Habitat effects on physiological stress response in nestling blue tits are mediated through parasitism
Habitat effects on physiological stress response in nestling blue tits are mediated through parasitism
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DOI：
10.1086/524393
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发表时间：
2008-03-01
影响因子：
1.6
通讯作者：
Martinez, Javier
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Arriero, Elena;Moreno, Juan;Martinez, Javier
我们研究了生长在西班牙中部橡树林中的蓝山雀雏鸟在不同的森林管理措施下，由应激蛋白介导的生理应激反应的决定因素。我们评估了热休克蛋白HSP60的循环水平，将其作为雏鸟在出生后发育过程中所经历的条件的综合生理指标。然后通过这种应激反应的测量来评估栖息地质量和寄生虫感染对雏鸟饲养环境的影响。我们的结果表明，新获得的外寄生虫和血寄生虫感染与森林生境结构特征、较成熟森林中较高的蚤类和血液寄生虫流行率以及退化森林中较高的苍蝇流行率有关。虽然栖息地特征不能解释应激蛋白水平的变化，但原石斑蝇属苍蝇幼虫的感染和白细胞附着体感染血吸虫与较高的HSP60水平显著相关。因此，上调某些应激蛋白的表达似乎是减轻寄生虫感染对生长禽类的负面影响的一种常见的生理机制。因此，栖息地特征可能间接决定森林鸟类的生长条件，因为它们与后代发育最重要的选择压力之一--寄生虫感染--有关。
We investigated determinants of the physiological stress response mediated by stress proteins in blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus nestlings growing up in oak forests in central Spain, resulting from different forest management practices. We assessed circulating levels of the heat-shock protein HSP60 as an integrated physiological measure of the conditions experienced by nestlings during postnatal development. The effects of habitat quality and parasite infections on nestling rearing environment were then assessed through this measurement of stress response. Our results showed that newly acquired ecto- and hemoparasite infections were associated with forest habitat structural characteristics, higher prevalence of fleas and blood parasites in more mature forests, and higher prevalence of blowflies in degraded forests. While habitat characteristics did not explain variation in stress protein levels, infestation by blowfly larvae of the genus Protocalliphora and hematozoa infection by Leucocytozoon were significantly associated with higher levels of HSP60. Thus, upregulation of the expression of certain stress proteins seems to be a common physiological mechanism to alleviate the negative impact of parasite infections in growing birds. Habitat characteristics may thus indirectly determine growth conditions for forest birds mediated through their association with one of the most important selection pressures for offspring development, parasite infections.