Physiological and behavioral responses to an acute phase response in zebra finches: immediate and short-term effects
Author
Summary, in English
Activation of the immune system to clear pathogens and mitigate infection is a costly process that might incur fitness costs. When vertebrates are exposed to pathogens, their first line of defense is the acute-phase response (APR), which consists of a suite of physiological and behavioral changes. The dynamics of the APR are relatively well investigated in mammals and domesticated birds but still rather unexplored in passerine birds. In this study, we injected male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) with a bacterial endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide [LPS]) to assess the potential physiological, immunological, and behavioral responses during the time course of an APR and also to record any potential short-term effects by measuring the birds during the days after the expected APR. We found that LPS-injected zebra finches decreased activity and gained less body mass during the APR, compared to control individuals. In addition, LPS-injected birds increased their production of LPS-reactive antibodies and reduced their metabolic rate during the days after the expected APR. Our results show that zebra finches demonstrate sickness behaviors during an APR but also that physiological effects persist after the expected time course of an APR. These delayed effects might be either a natural part of the progression of an APR, which is probably true for the antibody response, or a short-term carryover effect, which is probably true for the metabolic response.
Department/s
Publishing year
2014
Language
English
Pages
288-298
Publication/Series
Physiological and Biochemical Zoology
Volume
87
Issue
2
Links
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Topic
- Biological Sciences
Status
Published
Project
- Immunoecology
Research group
- Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab
- Life History and Functional Ecology
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1522-2152