful for breeding Magellanic […]

Influence of breeding season on fecal glucocorticoid levels in captive Greater Rhea (Rhea americana)

Sex hormones and stress-related changes can be seasonally influenced. We investigate whether fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) levels can differ between male and female captive Greater Rheas during the breeding and non-breeding seasons. Over a 3-year-period, fresh fecal samples from 10 individuals (five of each sex) were collected during the breeding months (October, November, and December) […]