Meeting Abstract
Immune activation following infection can divert energy away from processes like reproduction. While immune activation is known to influence mate choice and reproductive investment in several taxa, relatively little is known about how infection influences courtship and pair bond maintenance behaviors in species that form pair bonds. Some pair bond behaviors may be costly to maintain during infection, and infection could also promote avoidance behaviors within an established pair. Thus, infection-induced changes in pair maintenance are a likely, but largely unexplored, route through which infection could shape reproductive decisions. Using zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), we examined how an immune challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) influences pair bond maintenance in established pairs. We observed a decrease in activity in LPS-challenged birds relative to controls, consistent with LPS-induced sickness behavior. Immune activation decreased the number of times birds performed some courtship behaviors (e.g., beak-wiping), but increased the frequency of clumping between individuals within a pair. While clumping is considered a pair maintenance behavior, it likely serves an additional purpose during immune activation by reducing the thermoregulatory costs associated with maintaining a fever. Interestingly, LPS-challenged pairs decreased the amount of time spent near unmanipulated neighbors but only when sickness behaviors were more pronounced. We have demonstrated that immune activation alters the frequency of some pair maintenance behaviors and are currently examining whether an indirect cue of infection influences pair maintenance behavior in focal birds housed next to either LPS-challenged or control pairs.
