Cutaneous Immune Activity Varies with Physiological State in Female House Sparrows (Passer domesticus)

2006 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 775-783 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. B. Martin II ◽  
P. Han ◽  
J. Kwong ◽  
M. Hau
Keyword(s):  
Physiological State ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Immune Activity

Trade-offs between molt and immune activity in two populations of house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (6) ◽  
pp. 780-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn B Martin II
Keyword(s):  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Immune Defense ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Immune Activity ◽  
Feather Growth ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Time Of Year ◽  
Two Populations

Molt and immune defense are critical activities in which all birds must invest. Because each is costly, wild passerines may have to decrease their investment in one activity if they are to increase investments to others. Here, I studied such molt–immune trade-offs in one neotropical and one north-temperate population of house sparrows (Passer domesticus (L., 1758)). I included two populations in my study to investigate if molt–immune trade-offs in this species are phenotypically plastic or fixed. I expected that if they were fixed, then immune activity, molt, and immune–molt trade-offs would be distinct between populations after they were kept in captivity for 1 year under similar conditions. I found evidence for molt–immune trade-offs in house sparrows. Feather growth was inversely related to cutaneous immune activity to phytohemagglutinin (PHA). Furthermore, feather growth 3 weeks post immune challenge was lower in immune-challenged birds relative to saline-injected controls. However, there was no effect of population of origin on these patterns, or the rate of molt or PHA response at this time of year in each population. Thus, while house sparrows probably do face trade-offs between molt and immune activity in the wild, any variation in these trade-offs between populations are likely plastic responses to different environments.

scholarly journals Inbreeding is associated with shorter early-life telomere length in a wild passerine

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Le Pepke ◽  
Alina K. Niskanen ◽  
Thomas Kvalnes ◽  
Winnie Boner ◽  
Bernt-Erik Sæther ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Telomere Length ◽  
Inbreeding Depression ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Physiological State ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Early Life History ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Isolated Populations ◽  
House Sparrows

ABSTRACTInbreeding can have negative effects on survival and reproduction, which may be of conservation concern in small and isolated populations. However, the physiological mechanisms underlying inbreeding depression are not well-known. The length of telomeres, the DNA sequences protecting chromosome ends, has been associated with health or fitness in several species. We investigated effects of inbreeding on early-life telomere length in two small island populations of wild house sparrows (Passer domesticus) known to be affected by inbreeding depression. Using genomic and pedigree-based measures of inbreeding we found that inbred nestling house sparrows have shorter telomeres. This negative effect of inbreeding on telomere length may have been complemented by a heterosis effect resulting in longer telomeres in individuals that were less inbred than the population average. Furthermore, we found some evidence of stronger effects of inbreeding on telomere length in males than females. Thus, telomere length may reveal subtle costs of inbreeding in the wild and demonstrate a route by which inbreeding negatively impacts the physiological state of an organism already at early life-history stages.

scholarly journals Social groups with diverse personalities mitigate physiological stress in a songbird

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Csongor I. Vagasi ◽  
Attila Fulop ◽  
Gergely Osvath ◽  
Peter L. Pap ◽  
Janka Penzes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Physiological State ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
The Social ◽  
Behavioural Types ◽  
Group Members

Social groups often consist of diverse phenotypes, including personality types, and this diversity is known to affect the functioning of the group as a whole. Social selection theory proposes that group composition (i.e. social environment) also influences the performance of individual group members. However, the effect of group behavioural composition on group members remains largely unexplored, and it is still contentious whether individuals benefit more in a social environment with homogeneous or diverse behavioural composition. We experimentally formed groups of house sparrows Passer domesticus with high and low diversity of personality (exploratory behaviour), and found that their physiological state (body condition, physiological stress and oxidative damage) improved with increasing group-level diversity of personality. These findings demonstrate that group personality composition affects the condition of group members and individuals benefit from social heterosis (i.e. associating with a diverse set of behavioural types). This aspect of the social life can play a key role in affiliation rules of social animals and might explain the evolutionary coexistence of different personalities in nature.

scholarly journals Social groups with diverse personalities mitigate physiological stress in a songbird

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1943) ◽  
pp. 20203092
Author(s):  
Csongor I. Vágási ◽  
Attila Fülöp ◽  
Gergely Osváth ◽  
Péter L. Pap ◽  
Janka Pénzes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Physiological State ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
The Social ◽  
Behavioural Types ◽  
Group Members

Social groups often consist of diverse phenotypes, including personality types, and this diversity is known to affect the functioning of the group as a whole. Social selection theory proposes that group composition (i.e. social environment) also influences the performance of individual group members. However, the effect of group behavioural composition on group members remains largely unexplored, and it is still contentious whether individuals benefit more in a social environment with homogeneous or diverse behavioural composition. We experimentally formed groups of house sparrows Passer domesticus with high and low diversity of personality (exploratory behaviour), and found that their physiological state (body condition, physiological stress and oxidative damage) improved with increasing group-level diversity of personality. These findings demonstrate that group personality composition affects the condition of group members and individuals benefit from social heterosis (i.e. associating with a diverse set of behavioural types). This aspect of the social life can play a key role in affiliation rules of social animals and might explain the evolutionary coexistence of different personalities in nature.

scholarly journals Non-breeding feather concentrations of testosterone, corticosterone and cortisol are associated with subsequent survival in wild house sparrows

2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1733) ◽  
pp. 1560-1566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Koren ◽  
Shinichi Nakagawa ◽  
Terry Burke ◽  
Kiran K. Soma ◽  
Katherine E. Wynne-Edwards ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stress Hormones ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Darwinian Fitness ◽  
Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
The Subject ◽  
As Stress

Potential mechanistic mediators of Darwinian fitness, such as stress hormones or sex hormones, have been the focus of many studies. An inverse relationship between fitness and stress or sex hormone concentrations has been widely assumed, although empirical evidence is scarce. Feathers gradually accumulate hormones during their growth and provide a novel way to measure hormone concentrations integrated over time. Using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry, we measured testosterone, corticosterone and cortisol in the feathers of house sparrows ( Passer domesticus ) in a wild population which is the subject of a long-term study. Although corticosterone is considered the dominant avian glucocorticoid, we unambiguously identified cortisol in feathers. In addition, we found that feathers grown during the post-nuptial moult in autumn contained testosterone, corticosterone and cortisol levels that were significantly higher in birds that subsequently died over the following winter than in birds that survived. Thus, feather steroids are candidate prospective biomarkers to predict the future survival of individuals in the wild.

Breeding House Sparrows, Passer domesticus in Captivity

1973 ◽  
pp. 39-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl J. Mitchell ◽  
Richard O. Hayes
Keyword(s):  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
In Captivity
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