Bacteria - free mice exhibited higher levels of risk - taking, and neurochemical analysis
revealed higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol and altered levels of the brain chemical BDNF, which has been implicated in human anxiety and depression.
In the June issue
of Conservation Biology, Creel's group
reveals that elk in Yellowstone National Park show
higher levels of the
stress hormone during the snowmobile season and that
levels rise and fall with the amount
of daily snowmobile traffic.