Movement ecology
Immune-challenged wild mallards move less and spend more time in sheltered habitats
By Jax E, Mueller I, Horvath D and 9 others.
Abstract
Background
Sickness behaviour is an important component of the response to disease and can influence how animals move through and use their environment. Such changes in behaviour may have consequences for animal ecology and, in species that serve as important hosts for infectious diseases, potentially affect disease dynamics. However, studying sickness behaviour in free-ranging animals remains challenging because it requires identifying when animals are sick while simultaneously tracking their behaviour in their natural environment.
Methods
To improve our understanding of sickness behaviour in wildlife, we investigated sickness-related behavioural responses in wild mallards (Anas platyrhynchos). For this purpose, we experimentally induced an acute immune response in free-ranging mallards using lipopolysaccharide (LPS) encapsulated into biodegradable microspheres, and monitored movement patterns and habitat use for one week using GPS and accelerometry bio-loggers.