ArticleScientific reports2021
Seasonal variation in sex-specific immunity in wild birds.
Article in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 59 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evolutionary drivers of sex-specific parasite prevalence in wild birds.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2024Pooled it
- Physiological Rhythms and Biological Variation of Biomolecules: The Road to Personalized Laboratory Medicine.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Total Immunoglobulin G Variation Through the Phenological Cycle of Migrant and Resident Lesser Long-Nosed Bats (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae) in the Drylands of Mexico and Its Relationship With Bacterial Killing-Ability of Plasma.Journal of experimental zoology. Part A, Ecological and integrative physiology · 2026Article
- Parasite egg shedding rhythms are independent of feeding habits in a small shorebird host.Parasitology · 2026Article
- Paying Upfront: Successful Initial Infections Protect Against Severe Future Infections.Integrative organismal biology (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio varies with habitat fragmentation and canopy cover in a tropical understory insectivore.Journal of ornithology · 2026Article
- Male-Biased Adult Mortality in the Great Bustard Is Consistent With High Reproductive Costs and Aggravated by Anthropogenic Impact.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Temporal Variation in Early-Life Conditions Impacts on Later-Life Levels of Infection in Sex Specific Ways.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Shifts in sex-specific immune gene expression in a beetle with parental care.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Chromosome-level reference genome assembly of the gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) and population genomics offer insights into the falcon population in Mongolia.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Endocrine and molecular regulation of seasonal avian immune function.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2025Review
- White blood cell estimates correlate to measures of population and individual health in an endangered population of Marbled Murrelets (Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Article
- Wild Florida mottled ducks demonstrate strong heterogeneity in their humoral innate immune response.PloS one · 2025Article
- Limited associations between MHC diversity and reproductive success in a bird species with biparental care.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- A prenatal acoustic signal of heat reduces a biomarker of chronic stress at adulthood across seasons.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Article
- Antigen specificity affects analysis of natural antibodies.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Article
- Mercury-Modulated Immune Responses in Arctic Barnacle Goslings (Environmental science & technology · 2023Article
- Holding time has limited impact on constitutive innate immune function in a long-lived Antarctic seabird, the Adélie penguin: implications for field studies.Biology open · 2023Article
- Seasonal Changes in Hematological Parameters in House Sparrows of Subtropical Pakistan.Integrative organismal biology (Oxford, England) · 2023Article
- Effects of manipulated food availability and seasonality on innate immune function in a passerine.The Journal of animal ecology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Whilst the immune system often varies seasonally and exhibits differences between males and females, the general patterns in seasonality and sex differences across taxa have remained controversial. Birds are excellent model organisms to assess these patterns, because the immune system of many species is well characterised. We conducted a meta-analysis using 41 wild bird species from 24 avian families to investigate sex differences and seasonal (breeding/non-breeding) variations in immune status, including white blood cell counts, phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) test, bacteria-killing ability (BKA), haemolysis and haemagglutination assays. We found male-biased macrophage concentration, BKA and haemolysis titers, but only during the breeding season. Sex-specific heterophil concentrations, heterophil/lymphocyte ratios and PHA responses differed between breeding and non-breeding, suggesting larger changes in males than in females. Importantly, sex differences in immune status are stronger during the breeding period than during the non-breeding period. Taken together, our study suggests that both seasonal variation and sex differences in immune system are common in birds, although their associations are more complex than previously thought.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.