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Oecologia (2015) 177:147158
DOI 10.1007/s00442-014-3108-2
PHYSIOLOGICAL ECOLOGY - ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Received: 3 March 2014 / Accepted: 26 September 2014 / Published online: 15 October 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
incubation and edging periods have opposite effects on immune defence (i.e. immune parameters show a negative association with the length of edging period). Our results suggest that the contrasting effects of the incubation and edging periods are related to the timing of the development of immune cells and of NAbs and complement, which largely mature during the embryonic phase of development.In support of this hypothesis, we found that species with a long relative incubation period [i.e. whose total pre-edging developmental time (incubation plus edging) consists largely of the incubation period] invested more in constitutive innate immunity. Finally, in support of the pace of life hypothesis, for a subsample of 63 species, we found that the basal metabolic rate signicantly or tended to negatively correlate with immune measures.
Keywords Phylogenetic comparative analysis
Natural antibodies Fledging period Incubation period White blood cells
Introduction
Studies of ecological immunology addressing the causes of diversity in immune function have revealed a range of factors associated with immune system variation among populations and species (e.g. Nunn et al. 2003; Lee et al. 2008; imkov et al. 2008; Sparkman and Palacios 2009).The effective distinction between self and non-self is in the rst line of immunological protection against parasite attack, and has indisputable tness benets. However, developing and maintaining an effective immune system drains resources from the limited energy pool available for competing life history traits (e.g. Knowles et al. 2009;Bourgeon et al. 2010; Previtali et al. 2012), therefore
Physiological pace of life: the link between constitutive immunity, developmental period, and metabolic rate in European birds
Pter Lszl Pap Csongor Istvn Vgsi
Orsolya Vincze Gergely Osvth Judit Veres-Szszka Gbor rpd Czirjk
Abstract Constitutive innate immunity is the rst lined of defence against infections, but the causes determining its variability among species are poorly understood. The pace of life hypothesis predicts that species with a fast speed of life, characterized by high energy turnover and short developmental time, invest relatively little in defence in favour of growth and early reproduction, whereas slow-living species are predicted to invest more resources into costly defence. We conducted phylogenetic...