High feather corticosterone indicates better coccidian infection resistance in greenfinches

Differential exposure or sensitivity to stressors can have substantial effects on the variation in immune responsiveness of animals. However, the questions about the causes and consequences of these processes have remained largely unclear, particularly as regards wild animals and their natural pathogens. Here we ask how a potential marker of stress responses, the feather corticosterone (CORT) content, reflects the resistance to an experimental infection with natural coccidian parasites in wild-caught captive greenfinches (Carduelis chloris). CORT content of tail feathers grown in captivity correlated positively with a behavioural measure of captivity-intolerance, i.e., the amount of damage accrued to tail feathers in captivity that results from flapping against cage bars. This finding is consistent with an idea that feather CORT reflects the amount of stress experienced during feather growth. Experimental infection with heterologous coccidian strains increased feather CORT levels. Birds with highest feather CORT levels appeared most resistant to new infection, assessed on the basis of parasite oocyst shedding at the peak phase of infection. Birds with highest feather CORT levels also cleared the infection faster than the birds with lower feather CORT levels. These findings provide the first evidence about positive covariation between feather CORT and resistance to a natural pathogen in a wild bird species. Assuming that feather CORT levels reflect circulating hormone titres, these findings suggest that parasite-mediated selection may contribute to maintenance of phenotypes with high corticosterone responsiveness to stress, despite potential negative behavioural consequences.