Dataset of wild spotted hyenas from 3 clans in the Serengeti National Park

Host immune defenses are important components of host-parasite
interactions that affect the outcome of infection and may have fitness
consequences for hosts when increased allocation of resources to immune
responses undermines other essential life processes. Research on
host-parasite interactions in large free-ranging wild mammals is currently
hampered by a lack of verified non-invasive assays. We successfully
adapted existing assays to measure innate and adaptive immune responses
produced by the gastrointestinal mucosa in spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)
faeces, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), to quantify
faecal immunoglobulins (total IgA, total IgG) and total faecal O-linked
oligosaccharides (mucin). We investigated the effect of infection load by
an energetically costly hookworm (Ancylostoma), parasite richness, host
age, sex, year of sampling and clan membership on immune responses and
asked whether high investment in immune responses during early life
affects longevity in individually known spotted hyenas in the Serengeti
National Park, Tanzania. Faecal concentrations of IgA, IgG and mucin
increased with Ancylostoma egg load and were higher in juveniles than in
adults. Females had higher mucin concentrations than males. Juvenile
females had higher IgG concentrations than juvenile males whereas adult
females had lower IgG concentrations than males. High IgA concentrations
during the first year of life was linked to reduced longevity after
controlling for age at sampling and Ancylostoma egg load. Our study
demonstrates that the use of non-invasive methods can increase knowledge
on the complex relationship between gastrointestinal parasites and host
local immune responses in wild large mammals and reveal fitness-relevant
effects of these responses.