... and immune responses adapted to experiencing seasonal droughts. We evaluated how dehydration affects CORT and immune function in eight squamate species that naturally experience varied water limitation. We tested whether hydric state affected plasma CORT concentrations and aspects of immunocompetence (lysis...

.... Both haptoglobin and nitric oxide are important markers for innate immune function. We found that ALAN exposure altered the innate immune response, with nestlings exposed to ALAN having lower haptoglobin and higher nitric oxide levels after the immune challenge compared with dark-night nestlings...

...Jessica M. Judson; Dawn M. Reding; Anne M. Bronikowski ABSTRACT Immunosenescence is a well-known phenomenon in mammal systems, but its relevance in other long-lived vertebrates is less understood. Further, the influence of age and reproductive effort on immune function in long-lived species can...

... glucocorticoids, oxidative stress, immune function or body condition represent a cost of performing offspring care and shape subsequent fitness. We use a 4 year dataset collected in free-living cooperatively breeding superb starlings ( Lamprotornis superbus ), a species in which parental and alloparental care...

...George A. Brusch, IV; Dale F. DeNardo ABSTRACT Immune function can vary based on availability of resources, and most studies of such influences have focused on the co-investment of energy into immune and other physiological functions. When energy resources are limited, trade-offs exist, which can...

... of variation in differential white blood cell counts, we were unable to distinguish between the facilitation hypothesis or the trade-off hypothesis related to immune function. However, the strong association between differential white blood cell count and hypothalamic-pituitary–adrenal/interrenal (HPA/I...

...). However, little is known about the effects of digestion on another important physiological and energetically costly trait: immune function. Thus, we tested two competing hypotheses. (1) Digesting animals up-regulate their immune systems (putatively in response to the increased microbial exposure...

... reduced plasma lymphocyte numbers, but increased neutrophil and monocyte concentrations, indicating a shift in immune function. Supplemental feeding improved the physiological condition of parental fish by reducing the accumulation of oxidative injury. Specifically, supplemental feeding reduced...

...%) and reducing body mass (−21%), especially when combined with reduced relative humidity. Detrimental effects were carried over into the adult stage, diminishing subsequent performance. Most strikingly, higher temperatures suppressed adult immune function (haemocytes: −54%, lysozyme activity: −32%), which may...

...Deng-Bao Yang; Yan-Chao Xu; De-Hua Wang; John R. Speakman SUMMARY Life history parameters appear to be traded off against each other, but the physiological mechanisms involved remain unclear. One hypothesis is that potentially energetically costly processes such as immune function and protection...

... expenditure as compared with four non-selected control (C) lines. High corticosterone may suppress immune function and competing energy demands may limit ability to mount an immune response. We hypothesized that HR mice have a reduced immune response and therefore a decreased ability to fight an infection...

... immune defence is the main physiological barrier against infections. To date, ecoimmunological studies largely lean on measuring constitutive immune defences (components of defence that are always active). However, understanding the role of inducible components of immune function is important...

...Cynthia J. Downs; Heidi Schutz; Thomas H. Meek; Elizabeth M. Dlugosz; Wendy Acosta; Karen S. de Wolski; Jessica L. Malisch; Jack P. Hayes; Theodore Garland, Jr SUMMARY Chronic increases in circulating corticosterone (CORT) generally suppress immune function, but it is not known whether evolved...

... conducted on the somatic (physiological) maintenance of long-lived organisms, particularly ectotherms such as reptiles. In this study, we examined sex differences and age- and season-related variation in immune function and DNA repair efficiency in a long-lived reptile, the painted turtle ( Chrysemys picta...

... ) 21 5 2010 © 2010. 2010 birds hole-nesting immune function natural antibodies parasites The immune system of an organism comprises its main defence mechanism against pathogens ( Zuk and Stoehr, 2002 ). Despite the high fitness value of a well-functioning immune system...

...Noah T. Owen-Ashley; John C. Wingfield SUMMARY A variety of vertebrate species modulate immune function on a seasonal basis to cope with seasonal energy deficits and competing life-history demands, such as reproduction. Most studies to date have focused upon seasonal variation of cellular...

... concentration increased with plasma carotenoid concentration, while that was not the case for control nestlings. In both species, there was no significant effect of carotenoid supply on immune function. Carotenoid supplementation enhanced yellow feather colour in great tit nestlings only. In both species...