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IS-AUR-Samarb.progr. Norge Frankrike

Impact of natural and anthropogenic stressors on physiological stress and telomere dynamics of raptor chicks

Awarded: NOK 25,000

Ecotoxicology is faced with great challenges when trying to predict the impact of environmental pollutants on wildlife, especially in species at the top of the food chain that are concomitantly affected by multiple, ongoing changes in their natural enviro nments. A proper ecotoxicological risk assessment relies on the ability to establish links between contaminants (i.e., anthropogenic stressors) and natural stressors. Here we propose a project that will use avian top predator raptors, the white-tailed sea eagle, as a biological model for developing new methods to understand how multiple stressors affect different markers of physiological stress (feather corticosterone, heat shock proteins [stress proteins], plasma oxidative stress) and telomere attrition that underlies the mechanisms of ageing rates. We will use existing data from different populations of Troms and Finnmark (Northern Norway) collected within the frame of the RAPTOR 2015 project.

Funding scheme:

IS-AUR-Samarb.progr. Norge Frankrike