Perinatal exposure to antibiotics reduces affiliative behavior after post-weaning in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata)

Abstract

Social behavior is influenced by a host of factors, including the immune system; for example, song quality in male starlings predicts immunocompetence suggesting the development of the immune system is interconnected with aspects social development (Duffy and Ball, 2002). Treating birds with antibiotics during the perinatal period may alter this development, and thereby, social behaviors beyond song. We asked if antibiotic exposure during the perinatal period effected parenting and offspring social behavior (e.g. aggressive and affiliative behaviors) in zebra finches? We treated the drinking water of zebra finch parents and hatchlings from post-hatch day 5–14 with azithromycin or a vehicle control and monitored parenting/social behavior. After weaning, we transferred offspring from the breeding cage to group housing and monitored social behavior and integration into the colony by measuring aggressive and affiliative behaviors. For all treatments we saw a reduction in the number of songs performed by fathers, however, specifically for antibiotic treated offspring there was a reduction in affiliative behaviors relative to vehicle treated controls suggesting the immune system, perhaps via the guts microbiome, influences certain aspects of social behaviors in birds.