Abstract
Leukocyte profile parameters are often used as indicators of individual condition, long-term stress and immune system state in birds and other animals. Therefore, it is important to obtain baseline values of leukocyte profile parameters unaffected by stressful stimuli, including capture and handling. However, information about the timing of stress-induced changes in the leukocyte profile has been obtained only for a limited number of species, and there is little data on how various factors (e.g. environmental stimuli, life-history stage or age) affect these changes. In our study, we examined the dynamics of changes in leukocyte profiles following capture in male Great Tits (Parus major), and tested the effect of age on these dynamics. The numbers of lymphocytes, heterophils and heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (HL ratio) began to change between 30 and 60 min after capture, while significant changes in the total white blood cell (WBC) counts appeared later, 60–90 min after capture. Eosinophil numbers were stable within 90 min of capture. We did not observe an effect of age on the timing of stress-induced changes in the leukocyte profile. Overall, our results corroborate previous data obtained from Great Tits but disagree with data for some other avian species. We assume that the dynamics of leukocyte profile changes are likely to be species-specific. We conclude that to obtain baseline values of leukocyte profile parameters, blood samples should be preferably taken within 30 min after capture.
Zusammenfassung
Dynamik der stressbedingten Veränderungen des Leukozytenprofils bei Kohlmeisen: Prüfung des Einflusses des Alters
Leukozytenprofile werden häufig als Indikatoren für den individuellen Zustand, langfristigen Stress und den Zustand des Immunsystems bei Vögeln und anderen Tieren verwendet. Daher ist es wichtig, Ausgangswerte von Leukozytenprofilparametern zu erhalten, die unbeeinflusst sind von stressinduzierten Stimuli, wie Fang und Handhabung, zu erhalten. Informationen über den Zeitpunkt der stressbedingten Veränderungen des Leukozytenprofils liegen jedoch nur für eine begrenzte Anzahl von Arten vor, und es gibt nur wenige Daten darüber, wie verschiedene Faktoren (z. B. Umweltreize, Lebensstadium oder Alter) diese Veränderungen beeinflussen. In unserer Studie untersuchten wir die Dynamik der Veränderungen des Leukozytenprofils nach dem Fang bei männlichen Kohlmeisen (Parus major) und testeten den Einfluss des Alters auf diese Dynamik. Die Anzahl der Lymphozyten, Heterophilen und des Verhältnisses von Heterophilen zu Lymphozyten (HL-Verhältnis) begann sich zwischen 30 und 60 min nach dem Fang zu verändern, während signifikante Veränderungen in der Gesamtzahl der weißen Blutkörperchen (WBC) erst später, 60–90 min nach dem Fang, auftraten. Die Eosinophilenzahl war innerhalb von 90 min nach der Aufnahme stabil. Wir konnten keinen Einfluss des Alters auf den Zeitpunkt der stressbedingten Veränderungen im Leukozytenprofil feststellen. Insgesamt bestätigen unsere Ergebnisse frühere Daten von Kohlmeisen, stimmen aber nicht mit Daten für einige andere Vogelarten überein. Wir gehen davon aus, dass die Dynamik der Veränderungen des Leukozytenprofils wahrscheinlich artspezifisch ist. Wir kommen zu dem Schluss, dass Blutproben vorzugsweise innerhalb von 30 min nach dem Fang entnommen werden sollten, um Ausgangswerte für Leukozytenprofile zu erhalten.
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Data availability
Our study was conducted in accordance with the agreement on research cooperation No 12/18 (dated 16.05.2018) between the administration of the Summer Garden and the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia. Trapping and animal handling complied with the animal care laws of the Russian Federation and were approved by the ethical committee of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (permit #4–15/15–06-2021).
Data Accessibility
Data are openly available in Figshare: https://figshare.com/s/c74c380b8f47ad4ee309
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Acknowledgements
We thank Anastasia Volkova, Artyom Spiridonov, Kirill Afonov, Ulyana Ivanova and Polina Baichuk for help with bird capture and blood sampling. We are grateful to the administration of the Russian Museum and Department "Summer Garden, Mikhailovsky Garden and green areas of the Museum”, Vasilisa Petrova and all employees of the Summer Garden for their extensive organizational support. We thank the student laboratory of the Biology Faculty of the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia for the opportunity to analyze blood smears. We acknowledge the valuable criticism of the two anonymous reviewers on the earlier draft. We are grateful to Nikita Chernetsov and Lyndon Roberts for correcting English.
Funding
This research was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant nos. 16-04-01773 and 19-04-01219 to AT) and the Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, project 122031100261-7.
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Polikarpova, D., Demina, I., Berezantseva, M. et al. Dynamics of stress-induced changes of leukocyte profile in Great Tits: testing effect of age. J Ornithol 164, 803–813 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-023-02068-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-023-02068-6