Abstract
The Attwater's prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri), a federally endangered grouse species, is currently experiencing high chick mortality in wild populations and the causes are unknown. We tested 3 indicators of innate immunity (hemaggluttination, serum lysozyme, and total immunoglobulin [IgY] levels) in the Attwater's prairie-chicken and a closely related sub-species, the greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus). Agglutination titers were approximately 25% higher in the juvenile and adult Attwater's prairie-chickens compared to equivalently aged greater prairie-chickens. Additionally, total IgY levels in wild-collected Attwater's prairie-chicken egg samples were 34% higher than IgY levels in captive greater prairie-chickens or Attwater's prairie-chicken eggs. These results suggest that differences in innate immune function exist between these sub-species and also among Attwater's prairie-chicken subpopulations that are exposed to different environmental conditions.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 633-638 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Wildlife Management |
Volume | 77 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2013 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Ecology
- Nature and Landscape Conservation