Dataset Information

Family-transmitted stress in a wild bird.

ABSTRACT: Recent data suggest that, in animals living in social groups, stress-induced changes in behavior have the potential to act as a source of information, so that stressed individuals could themselves act as stressful stimuli for other individuals with whom they interact repeatedly. Such form of cross-over of stress may be beneficial if it enhances adaptive responses to ecological stressors in the shared environment. However, whether stress can be transferred among individuals during early life in natural populations remains unknown. Here we tested the effect of living with stressed siblings in a gull species where, as in many vertebrates, family represents the basic social unit during development. By experimentally modifying the level of stress hormones (corticosterone) in brood mates, we demonstrate that the social transfer of stress level triggers similar stress responses (corticosterone secretion) in brood bystanders. Corticosterone-implanted chicks and their siblings were faster in responding to a potential predator attack than control chicks. In gulls, fast and coordinated reactions to predators may increase the chances of survival of the whole brood, suggesting a beneficial fitness value of cross-over of stress. However, our data also indicate that living with stressed brood mates early in life entails some long-term costs. Near independence, fledglings that grew up with stressed siblings showed reduced body size, high levels of oxidative damage in lipids and proteins, and a fragile juvenile plumage. Overall, our results indicate that stress cross-over occurs in animal populations and may have important fitness consequences.

SUBMITTER: Noguera JC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5495277 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Family-transmitted stress in a wild bird.

Noguera José C JC Kim Sin-Yeon SY Velando Alberto A

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20170612 26

Recent data suggest that, in animals living in social groups, stress-induced changes in behavior have the potential to act as a source of information, so that stressed individuals could themselves act as stressful stimuli for other individuals with whom they interact repeatedly. Such form of cross-over of stress may be beneficial if it enhances adaptive responses to ecological stressors in the shared environment. However, whether stress can be transferred among individuals during early life in n ...[more]

PMID: 28607057

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Project description:The immune system provides vital protection against pathogens, but extensive evidence suggests that mounting immune responses can entail survival and fecundity costs. The physiological mechanisms that underpin these costs remain poorly understood, despite their potentially important role in shaping life-histories. Recent studies involving laboratory models highlight the possibility that oxidative stress could mediate these costs, as immune-activation can increase the production of reactive oxygen species leading to oxidative stress. However, this hypothesis has rarely been tested in free-ranging wild populations, where natural oxidative statuses and compensatory strategies may moderate immune responses and their impacts on oxidative status. Furthermore, the possibility that individuals scale their immune responses according to their oxidative status, conceivably to mitigate such costs, remains virtually unexplored. Here, we experimentally investigate the effects of a phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) immune-challenge on oxidative status in wild male and female white-browed sparrow weavers, Plocepasser mahali. We also establish whether baseline oxidative status prior to challenge predicts the scale of the immune responses. Contrary to previous work on captive animals, our findings suggest that PHA-induced immune-activation does not elicit oxidative stress. Compared with controls (n = 25 birds), PHA-injected birds (n = 27 birds) showed no evidence of a differential change in markers of oxidative damage or enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant protection 24 hours after challenge. We did, however, find that the activity of a key antioxidant enzyme (superoxide dismutase, SOD) prior to immune-activation predicted the scale of the resulting swelling: birds with stronger initial SOD activity subsequently produced smaller swellings. Our findings (i) suggest that wild birds can mount immune responses without suffering from systemic oxidative stress, and (ii) lend support to biomedical evidence that baseline oxidative status can impact the scale of immune responses; a possibility not yet recognised in ecological studies of immunity.

Dataset Information

Family-transmitted stress in a wild bird.

Publications

Family-transmitted stress in a wild bird.

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