Urbanization and anticoagulant poisons promote immune dysfunction in bobcats

Understanding how human activities influence immune response to environmental stressors can support biodiversity conservation across increasingly urbanizing landscapes. We studied a bobcat (Lynx rufus) population in urban southern California that experienced a rapid population decline from 2002–2005 due to notoedric mange. Because anticoagulant rodenticide (AR) exposure was an underlying complication in mange deaths, we aimed to understand sublethal contributions of urbanization and ARs on 65 biochemical markers of immune and organ function. Variance in immunological variables was primarily associated with AR exposure and secondarily with urbanization. Use of urban habitat and AR exposure has pervasive, complex and predictable effects on biochemical markers of immune and organ function in free-ranging bobcats that include impacts on neutrophil, lymphocyte and cytokine populations, total bilirubin and phosphorus. We find evidence of both inflammatory response and immune suppression assoc...

探究人类活动如何影响机体对环境应激源的免疫应答，可为日益城市化的景观区域的生物多样性保护提供重要支撑。本研究以加利福尼亚南部城市区域的短尾猫（Lynx rufus）种群为研究对象，该种群在2002年至2005年间因食痂螨病（notoedric mange）出现快速种群衰退。鉴于抗凝血杀鼠剂（anticoagulant rodenticide，AR）暴露是该种群死于食痂螨病个体的潜在并发症，我们旨在明确城市化与抗凝血杀鼠剂暴露对65项免疫及器官功能生化标志物的亚致死效应。免疫相关变量的变异主要与抗凝血杀鼠剂暴露相关，其次受城市化程度影响。城市生境利用与抗凝血杀鼠剂暴露，对野生短尾猫的免疫及器官功能生化标志物具有广泛、复杂且可预测的影响，具体涉及中性粒细胞、淋巴细胞、细胞因子群体，以及总胆红素与磷水平。本研究发现了炎症应答与免疫抑制并存的证据……