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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Immune Profiles Vary Seasonally, But Are Not Significantly Related To Migration Distance Or Natal Dispersal, In A Migratory Songbird, Tosha R. Kelly, Heather L. Macgillivray, Keith A. Hobson, Scott A. Macdougall-Shackleton, Elizabeth A. Macdougall-Shackleton
Immune Profiles Vary Seasonally, But Are Not Significantly Related To Migration Distance Or Natal Dispersal, In A Migratory Songbird, Tosha R. Kelly, Heather L. Macgillivray, Keith A. Hobson, Scott A. Macdougall-Shackleton, Elizabeth A. Macdougall-Shackleton
Biology Publications
A central tenet of ecoimmunology is that an organism’s environment shapes its optimal investment in immunity. For example, the benefits of acquired (relatively pathogen-specific) versus innate (non-specific) immune defences are thought to vary with the risk of encountering familiar versus unfamiliar pathogens. Because pathogen communities vary geographically, individuals that travel farther during seasonal migration or natal dispersal are predicted to have higher exposure to novel pathogens, and lower exposure to familiar pathogens, potentially favoring investment in innate immunity. During the breeding season, migratory animals’ exposure to familiar pathogens should increase, potentially favoring investment in acquired immunity. We hypothesized that song …