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Hematological condition indexes in greenfinches: Effects of captivity and diurnal variation

Sepp, T. ; Sild, Elin LU and Hõrak, P. (2010) In Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 83(2). p.276-282
Abstract
Ecophysiological research aiming at explaining the causes and consequences of variation in individual condition, health state, and allostasis is traditionally performed on captive animals under controlled laboratory conditions. The question about how captivity per se affects studied parameters is therefore of central importance for generalizing the information gained from such studies. We addressed this question by comparing various indexes of physiological condition of wintering greenfinches sampled in the wild and kept in captivity for different time periods. Bringing wild greenfinches into captivity did not result in systematic alteration in nine of 12 physiological parameters studied. Captive birds had consistently lower plasma... (More)
Ecophysiological research aiming at explaining the causes and consequences of variation in individual condition, health state, and allostasis is traditionally performed on captive animals under controlled laboratory conditions. The question about how captivity per se affects studied parameters is therefore of central importance for generalizing the information gained from such studies. We addressed this question by comparing various indexes of physiological condition of wintering greenfinches sampled in the wild and kept in captivity for different time periods. Bringing wild greenfinches into captivity did not result in systematic alteration in nine of 12 physiological parameters studied. Captive birds had consistently lower plasma carotenoid and uric acid levels than wild ones. Variation in differential leukocyte counts did not reveal any signs of elevated stress of birds kept in captivity. These results indicate that for a number of physiological parameters, information obtained fromcaptive animals can be generalized to natural situations. Variance in traits most closely related to physical exercise capacity (body mass and hematocrit) were much lower in the wild than in captivity. These findings suggest that under harsh environmental conditions experienced by wild birds (i.e., predation threat, scarce resources), traits such as hematocrit and body mass are fine tuned by physiological trade-offs. © 2010 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. (Less)
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author
; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Physiological and Biochemical Zoology
volume
83
issue
2
pages
276 - 282
publisher
University of Chicago Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:77749291797
  • pmid:20078208
ISSN
1522-2152
DOI
10.1086/648580
language
English
LU publication?
no
additional info
2
id
7d8f93e1-5347-4df1-88a8-3a3dbffd75bb (old id 3359233)
alternative location
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/648580
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:09:33
date last changed
2022-03-20 03:18:26
@article{7d8f93e1-5347-4df1-88a8-3a3dbffd75bb,
  abstract     = {{Ecophysiological research aiming at explaining the causes and consequences of variation in individual condition, health state, and allostasis is traditionally performed on captive animals under controlled laboratory conditions. The question about how captivity per se affects studied parameters is therefore of central importance for generalizing the information gained from such studies. We addressed this question by comparing various indexes of physiological condition of wintering greenfinches sampled in the wild and kept in captivity for different time periods. Bringing wild greenfinches into captivity did not result in systematic alteration in nine of 12 physiological parameters studied. Captive birds had consistently lower plasma carotenoid and uric acid levels than wild ones. Variation in differential leukocyte counts did not reveal any signs of elevated stress of birds kept in captivity. These results indicate that for a number of physiological parameters, information obtained fromcaptive animals can be generalized to natural situations. Variance in traits most closely related to physical exercise capacity (body mass and hematocrit) were much lower in the wild than in captivity. These findings suggest that under harsh environmental conditions experienced by wild birds (i.e., predation threat, scarce resources), traits such as hematocrit and body mass are fine tuned by physiological trade-offs. © 2010 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.}},
  author       = {{Sepp, T. and Sild, Elin and Hõrak, P.}},
  issn         = {{1522-2152}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{276--282}},
  publisher    = {{University of Chicago Press}},
  series       = {{Physiological and Biochemical Zoology}},
  title        = {{Hematological condition indexes in greenfinches: Effects of captivity and diurnal variation}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/648580}},
  doi          = {{10.1086/648580}},
  volume       = {{83}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}