Date: April 10, 2018
Source: Lund University
In a unique study, researchers at
Lund University in Sweden have mapped the origins of migratory birds. They used
the results to investigate and discover major differences in the immune systems
of sedentary and migratory birds. The researchers conclude that migratory
species benefit from leaving tropical areas when it is time to raise their
young -- as moving away from diseases in the tropics enables them to survive
with a less costly immune system.
Analysing the genealogy of over
1300 song bird species, passerines, enabled the researchers to establish that
both sedentary birds, which do not leave northern Europe in the winter, and
migratory birds, which breed in Europe but spend the winter close to the
equator, originate from Africa.
The researchers then went on to
study the immune system in three different groups: sedentary birds in tropical
Africa, European sedentary birds, and migratory birds. Their findings show that
African sedentary birds have a more varied and extensive immune system than
that of both European sedentary birds and migratory birds.
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