Fagan lab postdoc, Thomas Mueller, discovers that group living causes stress in ravens

Wed, Feb 9, 2011
Many long-lived birds adopt life strategies of group living at juvenile and sub-adult stages, but the potential energetic cost and stress associated with these life styles are poorly understood. Thomas Mueller found that corticosterone concentrations were significantly higher in non-breeding gregarious ravens than in territorial adults.  Published last month in Biology Letters, these findings suggest that group living may be more energetically demanding than maintaining territory, a condition prompting non-breeders to leave the group.  This research should inspire studies of the link between hormone levels and selective pressures on gregarious and territorial strategies in long-lived birds. 



