Comparative analysis of plasma steroid hormone levels reveals lower concentrations in Afrotropical than Palearctic temperate zone passerines

Abstract

Latitudinal changes in environmental conditions shape the evolution of avian life history traits: tropical bird species typically exhibiting prolonged breeding seasons, a slower pace of life, lower annual investment in reproduction and increased annual survival compared to their temperate counterparts. Major shifts in physiology, reflecting these differences, are expected to be mediated by endocrine regulation, yet comparative data on the sources of inter-specific variation in hormone concentrations remain sparse, especially outside the Nearctic-Neotropic system. We examined variation in two key steroid hormones, corticosterone and testosterone, across 100 passerine species from Europe and the Afrotropics, sampled using standardized field protocols. Baseline levels of both hormones were consistently lower in tropical species, as expected. While stress-induced corticosterone reactivity did not differ between latitudes, it declined with migration distance. Testosterone levels were higher in males than females and declined with migration distance. In tropical species, neither hormone was associated with elevation, another source of environmental variation, but both varied during the breeding cycle, challenging the view of tropical aseasonality. This study broadens the perspective on endocrine correlates of avian life history evolution by testing their generality in an understudied Afrotropical-Palearctic system. The results support the hypothesis that steroid hormone profiles co-evolve with latitude.