Within-brood body size and immunological differences in Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nestlings relative to ectoparasitism
Several ectoparasites parasitise nestlings decreasing their body condition, growth and survival. To minimise any loss of fitness due to ectoparasites, birds have developed a wide variety of defence mechanisms, potentially including hatching asynchrony. According to the Tasty Chick Hypothesis (TCH),...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Avian Research |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716622000342 |
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| author | Jorge Garrido-Bautista Antonio Soria Cristina E. Trenzado Amalia Pérez-Jiménez Eliana Pintus José Luis Ros-Santaella Nicola Bernardo Mar Comas Stanislav Kolenčík Gregorio Moreno-Rueda |
| author_facet | Jorge Garrido-Bautista Antonio Soria Cristina E. Trenzado Amalia Pérez-Jiménez Eliana Pintus José Luis Ros-Santaella Nicola Bernardo Mar Comas Stanislav Kolenčík Gregorio Moreno-Rueda |
| author_sort | Jorge Garrido-Bautista |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Several ectoparasites parasitise nestlings decreasing their body condition, growth and survival. To minimise any loss of fitness due to ectoparasites, birds have developed a wide variety of defence mechanisms, potentially including hatching asynchrony. According to the Tasty Chick Hypothesis (TCH), the cost of parasitism would be reduced if ectoparasites tend to eat on less immunocompetent nestlings, typically the last-hatched chick in asynchronously hatched broods, as they are in poor body condition. Two predictions of the TCH are that immune capacity is lower in smaller nestlings than in larger ones and that parasites should provoke a more negative effect on smaller nestlings. Here, we test these predictions in a population of Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) whose broods are parasitised by Hen Fleas (Ceratophyllus gallinae) and Blowflies (Protocalliphora azurea). We recorded the presence of both ectoparasites and analysed the immunocompetence (number of leucocytes per 10,000 erythrocytes and cutaneous immune response to phytohaemagglutinin) and body condition of smaller and larger nestlings within individual broods. The leucocyte count was higher in smaller nestlings than in larger ones, whereas the cutaneous immune response did not differ between smaller and larger nestlings. Smaller nestlings, but not larger nestlings, had lower body mass when fleas were present. Blowflies, by contrast, had no detectable negative effect on nestlings. Overall, our findings provide partial support to the TCH. Lower immune capacity in smaller nestlings than in larger ones was not supported, but Hen Fleas seemed to negatively impact on smaller nestlings more than on larger ones. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T04:20:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c9ea92584a4d475bb6d2baf9f33a0ef0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2053-7166 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T04:20:40Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Avian Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-c9ea92584a4d475bb6d2baf9f33a0ef02022-12-22T03:02:47ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Avian Research2053-71662022-01-0113100038Within-brood body size and immunological differences in Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nestlings relative to ectoparasitismJorge Garrido-Bautista0Antonio Soria1Cristina E. Trenzado2Amalia Pérez-Jiménez3Eliana Pintus4José Luis Ros-Santaella5Nicola Bernardo6Mar Comas7Stanislav Kolenčík8Gregorio Moreno-Rueda9Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071, Granada, SpainDepartamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071, Granada, SpainDepartamento de Biología Celular, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071, Granada, SpainDepartamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071, Granada, SpainDepartment of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 16500, Prague 6, Suchdol, Czech RepublicDepartment of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 16500, Prague 6, Suchdol, Czech RepublicEstación Biológica de Doñana, EBD-CSIC, Av. Américo Vespucio 26, 41092, Seville, SpainDepartamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain; Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, NH, 03755, Hanover, USADepartment of Biology, University of Nevada, NV, 89557, Reno, USADepartamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain; Corresponding author.Several ectoparasites parasitise nestlings decreasing their body condition, growth and survival. To minimise any loss of fitness due to ectoparasites, birds have developed a wide variety of defence mechanisms, potentially including hatching asynchrony. According to the Tasty Chick Hypothesis (TCH), the cost of parasitism would be reduced if ectoparasites tend to eat on less immunocompetent nestlings, typically the last-hatched chick in asynchronously hatched broods, as they are in poor body condition. Two predictions of the TCH are that immune capacity is lower in smaller nestlings than in larger ones and that parasites should provoke a more negative effect on smaller nestlings. Here, we test these predictions in a population of Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) whose broods are parasitised by Hen Fleas (Ceratophyllus gallinae) and Blowflies (Protocalliphora azurea). We recorded the presence of both ectoparasites and analysed the immunocompetence (number of leucocytes per 10,000 erythrocytes and cutaneous immune response to phytohaemagglutinin) and body condition of smaller and larger nestlings within individual broods. The leucocyte count was higher in smaller nestlings than in larger ones, whereas the cutaneous immune response did not differ between smaller and larger nestlings. Smaller nestlings, but not larger nestlings, had lower body mass when fleas were present. Blowflies, by contrast, had no detectable negative effect on nestlings. Overall, our findings provide partial support to the TCH. Lower immune capacity in smaller nestlings than in larger ones was not supported, but Hen Fleas seemed to negatively impact on smaller nestlings more than on larger ones.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716622000342BlowfliesBlue titCyanistes caeruelusEctoparasitesHen fleasImmunocompetence |
| spellingShingle | Jorge Garrido-Bautista Antonio Soria Cristina E. Trenzado Amalia Pérez-Jiménez Eliana Pintus José Luis Ros-Santaella Nicola Bernardo Mar Comas Stanislav Kolenčík Gregorio Moreno-Rueda Within-brood body size and immunological differences in Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nestlings relative to ectoparasitism Avian Research Blowflies Blue tit Cyanistes caeruelus Ectoparasites Hen fleas Immunocompetence |
| title | Within-brood body size and immunological differences in Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nestlings relative to ectoparasitism |
| title_full | Within-brood body size and immunological differences in Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nestlings relative to ectoparasitism |
| title_fullStr | Within-brood body size and immunological differences in Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nestlings relative to ectoparasitism |
| title_full_unstemmed | Within-brood body size and immunological differences in Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nestlings relative to ectoparasitism |
| title_short | Within-brood body size and immunological differences in Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nestlings relative to ectoparasitism |
| title_sort | within brood body size and immunological differences in blue tit cyanistes caeruleus nestlings relative to ectoparasitism |
| topic | Blowflies Blue tit Cyanistes caeruelus Ectoparasites Hen fleas Immunocompetence |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716622000342 |
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