Genetic and environmental variation in condition, cutaneous immunity, and haematocrit in house wrens.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Life-history studies of wild bird populations often focus on the relationship between an individual's condition and its capacity to mount an immune response, as measured by a commonly-employed assay of cutaneous immunity, the PHA skin test. In addition, haematocrit, the packed cell volume in relation to total blood volume, is often measured as an indicator of physiological performance. A multi-year study of a wild population of house wrens has recently revealed that those exhibiting the highest condition and strongest PHA responses as nestlings are most likely to be recruited to the breeding population and to breed through two years of age; in contrast, intermediate haematocrit values result in the highest recruitment to the population. Selection theory would predict, th

SUBMITTER: Sakaluk SK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4272546 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature