Fecal antibody levels as a noninvasive method for measuring immunity to gastrointestinal nematodes in ecological studies.

Among-individual variation in antibody-associated immunity to gastrointestinal nematode parasites (GIN) is known be associated with life-history traits and vital rates in wild vertebrate systems. To date, measurement of levels of antibodies against GIN antigens in natural populations has exclusively been based on invasive blood sampling techniques. Previous work in laboratory rodents and ruminant livestock suggests that antibody measures from feces may provide a viable noninvasive approach. We measured total and anti-GIN antibodies of different isotypes (immunoglobulin (Ig) G, IgA and IgE) from paired samples of plasma and feces from free-living Soay sheep of different ages and sexes. We tested the correlations among these measures as well as their associations with body mass and Strongyle nematode fecal egg counts (FEC). Significant positive correlations were present among plasma and fecal anti-GIN antibody levels for IgG and IgA. Generally, correlations between total antibody levels in plasma and feces were weaker and not significant. No significant relationships were found between any antibody measures and body mass; however, fecal anti-GIN antibody levels were significantly negatively correlated with FEC. Our data clearly demonstrate the feasibility of measuring anti-GIN antibodies from fecal samples collected in natural populations. Although associations of fecal antibody levels with their plasma counterparts and FEC were relatively weak, the presence of significant correlations in the predicted direction in a relatively small and heterogeneous sample suggests fecal antibody measures could be a useful, noninvasive addition to current eco-immunological studies.