Corticosterone and migratory fueling in Northern wheatears facing different barrier crossings

Corticosterone, at baseline and moderately elevated levels, is thought to regulate energy mobilization during the predictable life-history cycle. In birds, corticosterone is known to be moderately elevated during migration, and some experiments on captive, but migratory active birds have shown that exogenous corticosterone can positively affect food intake and fat deposition, i.e. fueling. We present observations which indicate that in wild birds endogenous corticosterone does not promote refueling during migratory stopovers. We took a comparative approach and studied two subspecies of Northern wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe) during their simultaneous spring stopovers on Helgoland, a small island some 50 km off the German coast. In spring O. oenanthe have to travel relatively short distances from Helgoland to their next stopover or breeding sites, whereas Oenanthe leucorhoa face a lengthy overseas journey. Consequently, for their next flight bout leucorhoa wheatears deposit more fuel, more rapidly than oenanthe wheatears. Corticosterone levels, however, were lower in leucorhoa than oenanthe wheatears, contradicting the idea that corticosterone promotes migratory refueling. This finding was solidified by the observation that actual fuel deposition rate was negatively correlated with corticosterone level. We also observed a positive correlation between corticosterone level and fuel stores. Together these findings suggest that, rather than promoting migratory refueling, corticosterone may function as a readiness cue, with levels increasing towards departure from the stopover site.