From immuno-ecology to conservation: how deciphering physiological mechanisms can help conservation

• Main Authors: 3rd World Seabird Conference 2021, Thierry, BOULINIER
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Underline Science Inc. 2021
• Subjects: Toxicogenomics; Ecosystem; Environmental Engineering; FOS Environmental engineering; Water Pollution; Gonzalez; Pablo; Audrey; Ramos; Jeremy; Amsterdam Island; National Institute of Polar Research
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.48448/n085-hd18; https://underline.io/lecture/34546-from-immuno-ecology-to-conservation-how-deciphering-physiological-mechanisms-can-help-conservation

Abstract: Among the many threats that seabirds are facing, exposure to infectious diseases is one of growing concern. Climate change, higher connectivity among remote areas and introduced species can increase the risk of disease emergence in populations of susceptible individuals, especially in species breeding in dense aggregations. In addition to understanding factors affecting the dynamics of transmission of infectious agents among and within seabird colonies, a better knowledge of the mechanisms underlying their immune system may be of critical relevance for their conservation. Because of the importance of exposure to disease agents during the breeding season in colonial species, we predicted that seabird species exhibiting extremely long lifespan and chick-rearing period may have developed a particularly long persistence of maternal antibodies to protect young offspring. After detecting such a long persistence in the Cory's shearwater using a transgenerational vaccination experiment, we implemented a comparative approach in other seabird species and an investigation of the physiological mechanism underlying the heterogeneity in the catabolism rate of IgY antibodies. The results of the comparative study suggest that at least Procellariforms appear to have evolved a mechanism for a long persistence of maternal antibodies after hatching. Based on these results, we have been investigating whether vaccination of female albatrosses could be used to protect recurrently their nestlings against avian cholera, an infectious disease causing massive die-offs of yellow-nosed albatross offspring on Amsterdam Island. The results have direct potential conservation implications as the local yellow-nosed albatross population is threatened by the epizooties on Amsterdam Island, and the very small endemic Amsterdam albatross population is at risk of exposure to the disease agent. The study illustrates how detailed understanding of physiological mechanisms may be of great relevance for conservation. Authors: Thierry Boulinier¹, Raul Ramos², Ana Sanz-Aguilar³, Sarah Burthe⁴, Henri Weimerskirch⁵, Maud Poibleau⁶, Hanna Granroth-Wilding⁷, Paolo Catry⁸, Hubert Gantelet⁹, Audrey Jaeger¹⁰, Pablo Tortosa¹⁰, Karine Delord⁵, Eric Thilbault⁹, Vincent Bourret¹¹, Jean-Marc Thiebot¹², Petra Quillfeldt¹³, Vincent Staszewski¹⁴, Jacob Gonzalez-Solis², Francis Daunt⁴, Emma Cunningham¹⁵, Torkild Tveraa¹⁶, Christophe Barbraud⁵, Jeremy Tornos¹, Romain Garnier¹⁷, Amandine Gamble¹⁸ ¹CEFE CNRS, ²University of Barcelona, ³IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), ⁴CEH, ⁵CEBC CNRS, ⁶University of Antwerp, ⁷University of Helsinki, ⁸ISPA, ⁹Ceva Biovac, ¹⁰Université La Réunion, ¹¹N/A, ¹²National Institute of Polar Research, ¹³University of Giessen, ¹⁴Boehringer Ingelheim, ¹⁵Universzity of Edinburgh, ¹⁶NINA, ¹⁷Georgetown University, ¹⁸University of California, Los Angeles