Food availability affects diurnal nest predation and adult antipredator behaviour in song sparrows, Melospiza melodia

Knowledge of the causes of variation in host immunity to parasitic infection and the time-scales over which variation persists, is integral to predicting the evolutionary and epidemiological consequences of host–parasite interactions. It is clear that offspring immunity can be influenced by parental immune experience, for example, reflecting transfer of antibodies from mothers to young offspring. However, it is less clear whether such parental effects persist or have functional consequences over longer time-scales, linking a parent's previous immune experience to future immune responsiveness in fully grown offspring. We used free-living song sparrows ( Melospiza melodia ) to quantify long-term effects of parental immune experience on offspring immune response. We experimentally vaccinated parents with a novel antigen and tested whether parental vaccination influenced the humoral antibody response mounted by fully grown offspring hatched the following year. Parental vaccination did not influence offspring baseline antibody titres. However, offspring of vaccinated mothers mounted substantially stronger antibody responses than offspring of unvaccinated mothers. Antibody responses did not differ between offspring of vaccinated and unvaccinated fathers. These data demonstrate substantial long-term effects of maternal immune experience on the humoral immune response of fully grown offspring in free-living birds.

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Seasonality and Hormonal Control of Territorial Aggression in Female Song Sparrows (Passeriformes: Emberizidae: Melospiza melodia)

Ethology ◽

10.1046/j.1439-0310.2000.00555.x ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 106 (6) ◽

pp. 493-510 ◽

Cited By ~ 78

Author(s):

Michelle M. Elekonich ◽

John C. Wingfield

Keyword(s):

Hormonal Control ◽

Melospiza Melodia ◽

Territorial Aggression ◽

Female Song ◽

Song Sparrows

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Effects of Acute Treatment with 8-OH-DPAT and Fluoxetine on Aggressive Behaviour in Male Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia morphna)

Journal of Neuroendocrinology ◽

10.1046/j.1365-2826.2003.00968.x ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 150-160 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

T. S. Sperry ◽

C. K. Thompson ◽

J. C. Wingfield

Keyword(s):

Aggressive Behaviour ◽

Acute Treatment ◽

Melospiza Melodia ◽

Male Song ◽

Song Sparrows

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Food availability and seasonal variation in nest predation pressure as factors influencing the timing of breeding of Namaqua sandgrouse in the Nama Karoo, South Africa

African Zoology ◽

10.1080/15627020.2001.11657108 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 36 (1) ◽

pp. 1-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Penn Lloyd ◽

Robin M. Little ◽

Timothy M. Crowe

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Seasonal Variation ◽

Food Availability ◽

Nest Predation ◽

Predation Pressure ◽

Timing Of Breeding ◽

Factors Influencing

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Song sparrows Melospiza melodia have a home-field advantage in defending against sympatric malarial parasites

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.160216 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 3 (8) ◽

pp. 160216 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Yanina Sarquis-Adamson ◽

Elizabeth A. MacDougall-Shackleton

Keyword(s):

Melospiza Melodia ◽

The Other ◽

Ecological Interactions ◽

Breeding Sites ◽

Song Sparrows ◽

Capture Site ◽

Fitness Consequences ◽

Home Field Advantage ◽

Fitness Consequence ◽

Host Parasite

Hosts and parasites interact on both evolutionary and ecological timescales. The outcome of these interactions, specifically whether hosts are more resistant to their local parasites (sympatric) than to parasites from another location (allopatric), is likely to affect the spread of infectious disease and the fitness consequences of host dispersal. We conducted a cross-infection experiment to determine whether song sparrows ( Melospiza melodia ) have an advantage in dealing with sympatric parasites. We captured birds from two breeding sites 437 km apart, and inoculated them with avian malaria ( Plasmodium spp.) cultured either from their capture site or from the other site. Infection risk was lower for birds exposed to sympatric than to allopatric Plasmodium lineages, suggesting that song sparrows may have a home-field advantage in defending against local parasite strains. This pattern was more pronounced at one capture site than at the other, consistent with mosaic models of host–parasite interactions. Home-field advantage may arise from evolutionary processes, whereby host populations become adapted to their local parasites, and/or from ecological interactions, whereby host individuals develop resistance to the local parasites through previous immune exposure. Our findings suggest that greater susceptibility to novel parasites may represent a fitness consequence of natal dispersal.

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Subspecific Differentiation and Conservation of Song Sparrows (Melospiza Melodia) in the San Francisco Bay Region Inferred by Microsatellite Loci Analysis

The Auk ◽

10.1093/auk/119.3.641 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 119 (3) ◽

pp. 641-657 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Yvonne Chan ◽

Peter Arcese

Keyword(s):

San Francisco ◽

Microsatellite Loci ◽

San Francisco Bay ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Melospiza Melodia ◽

Genetic Population ◽

Pair Group ◽

Song Sparrows ◽

Chord Distance ◽

Subspecies Level

Abstract We examined genetic population structure of five putative subspecies of Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia) in the San Francisco Bay region (M. m. samuelis, M. m. maxillaris, M. m. pusillula, M. m. gouldii, and M. m. heermanni) at nine microsatellite loci to assist the development of Song Sparrow conservation and management strategies. We sampled nine populations from five putative subspecies and found low estimates of differentiation between populations within subspecies and between. Despite low estimates of divergence, genetic structure at the subspecies level was indicated by the larger amount of variance accounted for by subspecies than populations. We propose that a management unit encompassing the range of M. m. pusillula be given priority for conservation on the basis of the extent of genetic divergence shown by Cavalli-Sforza and Edward's chord distance, and the topology of an unweighted pair group cluster analysis supported by 100% of bootstrap replicates across loci. Although M. m. samuelis and M. m. maxillaris appear undifferentiated from M. m. heermanni, it remains possible that adaptive differences between those types were not identified with neutral loci.

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