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Kevin D. Matson
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group Wageningen University and Research Wageningen The Netherlands

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Primary research article
Published: 02 July 2021 in Global Change Biology
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As a source of emerging infectious diseases, wildlife assemblages (and related spatial patterns) must be quantitatively assessed to help identify high-risk locations. Previous assessments have largely focussed on the distributions of individual species; however, transmission dynamics are expected to depend on assemblage composition. Moreover, disease-diversity relationships have mainly been studied in the context of species loss, but assemblage composition and disease risk (e.g., infection prevalence in wildlife assemblages) can change without extinction. Based on the predicted distributions and abundances of 4,466 mammal species, we estimated global patterns of disease risk through the calculation of the community-level basic reproductive ratio R0, an index of invasion potential, persistence, and maximum prevalence of a pathogen in a wildlife assemblage. For density-dependent diseases, we found that, in addition to tropical areas which are commonly viewed as infectious disease hotspots, northern temperate latitudes included high-risk areas. We also forecasted the effects of climate change and habitat loss from 2015 to 2035. Over this period, many local assemblages showed no net loss of species richness, but the assemblage composition (i.e., the mix of species and their abundances) changed considerably. Simultaneously, most areas experienced a decreased risk of density-dependent diseases but an increased risk of frequency-dependent diseases. We further explored the factors driving these changes in disease risk. Our results suggest that biodiversity and changes therein jointly influence disease risk. Understanding these changes and their drivers and ultimately identifying emerging infectious disease hotspots can help health officials prioritise resource distribution.

ACS Style

Yingying X. G. Wang; Kevin D. Matson; Luca Santini; Piero Visconti; Jelle P. Hilbers; Mark A. J. Huijbregts; Yanjie Xu; Herbert H. T. Prins; Toph Allen; Zheng Y. X. Huang; Willem F. de Boer. Mammal assemblage composition predicts global patterns in emerging infectious disease risk. Global Change Biology 2021, 1 .

AMA Style

Yingying X. G. Wang, Kevin D. Matson, Luca Santini, Piero Visconti, Jelle P. Hilbers, Mark A. J. Huijbregts, Yanjie Xu, Herbert H. T. Prins, Toph Allen, Zheng Y. X. Huang, Willem F. de Boer. Mammal assemblage composition predicts global patterns in emerging infectious disease risk. Global Change Biology. 2021; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yingying X. G. Wang; Kevin D. Matson; Luca Santini; Piero Visconti; Jelle P. Hilbers; Mark A. J. Huijbregts; Yanjie Xu; Herbert H. T. Prins; Toph Allen; Zheng Y. X. Huang; Willem F. de Boer. 2021. "Mammal assemblage composition predicts global patterns in emerging infectious disease risk." Global Change Biology , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 03 June 2020 in Animal Microbiome
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Background The relevance of the host microbiota to host ecology and evolution is well acknowledged. However, the effect of the microbial environment on host immune function and host microbiota dynamics is understudied in terrestrial vertebrates. Using a novel experimental approach centered on the manipulation of the microbial environment of zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata, we carried out a study to investigate effects of the host’s microbial environment on: 1) constitutive immune function, 2) the resilience of the host cloacal microbiota; and 3) the degree to which immune function and host microbiota covary in microbial environments that differ in diversity. Results We explored immune indices (hemagglutination, hemolysis, IgY levels and haptoglobin concentration) and host-associated microbiota (diversity and composition) in birds exposed to two experimental microbial environments differing in microbial diversity. According to our expectations, exposure to experimental microbial environments led to differences related to specific antibodies: IgY levels were elevated in the high diversity treatment, whereas we found no effects for the other immune indices. Furthermore, according to predictions, we found significantly increased richness of dominant OTUs for cloacal microbiota of birds of the high diversity compared with the low diversity group. In addition, cloacal microbiota of individual females approached their baseline state sooner in the low diversity environment than females in the high diversity environment. This result supported a direct phenotypically plastic response of host microbiota, and suggests that its resilience depends on environmental microbial diversity. Finally, immune indices and cloacal microbiota composition tend to covary within treatment groups, while at the same time, individuals exhibited consistent differences of immune indices and microbiota characteristics. Conclusion We show that microbes in the surroundings of terrestrial vertebrates can influence immune function and host-associated microbiota dynamics over relatively short time scales. We suggest that covariation between immune indices and cloacal microbiota, in addition to large and consistent differences among individuals, provides potential for evolutionary adaptation. Ultimately, our study highlights that linking environmental and host microbiotas may help unravelling immunological variation within and potentially among species, and together these efforts will advance the integration of microbial ecology and ecological immunology.

ACS Style

H. Pieter J. van Veelen; Joana Falcão Salles; Kevin D. Matson; Marco van der Velde; B. Irene Tieleman. Microbial environment shapes immune function and cloacal microbiota dynamics in zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata. Animal Microbiome 2020, 2, 1 -17.

AMA Style

H. Pieter J. van Veelen, Joana Falcão Salles, Kevin D. Matson, Marco van der Velde, B. Irene Tieleman. Microbial environment shapes immune function and cloacal microbiota dynamics in zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata. Animal Microbiome. 2020; 2 (1):1-17.

Chicago/Turabian Style

H. Pieter J. van Veelen; Joana Falcão Salles; Kevin D. Matson; Marco van der Velde; B. Irene Tieleman. 2020. "Microbial environment shapes immune function and cloacal microbiota dynamics in zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata." Animal Microbiome 2, no. 1: 1-17.

Featured student research paper
Published: 08 January 2020 in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
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In the predator–prey arms race, survival-enhancing adaptive behaviors are essential. Prey can perceive predator presence directly from visual, auditory, or chemical cues. Non-lethal encounters with a predator may trigger prey to produce special body odors, alarm pheromones, informing conspecifics about predation risks. Recent studies suggest that parental exposure to predation risk during reproduction affects offspring behavior cross-generationally. We compared behaviors of bank vole (Myodes glareolus) pups produced by parents exposed to one of three treatments: predator scent from the least weasel (Mustela nivalis nivalis); scent from weasel-exposed voles, i.e., alarm pheromones; or a control treatment without added scents. Parents were treated in semi-natural field enclosures, but pups were born in the lab and assayed in an open-field arena. Before each behavioral test, one of the three scent treatments was spread throughout the test arena. The tests followed a full factorial design (3 parental treatments × 3 area treatments). Regardless of the parents’ treatment, pups exposed to predator odor in the arena moved more. Additionally, pups spend more time in the center of the arena when presented with predator odor or alarm pheromone compared with the control. Pups from predator odor–exposed parents avoided the center of the arena under control conditions, but they spent more time in the center when either predator odor or alarm pheromone was present. Our experiment shows that cross-generational effects are context-sensitive, depending on the perceived risk. Future studies should examine cross-generational behavioral effects in ecologically meaningful environments instead of only neutral ones. Significance statement We exposed bank voles to odors signaling predation risk to assess the effects parental predation exposure on the behavior of their offspring. Besides predator odor, we also assessed the role of a conspecific alarm cue as a novel way of spreading the predation risk information. Pup behaviors were assessed in the open-field arena, a standard way of assessing animal behavior in a wide range of contexts. We found that also alarm pheromone increased the time pups spend in the center of the arena similarly to predator odor. While previous studies suggested that offspring would be more fearful, our results indicate that the cross-generational effects are very context-dependent; i.e., they differ significantly depending on which scent cue is presented in the open-field arena. This shows the need for better tools or measurements to translate laboratory results into ecologically meaningful frameworks.

ACS Style

Thorbjörn Sievert; Arjane Kerkhoven; Marko Haapakoski; Kevin D. Matson; Olga Ylönen; Hannu Ylönen. In utero behavioral imprinting to predation risk in pups of the bank vole. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 2020, 74, 1 -9.

AMA Style

Thorbjörn Sievert, Arjane Kerkhoven, Marko Haapakoski, Kevin D. Matson, Olga Ylönen, Hannu Ylönen. In utero behavioral imprinting to predation risk in pups of the bank vole. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 2020; 74 (2):1-9.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Thorbjörn Sievert; Arjane Kerkhoven; Marko Haapakoski; Kevin D. Matson; Olga Ylönen; Hannu Ylönen. 2020. "In utero behavioral imprinting to predation risk in pups of the bank vole." Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 74, no. 2: 1-9.

Communication
Published: 22 November 2019 in Animals
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Wildlife is exposed to parasites from the environment. This parasite pressure, which differs among areas, likely shapes the immunological strategies of animals. Individuals differ in the number of parasites they encounter and host, and this parasite load also influences the immune system. The relative impact of parasite pressure vs. parasite load on different host species, particularly those implicated as important reservoirs of zoonotic pathogens, is poorly understood. We captured bank voles (Myodes glareolus) and wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) at four sites in the Netherlands. We sampled sub-adult males to quantify their immune function, infestation load for ecto- and gastrointestinal parasites, and infection status for vector-borne microparasites. We then used regression trees to test if variation in immune indices could be explained by among-site differences (parasite pressure), among-individual differences in infestation intensity and infection status (parasite load), or other intrinsic factors. Regression trees revealed splits among sites for haptoglobin, hemagglutination, and body-mass corrected spleen size. We also found splits based on infection/infestation for haptoglobin, hemolysis, and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio. Furthermore, we found a split between species for hemolysis and splits based on body mass for haptoglobin, hemagglutination, hematocrit, and body-mass corrected spleen size. Our results suggest that both parasite pressure and parasite load influence the immune system of wild rodents. Additional studies linking disease ecology and ecological immunology are needed to understand better the complexities of host–parasite interactions and how these interactions shape zoonotic disease risk.

ACS Style

Tim R. Hofmeester; Esther J. Bügel; Bob Hendrikx; Miriam Maas; Frits F. J. Franssen; Hein Sprong; Kevin D. Matson. Parasite Load and Site-Specific Parasite Pressure as Determinants of Immune Indices in Two Sympatric Rodent Species. Animals 2019, 9, 1015 .

AMA Style

Tim R. Hofmeester, Esther J. Bügel, Bob Hendrikx, Miriam Maas, Frits F. J. Franssen, Hein Sprong, Kevin D. Matson. Parasite Load and Site-Specific Parasite Pressure as Determinants of Immune Indices in Two Sympatric Rodent Species. Animals. 2019; 9 (12):1015.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Tim R. Hofmeester; Esther J. Bügel; Bob Hendrikx; Miriam Maas; Frits F. J. Franssen; Hein Sprong; Kevin D. Matson. 2019. "Parasite Load and Site-Specific Parasite Pressure as Determinants of Immune Indices in Two Sympatric Rodent Species." Animals 9, no. 12: 1015.

Letter
Published: 11 October 2019 in Remote Sensing
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Understanding risk factors for the spread of infectious diseases over time and across the landscape is critical for managing disease risk. While habitat connectivity and characteristics of local and neighboring animal (i.e., host) assemblages are known to influence the spread of diseases, the interactions among these factors remain poorly understood. In this study, we conducted a county-level analysis to test the effects of forest connectivity, together with the suitability of local assemblage (measured by the similarity of local host assemblage with neighboring assemblages) and the infection intensity of neighboring counties on the spatial expansion of Lyme disease in the United States. Our results suggested that both the similarity of local host assemblage and the infection intensity of neighboring counties were positively correlated with the probability of disease spread. Moreover, we found that increasing forest connectivity could facilitate the positive effect of neighbor infection intensity. In contrast, the effect size of the host assemblage similarity decreased with increasing connectivity, suggesting that host assemblage similarity was less effective in well-connected habitats. Our results thus indicate that habitat connectivity can indirectly influence disease spread by mediating the effects of other risk factors.

ACS Style

Yingying X. G. Wang; Kevin D. Matson; Yanjie Xu; Herbert H. T. Prins; Zheng Y. X. Huang; Willem F. De Boer. Forest Connectivity, Host Assemblage Characteristics of Local and Neighboring Counties, and Temperature Jointly Shape the Spatial Expansion of Lyme Disease in United States. Remote Sensing 2019, 11, 2354 .

AMA Style

Yingying X. G. Wang, Kevin D. Matson, Yanjie Xu, Herbert H. T. Prins, Zheng Y. X. Huang, Willem F. De Boer. Forest Connectivity, Host Assemblage Characteristics of Local and Neighboring Counties, and Temperature Jointly Shape the Spatial Expansion of Lyme Disease in United States. Remote Sensing. 2019; 11 (20):2354.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yingying X. G. Wang; Kevin D. Matson; Yanjie Xu; Herbert H. T. Prins; Zheng Y. X. Huang; Willem F. De Boer. 2019. "Forest Connectivity, Host Assemblage Characteristics of Local and Neighboring Counties, and Temperature Jointly Shape the Spatial Expansion of Lyme Disease in United States." Remote Sensing 11, no. 20: 2354.

Research article
Published: 21 February 2019 in Functional Ecology
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1.Host species diversity can affect disease risk, but the precise nature of this effect is disputed. To date, most studies on the diversity‐disease relationships have focused on host species richness and single diseases, ignoring phylogenetic diversity and disease richness. 2.We first evaluated the effects of wildlife assemblage variables (i.e., species richness of wild ungulates and carnivores, phylogenetic structure) and livestock host density on the regional occurrence of 19 individual livestock diseases in Africa. We then explored the relationships between wildlife assemblage variables and the total disease burden (measured as disease richness) at regional scale across the entire continent of Africa. 3.Our results suggest that wild ungulate and carnivore species richness had a positive relationship with disease richness, but no relationship with disease occurrence. When controlling for host species richness, standardized phylogenetic divergence was negatively correlated with both disease richness and disease occurrence while standardized phylogenetic richness was positively related with disease occurrences. 4.Our results suggest that the phylogenetic structure of the surrounding wildlife assemblage can shape patterns of livestock diseases in Africa. Species richness alone is apparently inadequate for analyses of disease‐diversity relationships, and this shortfall might partly account for current disagreements over the importance of the dilution effect. Future studies on this topic should strive to include parameters that take host phylogeny into account. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

ACS Style

Yingying X. G. Wang; Kevin D. Matson; Herbert H. T. Prins; Gerrit Gort; Lina Awada; Zheng Y. X. Huang; Willem F. De Boer. Phylogenetic structure of wildlife assemblages shapes patterns of infectious livestock diseases in Africa. Functional Ecology 2019, 33, 1332 -1341.

AMA Style

Yingying X. G. Wang, Kevin D. Matson, Herbert H. T. Prins, Gerrit Gort, Lina Awada, Zheng Y. X. Huang, Willem F. De Boer. Phylogenetic structure of wildlife assemblages shapes patterns of infectious livestock diseases in Africa. Functional Ecology. 2019; 33 (7):1332-1341.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yingying X. G. Wang; Kevin D. Matson; Herbert H. T. Prins; Gerrit Gort; Lina Awada; Zheng Y. X. Huang; Willem F. De Boer. 2019. "Phylogenetic structure of wildlife assemblages shapes patterns of infectious livestock diseases in Africa." Functional Ecology 33, no. 7: 1332-1341.

Methodology
Published: 01 September 2017 in Frontiers in Zoology
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Over the past couple of decades, measuring immunological parameters has become widespread in studies of ecology and evolution. A combination of different immunological indices is useful for quantifying different parts of the immune system and comprehensively assessing immune function. Running multiple immune assays usually requires samples to be repeatedly thawed and re-frozen. There is some evidence that repeated freezing and thawing can affect assay results, but this has never been comprehensively studied in some common ecological immunology assays. We tested the effect of multiple (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10) freeze-thaw cycles on the results of four commonly used immunological assays: haemolysis-haemagglutination titres, haptoglobin concentration, bacterial killing capacity and total immunoglobulins (IgY). We tested five different bird species from four different bird orders (Passeriformes, Columbiformes, Charadriiformes and Galliformes), and we included both captive and free-living individuals. In addition, we tested for haptoglobin concentrations and the haemolysis-haemagglutination assay if re-analysing samples 1 year apart led to different results. For the haemolysis-haemagglutination assay we also tested two different sources of rabbit blood, and we compared untreated microtitre plates with plates that were “blocked” to prevent nonspecific interactions between the plate and assay reagents. Repeated freezing and thawing of plasma had no effect on lysis titres, haptoglobin concentrations, bacterial killing capacity, or total immunoglobulin levels. Agglutination titres were unaffected by up to five cycles but were lower after ten freeze-thaw cycles. For the haemolysis-haemagglutination assay and haptoglobin concentrations, re-analysing samples 1 year apart yielded highly correlated data. For the haemolysis-haemagglutination assay, the source of rabbit blood did not influence the results, and the untreated vs. blocked plates differed slightly overall, but at the individual level assay results were highly correlated. Using different rabbit blood sources or different types of microtitre plates yielded highly correlated data. Our data suggest that repeated freeze-thaw cycles do not impair assay results to the point of influencing ecological or evolutionary conclusions. Plasma samples can be safely stored in one tube and thawed repeatedly for different assays. Nevertheless, we recommend consistent treatment of samples in terms of freeze-thaw cycles or other laboratory treatments to minimize the potential for introducing a systematic bias.

ACS Style

Arne Hegemann; Sara Pardal; Kevin D. Matson. Indices of immune function used by ecologists are mostly unaffected by repeated freeze-thaw cycles and methodological deviations. Frontiers in Zoology 2017, 14, 43 .

AMA Style

Arne Hegemann, Sara Pardal, Kevin D. Matson. Indices of immune function used by ecologists are mostly unaffected by repeated freeze-thaw cycles and methodological deviations. Frontiers in Zoology. 2017; 14 (1):43.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Arne Hegemann; Sara Pardal; Kevin D. Matson. 2017. "Indices of immune function used by ecologists are mostly unaffected by repeated freeze-thaw cycles and methodological deviations." Frontiers in Zoology 14, no. 1: 43.

Journal article
Published: 26 May 2017 in Frontiers in Zoology
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Variation in growth and immune function within and among populations is often associated with specific environmental conditions. We compared growth and immune function in nestlings of year-round breeding equatorial Red-capped Lark Calandrella cinerea from South Kinangop, North Kinangop and Kedong (Kenya), three locations that are geographically close but climatically distinct. In addition, we studied growth and immune function of lark nestlings as a function of year-round variation in breeding intensity and rain within one location. We monitored mass, wing, and tarsus at hatching (day 1) and at 4, 7, and 10 days post-hatch, and we quantified four indices of immune function (haptoglobin, agglutination, lysis and nitric oxide) using blood samples collected on day 10. Nestling body mass and size at hatching, which presumably reflect the resources that females allocated to their eggs, were lowest in the most arid location, Kedong. Contrary to our predictions, nestlings in Kedong grew faster than nestlings in the two other cooler and wetter locations of South and North Kinangop. During periods of peak reproduction within Kedong, nestlings were heavier at hatching, but they did not grow faster over the first 10 days post-hatch. In contrast, rainfall, which did not relate to timing of breeding, had no effect on hatching mass, but more rain did coincide with faster growth post-hatch. Finally, we found no significant differences in nestling immune function, neither among locations nor with the year-round variation within Kedong. Based on these results, we hypothesize that female body condition determines nestling mass and size at hatching, but other independent environmental conditions subsequently shape nestling growth. Overall, our results suggest that environmental conditions related to food availability for nestlings are relatively unimportant to the timing of breeding in equatorial regions, while these same conditions do have consequences for nestling size and growth.

ACS Style

Henry K. Ndithia; Samuel N. Bakari; Kevin D. Matson; Muchane Muchai; B. Irene Tieleman. Geographical and temporal variation in environmental conditions affects nestling growth but not immune function in a year-round breeding equatorial lark. Frontiers in Zoology 2017, 14, 1 -14.

AMA Style

Henry K. Ndithia, Samuel N. Bakari, Kevin D. Matson, Muchane Muchai, B. Irene Tieleman. Geographical and temporal variation in environmental conditions affects nestling growth but not immune function in a year-round breeding equatorial lark. Frontiers in Zoology. 2017; 14 (1):1-14.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Henry K. Ndithia; Samuel N. Bakari; Kevin D. Matson; Muchane Muchai; B. Irene Tieleman. 2017. "Geographical and temporal variation in environmental conditions affects nestling growth but not immune function in a year-round breeding equatorial lark." Frontiers in Zoology 14, no. 1: 1-14.

Review
Published: 01 June 2016 in Integrative and Comparative Biology
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Locomotion and other physical activities by free-living animals may influence immune function and disease susceptibility. This influence may be a consequence of energetic trade-offs or other mechanisms that are often, but not always, inseparably linked to an animal’s life history (e.g., flight and migration). Ecological immunology has mainly focused on these life-history trade-offs, overlooking the possible effects of physical activity per se on immune function and disease susceptibility. In this review, we explore the field of exercise immunology, which examines the impact of exercise on immune function and disease susceptibility in humans, with the aim of presenting new perspectives that might be transferable to ecological immunology. First, we explore key concepts in exercise immunology that could be extended to animals. Next, we investigate the concept “exercise” in animals, and propose the use of “physical activity” instead. We briefly discuss methods used in animals to quantify physical activity in terms of energy expenditure and summarize several examples of animals engaging in physical activity. Then, we highlight potential consequences of physical activity on immune function and disease susceptibility in animals, together with an overview of animal studies that examine these links. Finally, we explore and discuss the potential for incorporating perspectives from exercise immunology into ecological immunology. Such integration could help advance our understanding of human and animal health and contribute new ideas to budding “One Health” initiatives.

ACS Style

Jacintha G. B. Van Dijk; Kevin D. Matson. Ecological Immunology through the Lens of Exercise Immunology: New Perspective on the Links between Physical Activity and Immune Function and Disease Susceptibility in Wild Animals. Integrative and Comparative Biology 2016, 56, 290 -303.

AMA Style

Jacintha G. B. Van Dijk, Kevin D. Matson. Ecological Immunology through the Lens of Exercise Immunology: New Perspective on the Links between Physical Activity and Immune Function and Disease Susceptibility in Wild Animals. Integrative and Comparative Biology. 2016; 56 (2):290-303.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jacintha G. B. Van Dijk; Kevin D. Matson. 2016. "Ecological Immunology through the Lens of Exercise Immunology: New Perspective on the Links between Physical Activity and Immune Function and Disease Susceptibility in Wild Animals." Integrative and Comparative Biology 56, no. 2: 290-303.

Controlled clinical trial
Published: 28 February 2016 in Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition
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Early exposure to steroid hormones, as in the case of an avian embryo exposed yolk testosterone, can impact the biology of an individual in different ways over the course of its life. While many early-life effects of yolk testosterone have been documented, later-life effects remain poorly studied. We followed a cohort of twenty captive pigeons hatched in 2005. Half of these birds came from eggs with experimentally increased concentrations of testosterone; half came from control eggs. Preliminary results suggest non-random mortality during the birds’ first nine years of life. Hitherto, all males have survived, and control females have survived better than testosterone-treated ones. Despite inherent challenges, studies of later-life consequences of early-life exposure in longer-lived species can offer new perspectives that are precluded by studies of immediate outcomes or shorter-lived species.

ACS Style

K. D. Matson; Bernd Riedstra; B. I. Tieleman. In ovo testosterone treatment reduces long-term survival of female pigeons: a preliminary analysis after nine years of monitoring. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 2016, 100, 1031 -1036.

AMA Style

K. D. Matson, Bernd Riedstra, B. I. Tieleman. In ovo testosterone treatment reduces long-term survival of female pigeons: a preliminary analysis after nine years of monitoring. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition. 2016; 100 (6):1031-1036.

Chicago/Turabian Style

K. D. Matson; Bernd Riedstra; B. I. Tieleman. 2016. "In ovo testosterone treatment reduces long-term survival of female pigeons: a preliminary analysis after nine years of monitoring." Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 100, no. 6: 1031-1036.

Preprint
Published: 27 February 2016
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Animals exhibit seasonal cycles in a variety of physiological and behavioral traits. Studies of these cycles can potentially offer new insights into the evolution of individual differences. For natural selection to act, a trait must be both distinctive within individuals and variable among individuals. The extent to which the amplitude and phase of seasonal cycles fulfill these requirements is not well documented. As a preliminary analysis, we investigated seasonal cycles in the body mass of pigeons, which we weighed quarterly over a period of six years. [Our work with these animals complied with all applicable institutional regulations (University of Groningen Animal Experimentation Committee, license no. 5095) and Dutch and European laws.] We employed several of statistical techniques aimed at 1) quantifying the repeatability of seasonality and 2) comparing within- and among-individual variation in seasonality. Our goal is to take what we have learned from our analyses of mass and apply it to other seasonally variable physiological traits, including variables related to immune function.

ACS Style

Kevin D Matson; Maaike A Versteegh; B Irene Tieleman. The repeatability of variability: exploring intra- and inter-individual variation in seasonality. 2016, 1 .

AMA Style

Kevin D Matson, Maaike A Versteegh, B Irene Tieleman. The repeatability of variability: exploring intra- and inter-individual variation in seasonality. . 2016; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kevin D Matson; Maaike A Versteegh; B Irene Tieleman. 2016. "The repeatability of variability: exploring intra- and inter-individual variation in seasonality." , no. : 1.

Preprint
Published: 27 February 2016
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Animals exhibit seasonal cycles in a variety of physiological and behavioral traits. Studies of these cycles can potentially offer new insights into the evolution of individual differences. For natural selection to act, a trait must be both distinctive within individuals and variable among individuals. The extent to which the amplitude and phase of seasonal cycles fulfill these requirements is not well documented. As a preliminary analysis, we investigated seasonal cycles in the body mass of pigeons, which we weighed quarterly over a period of six years. [Our work with these animals complied with all applicable institutional regulations (University of Groningen Animal Experimentation Committee, license no. 5095) and Dutch and European laws.] We employed several of statistical techniques aimed at 1) quantifying the repeatability of seasonality and 2) comparing within- and among-individual variation in seasonality. Our goal is to take what we have learned from our analyses of mass and apply it to other seasonally variable physiological traits, including variables related to immune function.

ACS Style

Kevin D. Matson; Maaike A Versteegh; B Irene Tieleman. The repeatability of variability: exploring intra- and inter-individual variation in seasonality. 2016, 1 .

AMA Style

Kevin D. Matson, Maaike A Versteegh, B Irene Tieleman. The repeatability of variability: exploring intra- and inter-individual variation in seasonality. . 2016; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kevin D. Matson; Maaike A Versteegh; B Irene Tieleman. 2016. "The repeatability of variability: exploring intra- and inter-individual variation in seasonality." , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 14 March 2015 in Journal of Ornithology
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Relationships between avian physiology and bacterial assemblages in the cloaca are poorly understood. We used molecular techniques to analyze cloacal swabs from pigeons that were subjected to two immunological manipulations: lysozyme supplementation and endotoxin challenge. From the swabs, we derived ecological indices of evenness, richness, and diversity of bacterial assemblages. Challenge led to changes in evenness that depended on supplementation. When analyzing these changes, we neutralized the effects of a possible statistical artifact by including the starting values as a covariate. Repeatability calculations suggested that swabbing reliably captured the evenness but not the richness or diversity of bacterial assemblages in the cloaca.

ACS Style

Kevin D. Matson; Maaike A. Versteegh; Marco Van Der Velde; B. Irene Tieleman. Effects of immune supplementation and immune challenge on bacterial assemblages in the avian cloaca. Journal of Ornithology 2015, 156, 805 -810.

AMA Style

Kevin D. Matson, Maaike A. Versteegh, Marco Van Der Velde, B. Irene Tieleman. Effects of immune supplementation and immune challenge on bacterial assemblages in the avian cloaca. Journal of Ornithology. 2015; 156 (3):805-810.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kevin D. Matson; Maaike A. Versteegh; Marco Van Der Velde; B. Irene Tieleman. 2015. "Effects of immune supplementation and immune challenge on bacterial assemblages in the avian cloaca." Journal of Ornithology 156, no. 3: 805-810.