Experimental immune activation using a mild antigen decreases reproductive success in free-living female Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis)
| Autor: | Timothy J. Greives, Jessica L. Graham, R.P. Mady |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
0301 basic medicine medicine.medical_specialty biology Reproductive success Offspring Zoology Junco hyemalis biology.organism_classification 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Antibody production 03 medical and health sciences 030104 developmental biology Endocrinology Antigen Internal medicine medicine Seasonal breeder Animal Science and Zoology Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Immune activation |
| Zdroj: | Canadian Journal of Zoology. 95:263-269 |
| ISSN: | 1480-3283 0008-4301 |
| DOI: | 10.1139/cjz-2016-0131 |
| Popis: | Seasonal animals time breeding so that offspring rearing coincides with favorable conditions. Offspring rearing is energetically demanding; therefore, additional energetic challenges during this life-history stage may allocate energy away from offspring care, decreasing reproductive success. Activation of the immune system may be one such energetic challenge, and may have a disproportionately higher impact on reproductive success earlier in the breeding season when resources are less abundant and thermoregulatory demands are greater. We monitored nestling growth and survival in incubating female Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis (L., 1758)) injected with a mild antigen to stimulate antibody production and induce an energetic challenge. We found nests of treated females were more likely than controls to fail prior to 6 days post hatch, coinciding with timing of peak antibody production. No effect of season was detected. Offspring mass did not differ between treatments prior to failure, suggesting that failure was potentially due to differences in behaviour other than nestling feeding. Our findings indicate a trade-off between immunity and nest survival that is not affected by time of season. Based on the results of our study, we suggest that future research be directed toward how immune activation influences behaviours, including nest guarding and predator aggression, and mediates this trade-off. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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