Acute stressors increase plasma corticosterone and decrease locomotor activity in a terrestrial salamander (Desmognathus ochrophaeus)

Vertebrates respond to the onset of an acute stressor with an acute increase in plasma glucocorticoids. The increase in plasma glucocorticoids is believed to be adaptive, helping an animal cope until the stressful episode subsides. Although much is known about the effects of chronic elevation of glucocorticoids, far less is known about the role of acute increases in glucocorticoids in mediating stress responses. To better understand the regulation and function of acute increases in plasma glucocorticoids, we measured stress-induced increases in plasma corticosterone (CORT) and the effects of stressors and exogenous CORT on activity in male Allegheny dusky salamanders (Desmognathus ochrophaeus). Capture and handling of field-caught salamanders resulted in an acute elevation of plasma CORT during the nonmating season but not during the mating season. In laboratory-housed salamanders, a handling stressor that simulated capture resulted in decreased locomotor activity. Noninvasive elevation of plasma CORT via dermal patches did not replicate the handling-induced decrease in activity. Together, this work indicated that 1) the CORT response to the acute stressor of capture and handling was seasonally variable, 2) handling induced a decrease in locomotor activity in the laboratory, and 3) acute increases in plasma CORT did not contribute to stress-induced changes in locomotor activity. Future studies using noninvasive methods to elevate plasma CORT should illuminate the role of acute increases in plasma glucocorticoids in coordinating organismal responses to acute stressors.