Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32792550›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2020

Environmental unpredictability shapes glucocorticoid regulation across populations of tree swallows.

Cedric Zimmer, Conor C Taff, Daniel R Ardia, Alexandra P Rose, David A Aborn, L Scott Johnson, Maren N Vitousek

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. When Does Stress Build Strength? Linking Stress Physiology to Resilience in the Age of Rapid Environmental Change.BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Prenatal Stress and Maternal Role in Neurodevelopment.Annual review of developmental psychology · 2024
    Article
  6. HPA flexibility andPhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2024
    Review
  7. Thyroid hormone links environmental signals to DNA methylation.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2024
    Review
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Cedric ZimmerDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA. cgg.zimmer@gmail.com.
Conor C TaffDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
Daniel R ArdiaDepartment of Biology, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA, 17604, USA.
Alexandra P RoseInstitute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80303, USA.
David A AbornBiology, Geology and Environmental Science, The University of Tennessee Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN, 37403, USA.
L Scott JohnsonDepartment of Biological Sciences, Towson University, Towson, MD, 21252, USA.
Maren N VitousekDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The ability to respond appropriately to challenges is an important contributor to fitness. Variation in the regulation of glucocorticoid hormones, which mediate the phenotypic response to challenges, can therefore influence the ability to persist in a given environment. We compared stress responsiveness in four populations of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) breeding under different environmental conditions to evaluate support for different selective pressures in driving the evolution of glucocorticoid regulation. In accordance with the environmental unpredictability hypothesis, stronger stress responses were seen in more unpredictable environments. Contrary to the reproductive value hypothesis, the stress response was not lower in populations engaging in more valuable reproductive attempts. Populations with stronger stress responses also had stronger negative feedback, which supports a "mitigating" rather than a "magnifying" effect of negative feedback on stress responses. These results suggest that combining a robust stress response with strong negative feedback may be important for persisting in unpredictable or rapidly changing environments.

Indexed as

AnimalsBreedingFeedback, PhysiologicalGlucocorticoidsSelection, GeneticStress, PhysiologicalSwallowsGlucocorticoids

Identifiers

PMID32792550
PMCPMC7426823

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.