Glucocorticoids (GCs; ie cortisol/corticosterone) are a central component of the stress
response and thus their measurement is frequently used to evaluate the impact of stressful …

Extensive experimental animal studies and epidemiological observations have shown that
environmental influences during early development affect the risk of later pathophysiological …

The adaptive value of transgenerational effects (the ancestor environmental effects on
offspring) in changing environments has received much attention in recent years, but the …

BACKGROUND The social environment shapes human health, producing strong
relationships between social factors, disease risk, and survival. The strength of these links …

Many forms of developmental plasticity have been observed and these are usually
beneficial to the organism. The Predictive Adaptive Response (PAR) hypothesis refers to a …

Conservation physiology proposes that measures of physiological stress (glucocorticoid
levels) can be used to assess the status and future fate of natural populations. Increases in …

Phenotypic plasticity can allow organisms to cope with environmental changes. Although
reaction norms are commonly used to quantify plasticity along gradients of environmental …

Many studies in humans have shown that adverse experience in early life is associated with
accelerated reproductive timing, and there is comparative evidence for similar effects in …

Faecal steroid hormone metabolites are becoming increasingly popular as parameters for
reproductive functions and stress. The extraction of the steroids from the faecal matrix …

Background Our understanding of gut microbiota has been limited primarily to findings from
human and laboratory animals, but what shapes the gut microbiota in nature remains largely …