Immune function differs among tropical environments but is not downregulated during reproduction in three year-round breeding equatorial lark populations.

ABSTRACT: Seasonal variation in immune function can be attributed to life history trade-offs, and to variation in environmental conditions. However, because phenological stages and environmental conditions co-vary in temperate and arctic zones, their separate contributions have not been determined. We compared immune function and body mass of incubating (female only), chick-feeding (female and male), and non-breeding (female and male) red-capped larks Calandrella cinerea breeding year-round in three tropical equatorial (Kenya) environments with distinct climates. We measured four immune indices: haptoglobin, nitric oxide, agglutination, and lysis. To confirm that variation in immune function between breeding (i.e., incubating or chick-feeding) and non-breeding was not confounded by environmental con

SUBMITTER: Ndithia HK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8585810 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature