Data from: Birds of prey and the city: Variation in immunity and parasites exposure along an urbanization gradient
Data files
Jul 06, 2026 version files 53.92 KB
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kestrels_parassiti.csv
51.83 KB
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README.md
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Abstract
Pathogens are major ecological and evolutionary forces, and the immune system is central to coping with these challenges. Environmental variation, including urbanisation, can alter both pathogen exposure and immune function, making it important to understand how responses vary across habitats. We addressed the impact of urbanization on both immunity and parasite exposure using common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) nestlings as our study species. This generalist raptor occurs in both urban and non-urban areas, offering a model to investigate how urban environments affect early-life immunity. Previous studies on kestrels reported baseline immune differences but did not test induced responses, limiting understanding of immune function. We challenged nestlings with phytohemagglutinin (PHA), collecting blood before and 24 hours after injection, and measured six immunological markers: haptoglobin, bacterial killing activity, lysozyme, hemagglutination, hemolysis, and IgY. We also quantified exposure to two types of ecto- and hemo-parasites. PHA induced an inflammatory response, but this response was similar across habitats, indicating that the habitat did not influence the responsiveness to this particular antigen. Baseline innate immunity generally increased along the urbanisation gradient, whereas baseline adaptive immunity (IgY) rose within a season but in a similar way across habitats. Exposure to ectoparasites (Carnus hemapterus) was significantly higher in natural habitat compared to urban habitat, but did not explain individual variation in the response to the PHA challenge. Exposure to hemo-parasites was negligible, as we found only two out of 108 nestlings positive. Our results suggest that urbanisation does not influence the immune response to an experimental immune challenge. Further studies are needed to determine whether these findings can be generalized to other antigens or live parasites, as well as to populations with differing histories of parasite exposure or habitat conditions.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.p5hqbzm3m
Description of the data and file structure
File: kestrels_parassiti.csv
This dataset contains immune, biometric, and environmental data collected from common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) nestlings sampled during the breeding season. The data were used in the study Birds of prey and the city: variation in immunity and parasite exposure along an urbanization gradient.
Each row represents one sampled nestling.
Variables
- Nest_ID – Unique identifier of the nest.
- Individual_ID – Unique identifier of each nestling.
- Treatment – Experimental treatment (PHA-challenged or control).
- Sampling_day – Sampling occasion (Day 1 = before treatment; Day 2 = approximately 20 hours after treatment).
- Sex – Sex of the nestling.
- Age – Estimated age of the nestling (days).
- Body_mass – Body mass (g).
- Wing_length – Wing length (mm).
- Brood_size – Number of nestlings in the brood.
- Habitat – Habitat category (Urban, Rural, or Natural).
- Urbanization_index – Quantitative measure of urbanization surrounding the nest.
- IgY – Plasma immunoglobulin Y concentration.
- Hemolysis – Hemolysis score.
- Hemagglutination – Hemagglutination score.
- Haptoglobin – Plasma haptoglobin concentration.
- BKA – Bacterial Killing Ability of plasma.
- Lysozyme – Plasma lysozyme activity.
Additional variables included in the dataset correspond to environmental and biometric covariates used in the statistical analyses described in the manuscript.
Missing values
Missing values are indicated as NA.
Units
Biometric measurements are reported in grams (g) or millimetres (mm), as indicated by the corresponding variable. Immune variables are reported in the units generated by the respective laboratory assays and are described in detail in the associated manuscript.
