Significant differences in migratory state and constitutive immunity in red knots inoculated with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1.

I: knots inoculated during the pre-migration period (N = 6); II: knots inoculated during the fueling period (N = 5); III: knots inoculated during the migration period (N≤12); IV: knots inoculated during the post-migration period (N = 6). The three negative control knots are included in the migration period group (III) for the analyses of pre-inoculation measures of body mass, constitutive immunity and plasma concentration of corticosterone, and of the measures of activity levels (N = 12); the necropsied negative control knot is included in the migration group (III) for the analyses of the measures of length and mass of organs (N = 10).