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Ecoimmunology and microbial ecology: contributions to avian behavior, physiology, and life history

journal contribution
posted on 2017-02-01, 00:00 authored by Jessica Evans, Kate BuchananKate Buchanan, S C Griffith, K C Klasing, Brianne AddisonBrianne Addison
Bacteria have had a fundamental impact on vertebrate evolution not only by affecting the evolution of the immune system, but also generating complex interactions with behavior and physiology. Advances in molecular techniques have started to reveal the intricate ways in which bacteria and vertebrates have coevolved. Here, we focus on birds as an example system for understanding the fundamental impact bacteria have had on the evolution of avian immune defenses, behavior, physiology, reproduction and life histories. The avian egg has multiple characteristics that have evolved to enable effective defense against pathogenic attack. Microbial risk of pathogenic infection is hypothesized to vary with life stage, with early life risk being maximal at either hatching or fledging. For adult birds, microbial infection risk is also proposed to vary with habitat and life stage, with molt inducing a period of increased vulnerability. Bacteria not only play an important role in shaping the immune system as well as trade-offs with other physiological systems, but also for determining digestive efficiency and nutrient uptake. The relevance of avian microbiomes for avian ecology, physiology and behavior is highly topical and will likely impact on our understanding of avian welfare, conservation, captive breeding as well as for our understanding of the nature of host-microbe coevolution.

History

Journal

Hormones and behavior

Volume

88

Pagination

112 - 121

Publisher

Elsevier

Location

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

ISSN

0018-506X

eISSN

1095-6867

Language

eng

Publication classification

C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2017, Elsevier