title: Corticosterone, inflammation, immune status and telomere length in frigatebird nestlings facing a severe herpesvirus infection.
abstract: Herpesvirus outbreaks are common in natural animal populations, but little is known about factors that favour the infection and its consequences for the organism. In this study, we examined the pathophysiological consequences of a disease probably attributable to herpesvirus infection for several markers of immune function, corticosterone, telomere length and inflammation. In addition, we assessed whether any markers used in this study might be associated with the occurrence of visible clinical signs of the disease and its impact on short-term survival perspectives. To address our questions, in spring 2015, we collected blood samples from nestlings of the magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) that were free of any clinical signs or showed visible signs of the disease. We found that the plasma concentration of haptoglobin was strongly associated with the infection status and could predict probabilities of survival. We also found that nestlings with clinical signs had lower baseline corticosterone concentrations and similar telomere length compared with healthy nestlings, whereas we did not find any association of the infection status with innate immune defenses or with nitric oxide concentration. Overall, our results suggest that the plasma concentration of haptoglobin might be a valuable tool to assess survival probabilities of frigatebird nestlings facing a herpesvirus outbreak.
authors.affiliation: Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology group, Department of Biology , University of Antwerp , Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk , Belgium.
authors.forename: Manrico
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sebastiano
authors.affiliation: Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology group, Department of Biology , University of Antwerp , Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk , Belgium.
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eens
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC) , UMR7372 - CNRS/Université La Rochelle , F-79360 , France.
authors.forename: Frederic
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Angelier
authors.affiliation: Groupe d'Etude et de Protection des Oiseaux en Guyane (GEPOG) , 15 Avenue Pasteur 97300 Cayenne , France.
authors.forename: Kévin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pineau
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC) , UMR7372 - CNRS/Université La Rochelle , F-79360 , France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Chastel
authors.affiliation: Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium; Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Straße 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany; UMR 7221, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 7 rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris cedex 05, France.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Costantini
keywords: Corticosterone; herpesvirus; immunocompetance; telomere length