Meeting Abstract

P2.70  Tuesday, Jan. 5  The importance of embryonic development for offspring and adult immune function MAJEWSKA, Ania*; MARTIN, Thomas/E; University of Montana ania1.majewska@umontana.edu

Why species differ in rate of development and quality of offspring is a central question in life history theory. Longer developmental period is widely believed to enhance offspring quality and adult longevity by allowing greater development of intrinsic features (locomotor performance, immune function, neural networks). For example, long development may be critical in ontogeny of immune function by yielding greater cell differentiation and proliferation of immune tissues during the embryonic stage. This hypothesis was recently supported by a finding of a correlation between embryonic period length and a measure of adult immune function. Although accepted as a standard measure of development, the length of the embryonic development is not necessarily representative of embryonic development rate. In birds, development rate is a function of temperature, thus incubating parents may influence developmental period and offspring immune function by inducing fluctuation in egg temperatures. Indeed, studies of passerine birds show that decreased average egg temperatures result in extended embryonic periods and decreased offspring quality. Here we report the results of a comparative study using 12 co-occurring passerine species of Coconino National Forest, Arizona. We examined whether longer incubation period, corrected for incubation temperatures, has an effect on immune function and parasite prevalence of nestling and adult birds.