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Date of Graduation

5-2026

Description

Previous research has explored the trade-offs between growth and immune endpoints in offspring since early development is critical in shaping adult responses to disease. However, an unexplored aspect of immune development is the influence of parental behavior on immune outcomes. I observed parental behavior during early development and its influence on offspring immune condition. To analyze parental behavior during incubation in the Eastern Bluebird, I quantified incubation constancy (percentage of time spent on the nest) and its impact on white blood cell ratios throughout development. Incubation constancy is useful in defining general trends in adult incubation behavior. Here, I have used it to examine how it influences aspects of immune condition critical to adult disease outcomes.

I used an established nest box system (208 boxes) managed for Eastern Bluebirds by the DuRant Lab in Fayetteville, AR. To examine parental behavior, I used data gathered from two-channel temperature loggers, in which one logger is placed inside and one outside the nest box. Using NestIQ (Hawkins and DuRant 2020), a program developed by the DuRant lab that uses machine learning to detect changes in parental behavior in relation to environmental temperature and nest temperature, my work has capitalized on recent advances in computer programming to quantify changes in animal behavior as it relates to environmental conditions. Blood samples were taken from Eastern Bluebird nestlings on day 5 and 10 of incubation. The samples had been previously collected and stained by William Kirkpatrick. The white blood cell count for a slide was completed by counting 100 white blood cells within the stained blood smear on a slide. Each blood cell that was counted was classified as a lymphocyte, heterophil, monocyte, eosinophil, or basophil. To calculate white blood cell ratios, I divided the number of heterophils and eosinophils by total lymphocyte numbers.

When examining the results for my project, I first compared Heterophil-to-Lymphocyte ratio and eosinophil count between days 5 and 10 for each individual bluebird. We found a significant change in both Heterophil-to-Lymphocyte ratio and eosinophil count from day 5 to day 10. From these results, it is evident that much more immune system development occurs between day 5 and day 10 rather than before day 5. This tells us that immune system development is not prioritized within the first 5 days post hatch. When looking at findings for constancy, there were no significant relationships between white blood cell count and parental behavior, except for monocyte count. Monocyte numbers were significantly predicted by adult constancy. There was not clear evidence to know if parental behavior influences the development of the immune system as a whole. These results can be used to understand more about the timeline of immune system development in the eastern bluebird. Additionally, these findings could be used to do further research into why parental behavior seems to only effect monocyte numbers and no other aspects of the immune system.

Publication Date

2025

Document Type

Book

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Biology

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Biological Sciences

Advisor/Mentor

DuRant, Sarah

Disciplines

Life Sciences

Keywords

Natural Science

Comments

Third Place - Natural Sciences Group 2 Category

The Effect of Parental Behavior on the Ontogeny of the Immune System in the Eastern Bluebird (<i>Sialia sialis</i>)

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Life Sciences Commons

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