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Heterophil/lymphocyte ratios and heat-shock protein levels are related to growth in nestling birds

Abstract:

Growing altricial birds may experience nutritional stress in the nest due to sibling competition, food restriction, or parasites. Nutritional stress may be detected through its effect on nestling growth, although genetic and maternal effects may interfere with its expression. A more direct way of estimating nutritional stress may be through measurements of organismic stress in growing birds. Heterophil/lymphocyte ratios (H/L) have been proposed as reliable physiological indicators of the stress response. Heat-shock protein (HSP) synthesis is induced by animals in response to various stressors, making the concentration of HSPs a suitable measure of organismic stress. In a study of growing pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca), we assessed H/L from cell counts in blood smears and levels of two HSPs, HSP60 and HSP70, from the cell fraction of peripheral blood. H/L and the level of HSP60 were significantly positively …