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cje ›› 2010, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (11): 2280-2285.

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Physiological mechanism and ecological implications of wild bird stress response.

ZHANG Shu-ping, CHEN Cong, WANG Pei-zhe, LIU Sheng-lin, CHEN Xiao-yu   

  1. College of Life and Environment Science, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China
  • Online:2010-11-08 Published:2010-11-08

Abstract: Stress response is the physiological, hormonal, and behavioral changes that enable an animal to cope with a stressor, and has great influence on the behaviors and survivability of the animal. Harsh weather, predation risk, and human disturbance can induce acute stress of wild birds, while food scarcity, predators, seasonal changes, and social domination are the main factors inducing chronic stress of wild birds. The acute stress can help the wild bird individuals withstand brief periods of stress, while the chronic stress can have adverse effects, e.g., suppressing immune and reproduction functions and reducing body mass, which finally devastate the survivability of wild bird population. This paper reviewed the physiological mechanism and ecological implications of wild bird stress response to encourage Chinese ornithologists to pay attention to the topic.

Key words: Sulphur dioxide, Dry deposition Velocity, atmospheric deposition, Rapeseed, Rice, Dynamics