LEE, KA*; WIKELSKI, M; KLASING, KC; Princeton University; Princeton University; University of California, Davis: Indices of humoral and innate immunity in tropical birds according to diet and habitat type

Immune defense strategies are intricately linked to the ecology, physiology, life history and evolutionary history of the host. We measured several indices of standing immune defenses, including natural antibodies and complement activity, in more than sixty tropical bird species from forest interior and edge habitats. We will present broad-scale comparative analyses exploring the major ecological and phylogenetic correlates of variation in these immune defense measures, and suggest ways these data can be used to inform conservation decisions.