Impact of road distance and experimental challenge of the maternal immune system on the offspring immunocompetence

Abstract

The increasing number of roads is an important threat to living organisms on a global scale, although research describing the influence of roads on the immune response of birds is lacking. The main purpose of this study was to examine the effect of distance from the road on the chicks’ immune function. The research was conducted in the Krzyszkowice Forest near Kraków (S Poland) in spring 2012. Two common bird species: Great Tit and Eurasian Blue Tit bred in new nest boxes installed on trees with various distances from the road. In half of the nests, adult females were challenged with the antigen sheep red blood cells (SRBC) to check whether this experiment and the neighbourhood of road – both potentially lowering the immune response of nestlings – together cause an interactive effect.