ReviewConservation physiology2015
The use of haemoglobin concentrations to assess physiological condition in birds: a review.
Review in Conservation physiology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 147 citations in OpenAlex.
- Breed- and age-associated variation in hematological parameters and Toll-like receptor 2 gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of commercial and purebred laying hens during the laying cycle.Veterinary world · 2026Article
- Earlier hatching date rather than chick phenotypic quality enhances first-year survival in the black-headed gull.Frontiers in zoology · 2026Article
- Haematological and biochemical reference values for Bonelli's eagles in the wild and in captivity: implications for conservation and rehabilitation programs.BMC veterinary research · 2025Article
- Birds With Distinct Ecological Traits Show Varied Haemoglobin Adaptations Along Elevation Gradients.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Physiological health of wintering glaucous-winged gulls in coastal British Columbia.Conservation physiology · 2025Article
- Beneficial effects of Alterion supplementation on growth metrics, intestinal histomorphology, and microbial communities in indigenous and commercial chicken breeds.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Article
- Urbanization enhances body condition, but not innate immune defences, in a common waterbird.Royal Society open science · 2025Article
- Delayed post-juvenile moult in malaria-infected Eurasian blackcaps.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Article
- Early Feeding Strategy Mitigates Major Physiological Dynamics Altered by Heat Stress in Broilers.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- Effect of Management of Grassland on Prey Availability and Physiological Condition of Nestling of Red-Backed ShrikeAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- Health parameters for wild Carnaby's cockatoo (Conservation physiology · 2024Article
- Determination of Haematological Reference Values for Tucúquere (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Individual variation within wild populations of an arid-zone lizard dictates oxidative stress levels despite exposure to sublethal pesticides.Ecotoxicology (London, England) · 2023Article
- Concerted phenotypic flexibility of avian erythrocyte size and number in response to dietary anthocyanin supplementation.Frontiers in zoology · 2023Article
- Sensitivity of High Conservation Value Birds to Para-Aminopropiophenone (PAPP) Determined by Sub-Lethal Dose-Response Assay.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Altered dynamics of mitochondria and reactive oxygen species in the erythrocytes of migrating red-headed buntings.Frontiers in physiology · 2023Article
- High MHC diversity confers no advantage for phenotypic quality and reproductive performance in a wild bird.The Journal of animal ecology · 2022Article
- Population density mediates induced immune response, but not physiological condition in a well-adapted urban bird.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Flexible growth and body mass predict physiological condition at fledging in the synchronously breeding European starling,Royal Society open science · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Total blood haemoglobin concentration is increasingly being used to assess physiological condition in wild birds, although it has not been explicitly recognized how reliably this parameter reflects different components of individual quality. Thus, I reviewed over 120 published studies linking variation in haemoglobin concentrations to different measures of condition and other phenotypic or ecological traits. In most of the studied avian species, haemoglobin concentrations were positively correlated with other commonly used indices of condition, such as body mass and fat loads, as well as with quality of the diet. Also, chick haemoglobin concentrations reliably reflected the intensity of nest infestation by parasitic arthropods, and haemoglobin was suggested to reflect parasitism by haematophagous ectoparasites much more precisely than haematocrit. There was also some evidence for the negative effect of helminths on haemoglobin levels in adult birds. Finally, haemoglobin concentrations were found to correlate with such fitness-related traits as timing of arrival at breeding grounds, timing of breeding, egg size, developmental stability and habitat quality, although these relationships were not always consistent between species. In consequence, I recommend the total blood haemoglobin concentration as a relatively robust indicator of physiological condition in birds, although this parameter is also strongly affected by age, season and the process of moult. Thus, researchers are advised to control fully for these confounding effects while using haemoglobin concentrations as a proxy of physiological condition in both experimental and field studies on birds.
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