Urbanization enhances body condition, but not innate immune defenses, in a common waterbird

There is a growing body of evidence that urbanization can affect body condition and immune function in wild birds, although these effects may be complex and taxa specific. Here, we assessed the effects of urbanization on body condition (size-corrected body mass and haemoglobin concentration) and innate immune defences (haemolysis-haemagglutination assay, haptoglobin concentration, and bacterial killing assay) in 136 Eurasian coots (Fulica atra) from three urban and three nonurban populations across Poland. We also quantified the heterophil to lymphocyte ratio to control for the potential effect of physiological stress on immune defences. We found that urban coots showed significantly better condition than nonurban ones. At the same time, we found no relationship between any immune defence and urbanization or condition. Thus, our study offers no support for condition-dependent immune function. Our analyses also revealed significant differences between male and female coots in both condit..., , , # Urbanization enhances body condition, but not innate immune defenses, in a common waterbird

## Description of the data and file structure

Data were collected for 136 Eurasian coots from six populations (three urban and three nonurban) across Poland during two breeding seasons (years: 2021 and 2022).

Files and variables

File: RSOS-241062_ESM_Raw_Data.xlsx

Description:

Variables

* Urbanization

The level of urbanization (\"urban\" - an individual was sampled from one of the three urban populations, \"nonurban\" - an individual was sampled from one of the three nonurban populations)

* Population

The population from which the individual was sampled.

* Year

The year in which the individual was sampled.

* Sex

The sex of the individual (F-female, M-male).

* Haemagglutination

The score of haemagglutination (an agglutination of cells dependent on the interaction with NAbs) assessed using scans of the assay plates (made 20 min after incubation). When the two scores differed by 0.5, a...