Affiliation:
1. Institute of Biology, University of Białystok, Świerkowa 20B, 15-950 Białystok, Poland
2. Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Waszkiewicza 1, 17-230 Białowieża, Poland
Abstract
Despite its presumed significance, the association between immune defence, energy expenditures and overwinter survival is rarely studied. We analysed individual variation in immunocompetence quantified as neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (N/L), total white blood cells (WBC) and natural antibody levels, along with resting (RMR) and peak metabolic rates (PMR) and mortality during three consecutive winter seasons in a natural population of the root vole,
Microtus oeconomus
. In early winter, WBC count was negatively correlated with RMR, whereas N/L ratio was negatively correlated with swim-elicited PMR. We suggest that while the first correlation reflected the trade-off between energy allocation in immunocompetence and other metabolically demanding processes, the latter correlation stemmed from stress-induced immunosuppression elicited by the necessity to cope with swimming in frequently flooded habitat. In addition, the analysis carried out during the first year of study characterized by a high population density and prevalence of infestation with a blood parasite—
Babesia
spp., showed that its intensity was inversely correlated with the N/L ratio. In summary, our results suggest that elevated N/L ratio increases the winter survival of free-ranging rodents by increasing their ability to cope with parasitic infections.
Subject
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences,Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
Cited by
6 articles.
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