Caldwell Hahn, Ph.D. (Former Employee)
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 33
Do life history traits influence patterns of maternal immune elements in New World blackbirds (Icteridae)?
Avian immunology developed originally by investigating domesticated poultry species (Galliformes), but in recent decades eco-immunological studies of wild bird species have revealed that avian immune systems are more diverse than initially assumed. This study compares six immunological elements in eggs of six species within the same family, the New World blackbirds (Icteridae),whose...
Authors
Carol Fassbinder-Orth, Lawrence D. Igl, D. Caldwell Hahn, Kelsey M. Watts, Travis Wilcoxon, Katsí Ramos-Álvarez
A new tool for studying waterfowl immune and metabolic responses: Molecular level analysis using kinome profiling
Here, we describe the design of an Anas‐specific kinome peptide array that can be used to study the immunometabolic responses of mallard and American black duck to pathogens, contaminants, and environmental stress. The peptide arrays contain 2,642 unique phosphorylate‐able peptide sequences representing 1,900 proteins. These proteins cover a wide array of metabolic and immunological...
Authors
Giovanni Pagano, Casey Johnson, Caldwell Hahn, Ryan J. Arsenault
Maternal androgens in avian brood parasites and their hosts: responses to parasitism and competition?
In the coevolutionary dynamic of avian brood parasites and their hosts, maternal (or transgenerational) effects have rarely been investigated. We examined the potential role of elevated yolk testosterone in eggs of the principal brood parasite in North America, the brown-headed cowbird, and three of its frequent host species. Elevated maternal androgens in eggs are a common maternal...
Authors
Caldwell Hahn, John C. Wingfield, David M. Fox, Brian G. Walker, Jill E Thomley
Obligate brood parasites show more functionally effective innate immune responses: an eco-immunological hypothesis
Immune adaptations of obligate brood parasites attracted interest when three New World cowbird species (Passeriformes, Icteridae, genus Molothrus) proved unusually resistant to West Nile virus. We have used cowbirds as models to investigate the eco-immunological hypothesis that species in parasite-rich environments characteristically have enhanced immunity as a life history adaptation...
Authors
D. Caldwell Hahn, Scott G. Summers, Kenneth J. Genovese, Haiqi He, Michael H. Kogut
Enhanced innate immune responses in a brood parasitic cowbird species: degranulation and oxidative burst
We examined the relative effectiveness of two innate immune responses in two species of New World blackbirds (Passeriformes, Icteridae) that differ in resistance to West Nile virus (WNV). We measured degranulation and oxidative burst, two fundamental components of phagocytosis, and we predicted that the functional effectiveness of these innate immune responses would correspond to the...
Authors
D. Caldwell Hahn, Scott G. Summers, Kenneth J. Genovese, Haiqi He, Michael H. Kogut
Patterns of maternal yolk hormones in eastern screech owl eggs (Megascops asio)
Owl clutches typically hatch asynchronously, and brood size hierarchies develop. In this study, we describe intra-clutch variation of testosterone, androstenedione, estradiol, and corticosterone in Eastern screech owl egg yolks. In order to assess whether these hormones may have originated in the follicle, we also characterize variation of testosterone, androstenedione, and...
Authors
D. Caldwell Hahn
Heightened exposure to parasites favors the evolution of immunity in brood parasitic cowbirds
Immunologists and evolutionary biologists are interested in how the immune system evolves to fit an ecological niche. We studied the relationship between exposure to parasites and strength of immunity by investigating the response of two species of New World cowbirds (genus Molothrus, Icteridae), obligate brood parasites with contrasting life history strategies, to experimental arboviral...
Authors
Caldwell Hahn, William K. Reisen
Innate immunity is not related to the sex of adult Tree Swallows during the nestling period
Evolutionary theory predicts that exposure to more diverse pathogens will result in the evolution of a more robust immune response. We predicted that during the breeding season the innate immune function of female Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) should be more effective than that of males because (1) the transmission of sexually transmitted microbes during copulation puts females at...
Authors
Bradley J. Houdek, Michael P. Lombardo, Patrick A. Thorpe, D. Caldwell Hahn
Innate immune response development in nestling tree swallows
We tracked the development of innate immunity in nestling Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) and compared it to that of adults using blood drawn from nestlings during days 6, 12, and 18 of the ∼20-day nestling period and from adults. Innate immunity was characterized using an in vitro assay of the ability of whole blood to kill Escherichia coli. The ability of whole blood to kill E...
Authors
T. Stambaugh, B.J. Houdek, M.P. Lombardo, P.A. Thorpe, Caldwell Hahn
Developmental changes in serum androgen levels of Eastern Screech-Owls (Megascops asio)
We studied androgen production during development in nestling Eastern Screech-Owls (Megascops asio) and hypothesized that gender and hatch order might influence serum levels of testosterone and androstenedione. Testosterone levels were highest immediately after hatching and declined significantly in the 4 weeks leading to fledging. The average level of testosterone for 1-7 day-old owls...
Authors
Corinne P. Kozlowski, D. Caldwell Hahn
A simplified method for extracting androgens from avian egg yolks
Female birds deposit significant amounts of steroid hormones into the yolks of their eggs. Studies have demonstrated that these hormones, particularly androgens, affect nestling growth and development. In order to measure androgen concentrations in avian egg yolks, most authors follow the extraction methods outlined by Schwabl (1993. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 90:11446-11450). We describe...
Authors
C.P. Kozlowski, J.E. Bauman, D.C. Hahn
Comparison of immune responses of brown-headed cowbird and related blackbirds to West Nile and other mosquito-borne encephalitis viruses
The rapid geographic spread of West Nile virus (family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus, WNV) across the United States has stimulated interest in comparative host infection studies to delineate competent avian hosts critical for viral amplification. We compared the host competence of four taxonomically related blackbird species (Icteridae) after experimental infection with WNV and with two...
Authors
W.K. Reisen, D.C. Hahn
Waterbirds
Patuxent has a long history of research activities supporting the management and conservation of waterbird populations. Current research interests include studying the movements and migration ecology of sea ducks and other waterbirds along the Atlantic Coast, a long-term demographic study of Roseate Tern populations, and the use of restored island habitats by nesting terns. Patuxent scientists...
American Black Duck and Threat of Avian Influenza
The Challenge: The genomic revolution is giving wildlife biologists new tools to assess the role of wildlife in spreading diseases that affect human populations. Peptide arrays are a high throughput technology that gives unprecedented breadth and depth of information about the immune system. We are using peptide arrays to assess the immune responses of Chesapeake Bay waterfowl to avian influenza...
Disease Resistance of Wildlife Species: how the immune system evolves and adapts
The Challenge: In an era when emerging infectious diseases are steadily increasing, human populations are exposed to virulent new pathogens. Insight into the human system can be gained from understanding the variety of immune adaptations of wildlife species. The vertebrate immune system is not static. Rather, it involves in response to the environment.
An Eco-immunological Study of Chesapeake Bay Waterfowl
The Challenge: The health of the abundant waterfowl species of Chesapeake Bay has become a major concern due to the spread of Avian Influenza (AI) across North America and the role of waterfowl as a vector of AI. For decades, the health of the Bay’s waterfowl has been affected by the degradation of water quality and food supply due to industrial contaminants,agricultural run-off, pollution from...
Do life history traits influence patterns of maternal immune elements in New World blackbirds (Icteridae) data release
This metadata record represents passive immunity components of six songbird species (Passeriformes) in a single taxonomic family, the New World blackbirds (Icteridae). Six immune elements were compared among blackbird eggs collected in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Puerto Rico, including immunoglobulins (Ig) in both yolk and albumen, lipopolysaccharide-specific immunoglobulins in both...
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 33
Do life history traits influence patterns of maternal immune elements in New World blackbirds (Icteridae)?
Avian immunology developed originally by investigating domesticated poultry species (Galliformes), but in recent decades eco-immunological studies of wild bird species have revealed that avian immune systems are more diverse than initially assumed. This study compares six immunological elements in eggs of six species within the same family, the New World blackbirds (Icteridae),whose...
Authors
Carol Fassbinder-Orth, Lawrence D. Igl, D. Caldwell Hahn, Kelsey M. Watts, Travis Wilcoxon, Katsí Ramos-Álvarez
A new tool for studying waterfowl immune and metabolic responses: Molecular level analysis using kinome profiling
Here, we describe the design of an Anas‐specific kinome peptide array that can be used to study the immunometabolic responses of mallard and American black duck to pathogens, contaminants, and environmental stress. The peptide arrays contain 2,642 unique phosphorylate‐able peptide sequences representing 1,900 proteins. These proteins cover a wide array of metabolic and immunological...
Authors
Giovanni Pagano, Casey Johnson, Caldwell Hahn, Ryan J. Arsenault
Maternal androgens in avian brood parasites and their hosts: responses to parasitism and competition?
In the coevolutionary dynamic of avian brood parasites and their hosts, maternal (or transgenerational) effects have rarely been investigated. We examined the potential role of elevated yolk testosterone in eggs of the principal brood parasite in North America, the brown-headed cowbird, and three of its frequent host species. Elevated maternal androgens in eggs are a common maternal...
Authors
Caldwell Hahn, John C. Wingfield, David M. Fox, Brian G. Walker, Jill E Thomley
Obligate brood parasites show more functionally effective innate immune responses: an eco-immunological hypothesis
Immune adaptations of obligate brood parasites attracted interest when three New World cowbird species (Passeriformes, Icteridae, genus Molothrus) proved unusually resistant to West Nile virus. We have used cowbirds as models to investigate the eco-immunological hypothesis that species in parasite-rich environments characteristically have enhanced immunity as a life history adaptation...
Authors
D. Caldwell Hahn, Scott G. Summers, Kenneth J. Genovese, Haiqi He, Michael H. Kogut
Enhanced innate immune responses in a brood parasitic cowbird species: degranulation and oxidative burst
We examined the relative effectiveness of two innate immune responses in two species of New World blackbirds (Passeriformes, Icteridae) that differ in resistance to West Nile virus (WNV). We measured degranulation and oxidative burst, two fundamental components of phagocytosis, and we predicted that the functional effectiveness of these innate immune responses would correspond to the...
Authors
D. Caldwell Hahn, Scott G. Summers, Kenneth J. Genovese, Haiqi He, Michael H. Kogut
Patterns of maternal yolk hormones in eastern screech owl eggs (Megascops asio)
Owl clutches typically hatch asynchronously, and brood size hierarchies develop. In this study, we describe intra-clutch variation of testosterone, androstenedione, estradiol, and corticosterone in Eastern screech owl egg yolks. In order to assess whether these hormones may have originated in the follicle, we also characterize variation of testosterone, androstenedione, and...
Authors
D. Caldwell Hahn
Heightened exposure to parasites favors the evolution of immunity in brood parasitic cowbirds
Immunologists and evolutionary biologists are interested in how the immune system evolves to fit an ecological niche. We studied the relationship between exposure to parasites and strength of immunity by investigating the response of two species of New World cowbirds (genus Molothrus, Icteridae), obligate brood parasites with contrasting life history strategies, to experimental arboviral...
Authors
Caldwell Hahn, William K. Reisen
Innate immunity is not related to the sex of adult Tree Swallows during the nestling period
Evolutionary theory predicts that exposure to more diverse pathogens will result in the evolution of a more robust immune response. We predicted that during the breeding season the innate immune function of female Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) should be more effective than that of males because (1) the transmission of sexually transmitted microbes during copulation puts females at...
Authors
Bradley J. Houdek, Michael P. Lombardo, Patrick A. Thorpe, D. Caldwell Hahn
Innate immune response development in nestling tree swallows
We tracked the development of innate immunity in nestling Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) and compared it to that of adults using blood drawn from nestlings during days 6, 12, and 18 of the ∼20-day nestling period and from adults. Innate immunity was characterized using an in vitro assay of the ability of whole blood to kill Escherichia coli. The ability of whole blood to kill E...
Authors
T. Stambaugh, B.J. Houdek, M.P. Lombardo, P.A. Thorpe, Caldwell Hahn
Developmental changes in serum androgen levels of Eastern Screech-Owls (Megascops asio)
We studied androgen production during development in nestling Eastern Screech-Owls (Megascops asio) and hypothesized that gender and hatch order might influence serum levels of testosterone and androstenedione. Testosterone levels were highest immediately after hatching and declined significantly in the 4 weeks leading to fledging. The average level of testosterone for 1-7 day-old owls...
Authors
Corinne P. Kozlowski, D. Caldwell Hahn
A simplified method for extracting androgens from avian egg yolks
Female birds deposit significant amounts of steroid hormones into the yolks of their eggs. Studies have demonstrated that these hormones, particularly androgens, affect nestling growth and development. In order to measure androgen concentrations in avian egg yolks, most authors follow the extraction methods outlined by Schwabl (1993. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 90:11446-11450). We describe...
Authors
C.P. Kozlowski, J.E. Bauman, D.C. Hahn
Comparison of immune responses of brown-headed cowbird and related blackbirds to West Nile and other mosquito-borne encephalitis viruses
The rapid geographic spread of West Nile virus (family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus, WNV) across the United States has stimulated interest in comparative host infection studies to delineate competent avian hosts critical for viral amplification. We compared the host competence of four taxonomically related blackbird species (Icteridae) after experimental infection with WNV and with two...
Authors
W.K. Reisen, D.C. Hahn
Waterbirds
Patuxent has a long history of research activities supporting the management and conservation of waterbird populations. Current research interests include studying the movements and migration ecology of sea ducks and other waterbirds along the Atlantic Coast, a long-term demographic study of Roseate Tern populations, and the use of restored island habitats by nesting terns. Patuxent scientists...
American Black Duck and Threat of Avian Influenza
The Challenge: The genomic revolution is giving wildlife biologists new tools to assess the role of wildlife in spreading diseases that affect human populations. Peptide arrays are a high throughput technology that gives unprecedented breadth and depth of information about the immune system. We are using peptide arrays to assess the immune responses of Chesapeake Bay waterfowl to avian influenza...
Disease Resistance of Wildlife Species: how the immune system evolves and adapts
The Challenge: In an era when emerging infectious diseases are steadily increasing, human populations are exposed to virulent new pathogens. Insight into the human system can be gained from understanding the variety of immune adaptations of wildlife species. The vertebrate immune system is not static. Rather, it involves in response to the environment.
An Eco-immunological Study of Chesapeake Bay Waterfowl
The Challenge: The health of the abundant waterfowl species of Chesapeake Bay has become a major concern due to the spread of Avian Influenza (AI) across North America and the role of waterfowl as a vector of AI. For decades, the health of the Bay’s waterfowl has been affected by the degradation of water quality and food supply due to industrial contaminants,agricultural run-off, pollution from...
Do life history traits influence patterns of maternal immune elements in New World blackbirds (Icteridae) data release
This metadata record represents passive immunity components of six songbird species (Passeriformes) in a single taxonomic family, the New World blackbirds (Icteridae). Six immune elements were compared among blackbird eggs collected in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Puerto Rico, including immunoglobulins (Ig) in both yolk and albumen, lipopolysaccharide-specific immunoglobulins in both...