Collecting, processing, and storing avian blood: a review

Owen, Jennifer C.

doi:10.1111/j.1557-9263.2011.00338.x

Cited by 169 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 61 publications

(76 reference statements)

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“…Throughout our study we collected 148 separate foraging observations on no fewer than 57 individuals comprising over 200 minutes (12,437 seconds) of behavioral data on Black-and-white Warblers. That said, we only observed sleeping behavior in a single individual.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Daytime sleeping behavior observed in a Black-and-white Warbler during spring stopover

Covino

Cooney

2015

Animal Migration

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Nocturnally migrating birds experience loss of sleep during the migratory period especially when undertaking long, non-stop flights. We report a field observation of daytime sleeping behavior in a Black-andwhite Warbler (Mniotilta varia) during spring migration. It is likely that this individual was compensating from sleep loss experienced during a trans-Gulf of Mexico flight. Only a few observations of daytime sleeping behavior have been reported in free-living migrants and all have been associated with long-distance flights in relation to ecological barriers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While studies of sleep loss have been studied in captive migrants, there are few published descriptions of daytime sleeping in influences on survival, condition, or recapture rate [c.f. [11][12]. Therefore we do not believe that our obtaining a blood sample comprising approximately 0.65% of the bird's body mass influenced its behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Daytime sleeping behavior observed in a Black-and-white Warbler during spring stopover

Covino

Cooney

2015

Animal Migration

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“…To examine leucocyte profiles and identify the sex, a small blood sample (10-20 ll) was taken from the brachial vein (26-gauge needle) within 3 min of capture, following the standard procedure used in birds (Owen 2011). Part of each blood sample was used for leukocyte analysis; the remainder of each sample was stored in 1 ml 96 % ethanol until used for DNA-based sex identification.…”

Section: Field Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Being long-lived seabirds, little auks are expected to invest strongly in their immune system to ensure survival. This species has relatively low rates of infection and prevalence of otherwise common pathogens, such as haemoparasites or fungi , 2011Dynowska et al 2013). So far, leucocyte profiles in the little auk have been studied mainly in adults (Jakubas et al 2008.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors affecting leucocyte profiles in the little auk, a small Arctic seabird

2015

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Leucocyte profiles, especially the heterophil/ lymphocyte ratio (H/L), are widely used to assess immune function and stress in birds. In this study, we investigated whether leucocyte profiles in a small colonial seabird, the little auk (Alle alle), are related to age (chicks, adults), sex or biometric traits, including body mass. We blood-sampled chicks at 4-8 and 14-18 days of life and chick-feeding adults with 14-20-and 24-30-day-old chicks. Relative numbers of heterophils and H/L generally differed among chicks and adults, with the highest values in adults with 14-20-day-old chicks and the lowest ones in 4-8-day-old chicks. Females had a higher proportion of lymphocytes than males. The relative numbers of eosinophils were similar in all the groups. The percentage of monocytes tended to differ among the age categories. Analyses of chicks revealed that the percentage of heterophils and the H/L ratios were significantly higher in older than in younger chicks. The opposite pattern was recorded for lymphocytes. In 14-18-day-old chicks, H/L (stress level) was negatively related to body mass, head-bill length and bill width. This time period is energetically stressful as nestlings start to exercise their wings outside the nest chamber. This suggests that the origin of stress in nestlings was mainly nutritional. We found a significant positive correlation between body mass at fledging and the relative number of eosinophils at 14-18 days of life, indicating a higher level of stress in lighter nestlings. The significant relationship between fledging age and the percentage of monocytes at 14-18 days of life suggested a poorer state of health in chicks that fledged at an older age.

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“…Faecal samples were collected every 30 min for 8-11 h. Each collected sample was frozen immediately at -20°C in a plastic tube. Afterwards, small blood sample (20 ll) was collected from the brachial vein according to the standard procedure (Owen 2011) from both adults and chicks for molecular sexing. Data for studying factors affecting FCM levels were collected in July-August 2010, simultaneously in the two colonies.…”

Section: Fieldworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in faecal corticosterone metabolites in an Arctic seabird, the Little Auk (Alle alle) during the nesting period

et al. 2014

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Glucocorticoids participate in the control of whole body homoeostasis and an organism's response to stress. Corticosterone, which is the principal glucocorticoid in birds, has been shown to increase in response to different energetic demands and perturbations that individuals have to cope with. In this study, a non-invasive method to examine the corticosterone secretion by measuring faecal corticosterone metabolites (FCM) has been established for an Arctic seabird, the Little Auk (Alle alle). A group-specific immunoassay was successfully validated for adults and chicks using an adrenocorticotropic challenge test. Then, FCM levels were investigated under different energetic and physiological demands, determined by weather conditions, week of chick rearing in adults, and age in chicks. The amount of rainfall had no effect on FCM levels in adults, whereas it negatively affected FCM levels in chicks. There was no variation in FCM concentrations among weeks of chick rearing in adults. In chicks, the FCM levels increased with age. Moreover, chicks with higher FCM levels had lower body mass and fledged later than chicks with lower FCM levels. This study demonstrates that environmental stress such as poor weather conditions can trigger significant changes in corticosterone levels in seabird chicks. Furthermore, the results indicate that corticosterone may be involved in the physiological and behavioural adjustments necessary for successful fledging and post-fledging survival.

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Collecting, processing, and storing avian blood: a review

Cited by 169 publications

References 61 publications

Daytime sleeping behavior observed in a Black-and-white Warbler during spring stopover

Daytime sleeping behavior observed in a Black-and-white Warbler during spring stopover

Factors affecting leucocyte profiles in the little auk, a small Arctic seabird

Variation in faecal corticosterone metabolites in an Arctic seabird, the Little Auk (Alle alle) during the nesting period

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