Hormones, Immunocompetence, and Coloniality

动物行为程序非技术摘要标题：激素，免疫能力，和殖民i: Brown， Charles r.提案#:9974733博士。布朗将研究社会环境如何影响动物的类固醇激素水平，以及这些激素如何影响其免疫反应，以一种殖民地鸟类，悬崖燕子为研究对象。目的是确定(1)群体规模与睾酮和皮质酮激素水平之间是否存在关系；(2)社会互动（压力）与激素水平的关系；(3)是否存在激素水平与免疫功能之间的关系；(4)寄生虫如何影响激素水平和免疫功能。血液样本将用于激素分析和免疫反应测试，在现场对自由生活的个体进行测试。行为上的相互作用，比如打架，会被观察到。将进行简单的免疫学测试，以测量鸟类的免疫反应。将居住在已去除吸血外寄生虫的巢穴中的鸟类的激素水平和免疫反应与自然感染巢穴中的鸟类进行比较。这项研究将首次尝试研究激素水平如何影响群体生活的进化。这一结果应该会对为什么社会性会进化以及为什么社会群体的规模会变化这一人们知之甚少的问题产生新的见解。这项研究将首次解决自然条件下激素如何影响免疫能力的问题。如果存在联系，研究结果将具有潜在的深远的生物医学意义。

Animal Behavior ProgramNon-technical AbstractTitle: Hormones, immunocompetence, and colonialityPI: Brown, Charles R.Proposal #: 9974733Dr. Brown will study how the social environment affects levels of an animal's steroid hormones, and how these hormones may affect its immune response, in a colonial bird, the cliff swallow. The objectives are to determine (1) if there is a relationship between group size and levels of the hormones testosterone and corticosterone; (2) how social interaction (stress) is related to hormone levels; (3) if there is a relationship between hormone levels and immune function; and (4) how parasites affect hormone levels and immune function. Blood samples will be taken for hormone analysis and immune response tests done in the field on free-living individuals. Behavioral interactions such as fighting will be observed. Simple immunological tests will be performed to measure the birds' immune responses. Hormone levels and immune responses of birds occupying nests in which blood- sucking ectoparasites have been removed will be compared to those of birds in naturally infested nests. This study will be the first attempt to study how hormone levels influence the evolution of group living. The results should lead to new insight into the poorly understood problem of why sociality evolves and why social groups vary in size. This study will be the first to address how hormones affect immune ability under natural conditions. If there is a link, the results will have potentially far-reaching biomedical implications.