Immunological effects of parental care in the beetle, Nicrophorus marginatus

Organisms may adjust immunological ability with amount of parental care and effort based upon their physiological and sensory data. We examined potential trade-offs between reproduction and immunity in the quasisocial burying beetle, Nicrophorus marginatus. Encapsulation ability, phenoloxidase, nitric oxide, and lysozyme-like enzyme levels were measured in reproducing females across three different parental effort treatments. Baseline levels of these individual immune measures were also taken for non-reproducing females. In general, we found no difference in immune parameters between individuals in different treatments, but did find differences in immune system components between reproducing and non-reproducing females.