Stress-dependent trade-off Between Immunological Condition and Reproductive Performance in the Polygynous Red Bishop (Euplectes orix)

Abstract

According to life-history theory, a condition-dependent trade-off between reproductive performance and immune function might be expected, with only superior individuals being able to allocate many resources into reproduction without having detrimental effects on their immune system. However, little attention has been paid to the possibility that annual variations in environmentally and socially induced stress levels modify this trade-off. We analysed haematological parameters and investigated the relationship between male immunological condition and reproductive performance as measured by reproductive effort and success in a colony of the highly polygynous red bishop (Euplectes orix) for five consecutive breeding seasons. Haematological parameters can be used to assess an individuals’ stress level, and especially the heterophile/lymphocyte ratio (H/L ratio) is known to increase in response to a wide variety of stressors. Relative basophile counts, heterophile counts, lymphocyte counts, absolute leukocyte counts and H/L ratios of territorial males varied significantly among seasons. Both relative heterophile counts and H/L ratios were significantly positive related to overall breeding activity within the colony as measured in terms of total number of nests accepted and total number of eggs laid in the study colony within a breeding season. The relationship between immunological condition (as assessed by relative lymphocyte and heterophil counts and the H/L ratio) and both male reproductive effort (as measured by the number of nests built by the territorial males) and reproductive success (as measured by the number of nests accepted) varied considerably among seasons, ranging from significant negative to significant positive correlations. Across seasons, we found a significant negative relationship between the within-season correlation coefficients of individual H/L ratios against reproductive performance and the average H/L ratio of all territorial males in that season. Thus, a positive association between the immunological condition of a male and his reproductive performance (indicated by a negative correlation between H/L ratio and reproductive performance) exists only in seasons with high average H/L ratios (i.e. high average stress levels). We conclude that the trade-off between immunological condition and male reproductive performance might be important only in seasons with an overall reduced level of male immunological condition due to environmentally and/or socially induced stress and immunosuppressive conditions.