Immune status of Pygoscelis penguins in Antarctic environments with different anthropogenic impact

During the Antarctic summer, in Hope Bay (Antarctica), Pygoscelis adeliae (Adelie) and Pygoscelis papua (Gentoo) penguins breed in sympatry. There are groups of both species that breed in the proximity to the Argentine Scientific station, exposed chronically to pollutants and pathogens as a consequence of human activity, while others do so in remote sites not exposed to such factors. In this work the effect of the anthropogenic impact on the immunocompetence of the Adelie and Gentoo penguins in areas with high -D- and low -ND- impact was evaluated. To determine the blood immunological status of the penguins, we analyzed the abundance of the γ-globulin fraction, the concentration of albumin and plasma proteins and the IgY level. In Adelie -D-, lower concentration of plasma proteins (P<0.05) and albumin (P<0.05) was observed with respect to Adelie –ND-, whereas only albumin decreased (P<0.05) in Gentoo. On the other hand, levels of γ-globulins and IgY in Adelie -D- penguins were higher than Adelie -ND- (P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively), while in Gentoo no differences were observed. Together, this would indicate that in the environment exposed to contaminants and pathogens, high immune responses and protein catabolism are induced in Adelie penguins, showing that this specie is more sensitive than Gentoo penguins, which do not present changes in their immunocompetence. This could be due to the existence of different adaptive physiological mechanisms in each species to face changes in the environment.