Ecoimmunology: Understanding Immunity in the Natural World

Ecoimmunology, or Ecological Immunology, is an interdisciplinary field that matured into a distinct discipline in the 1990s, studying the causes and consequences of natural variation in immune functions within ecological and evolutionary contexts. Unlike classical immunology, which often controls environmental variables, ecoimmunology focuses on explaining how real-world abiotic and biotic factors influence an organism's immune responses.

Central to this field are the concepts of energy trade-offs and resource allocation, with seminal papers by Sheldon & Verhulst highlighting the costs of immunity against other vital physiological processes like growth and reproduction. Folstad and Karter's immunocompetence handicap hypothesis further linked testosterone-mediated immunosuppression to the honesty of sexually selected traits, emphasizing the inherent costs of maintaining a strong immune system.

Ecoimmunology investigates how factors like nutritional resources, pathogen exposure, and extrinsic mortality risks shape an organism's allocation between innate and acquired immunity, aiming to understand how natural selection favors optimal immune responses. This research, conducted at institutions such as the University of Edinburgh and the Max Planck Institute, provides crucial insights with broad implications for public health, conservation, wildlife management, and agriculture.