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dr hab. Mariusz Cichoń
cichon@eko.uj.edu.pl |
Dep. of Population Ecology Inst. of Environmental Sciences Jagiellonian University Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków Poland tel. + 48 12 664 52 01 fax + 48 12 664 69 12 |
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Cichoń M.
OECOLOGIA
2000; 125: 453-457
Abstract:
This paper investigates the costs of incubation in terms of reduced reproductive success and addresses the question of whether incubation competes for resources with immune function. I performed a clutch size manipulation experiment in which two eggs were either removed from or added to the nests of Collared Flycatchers Ficedula albicollis for one week during incubation and subsequently returned to their original nests before hatching. To induce immune response the females were challenged with sheep red blood cells. While the duration of incubation, hatching success and fledgling number did not differ between experimental groups, fledgling condition was significantly lower in broods that had been enlarged during incubation. Neither the females' condition nor their ability to respond to a novel antigen differed between treatments. The relationship between antibody production and female condition was significantly positive, but only among females incubating reduced clutches. It is concluded that the costs of incubation in the Collared Flycatcher are not negligible and are manifested only at the chick-rearing phase.
d e s i g n e d b y P a w e ł K a p u s t a