title: Does urban life change blood oxidative status in birds?
abstract: Cities may expose wild animals to new types of selection pressures, potentially leading to differentiation among urban and rural populations. One cellular mechanism likely important in determining the viability of vertebrate populations is resistance to oxidative stress, as tissue degradation resulting from oxidative stress may decrease reproductive performance and survival. We hypothesized that city-thriving Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula) would be more resistant to oxidative stress when exposed to stressful conditions than rural conspecifics. Hand-raised city and rural blackbirds kept under common garden conditions indeed differed in blood oxidative status when exposed to chronic stress: city birds had lower oxidative damage during stressful conditions compared with rural birds, but also tended to generally maintain lower levels of non-enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidants than rural birds. These findings show that individuals from urban and rural areas differ intrinsically in their blood oxidative status physiology, possibly as an adaptation to city life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium Institute for Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK davidcostantini@libero.it.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Costantini
authors.affiliation: North Dakota State University, Department of Biological Sciences, 1340 Bolley Drive, Fargo, ND 58202, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Greives
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Evolutionary Physiology Group, Seewiesen, Germany University of Konstanz, Department of Biology, 78457 Konstanz, Germany.
authors.forename: Michaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hau
authors.affiliation: University of Konstanz, Department of Biology, 78457 Konstanz, Germany Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Department of Migration and Immuno-ecology, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany.
authors.forename: Jesko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Partecke
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000032:analysis*; D002947:Cities; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D008297:Male; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D020308:Songbirds / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants
keywords: Antioxidants; Oxidative stress; Population; Stress response; Urbanization; Vertebrates