Csongor I. Vágási


Vágási I. Csongor

Csongor I. Vágási, PhD – lecturer

Google Scholar page
ResearchGate profile

csvagasi[at]gmail.com (“[at]” = @)






Biography

2017–present: lecturer, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania
2014–2019: PostDoc, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
2013–2014: PostDoc, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania
2010–2013: research assistant, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania
2010–2013: research assistant, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
2006–2009: PhD (biology), University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
2004–2005: MSc (ecology), Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania
2000–2004: BSc (biology), Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania

Research interest

– oxidative stress
– immune investment
– evolution and ecology of senescence in birds
– life-history evolution
– feather quality and moult
– functions of the uropygial gland
– animal personalities

Physiology, life history and senescence in birds

My current main interests are (1) the physiology–life history nexus and (2) the ecology and evolution of senescence (ageing) in birds (and mammals). Within the physiological network, I’m mostly interested in oxidative physiological state.

Why organisms grow old and die is one of the major questions in biology. Whether the rate of free radical production can at least partly explain ageing is intensely debated. Although our understanding matures in this respect, there are still questions and hypotheses waiting for answers. Besides life-history, redox physiology is thought to govern the evolution of costly phenotypic traits as well. This is realized by oxidative homeostasis being a key player in mediating negative covariations, trade-offs, (1) via resource allocation dilemma (Y-model) given that antioxidants and repair mechanisms are costly, or (2) via functional suppression of fitness-related processes by oxidative stress.


Phylogenetic comparison is a useful technique to detect correlated evolution. I propose to study how redox state correlates with life history and costly phenotypic traits by means of phylogenetic comparisons and using birds as model organisms. Birds are good study group because they are longer-lived than similar-sized mammals despite the fact that birds have higher rate-of-living, body temperature and metabolic rate. For this, we collected blood samples from a wide variety of European bird species and measured multiple aspects of their oxidative physiology: (1) the antioxidant machinery via (a) the total antioxidant capacity of the plasma, (b) the concentration of uric acid and (c) the concentration of glutathione, and (2) the level of peroxidative damage of cell membrane lipids via the concentration of reactive oxygen metabolites and malondialdehyde (by HPLC).


Senescence (or ageing) is the functional decline with advancing age, which reduces rates of reproduction and survival. Reproductive senescence is the age-specific decay of reproductive performance, while actuarial senescence is the age-specific decay of survival probabilities. The ecological and evolutionary perspectives of reproductive and actuarial senescence are among the most important questions in (evolutionary) biology; yet, these are still poorly understood and current knowledge is largely based on life-tables of zoo animals. My goal is to compile a comprehensive global AVIan SENescence (AVISEN) database containing age-specific reproductive and survival life-tables of free-living bird species similar to what has been done for free-living mammals (see the MAmmaLian Demographic DAtaBAse, MALDDABA) and use this database to understand the ecological and evolutionary perspectives of avian senescence by using the phylogenetic comparative approach.

A good website to browse in the topic of ageing and its underlying mechanisms is this by João Pedro de Magalhães.

Publications

  1. Pap PL, Vágási CI, Bókony V, Pénzes J, Szabó K, Magonyi NM, Czirják GÁ and Vincze O 2025. Phylogenetic relationships of immune function and oxidative physiology with sexual selection and parental effort in male and female birds. Ecology and Evolution 15: e71119. link

  2. del Mar Labrador M, … [27 co-authors] …, Pap PL, … [7 co-authors] …, Vágási CI, Vögeli M and Jovani R 2025. Idiosyncrasy of feather mite intensity and prevalence across passerine bird species: a comparative study. Oikos 2025: e10629. link

  3. Pap PL, Vincze O and Vágási CI 2025. Oxidative state is associated with migration distance, but not traits linked to flight energetics. Journal of Avian Biology 2025: e03325. link.

  4. Lendvai ÁZ, Tóth Z, Mahr K, Pénzes J, Vogel-Kindgen S, Gander BA and Vágási CI 2024. IGF-1 induces sex-specific oxidative damage and mortality in a songbird. Oecologia 205: 561–570. link

  5. Spurgin LG, … [38 co-authors] …, Vágási CI, … [5 co-authors] and Slate J 2024. The great tit HapMap project: a continental-scale analysis of genomic variation in a songbird. Molecular Ecology Resources 24: e13969. link

  6. Minias P, Pap PL, Vincze O and Vágási CI 2024. Correlated evolution of oxidative physiology and MHC-based immunosurveillance in birds. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 291: 20240686. link

  7. Vágási CI, Vincze O, Adámková M, Kauzálová T, Lendvai ÁZ, Pătraș L, Pénzes J, Pap PL¶, Albrecht T¶ and Tomášek O¶ 2024. Songbirds avoid the oxidative stress costs of high blood glucose levels: a comparative study. Journal of Experimental Biology 227: jeb246848. link ¶ Shared senior authorship

  8. del Mar Labrador M, … [30 co-authors] …, Pap PL, … [9 co-authors] …, Vágási CI, Vögeli M and Jovani R 2024. Host space, not energy or symbiont size, constrains feather mite abundance across passerine bird species. Journal of Animal Ecology 93: 393–405. link

  9. Becker DJ, Merrifield JM, Vágási CI, Czirják GÁ and Pap PL 2023. Spatial variation in the inflammatory response of house sparrows in their native range. EcoHealth 20: 231–235. link

  10. Marton A§, Vágási CI§, Vincze O, Bókony V, Pap PL, Pătraș L, Pénzes J, Bărbos L, Fülöp A, Osváth G, Ducatez S¶ and Giraudeau M¶ 2022. Oxidative physiology is weakly associated with pigmentation in birds. Ecology and Evolution 12: e9177. pdf § Shared first authorship ¶ Shared senior authorship

  11. Vincze O, Vágási CI, Pénzes J, Szabó K, Magonyi NM, Czirják GÁ and Pap PL 2022. Sexual dimorphism in immune function and oxidative physiology across birds: the role of sexual selection. Ecology Letters 25: 958–970. pdf

  12. Vágási CI§, Fülöp A§, Osváth G, Pap PL, Pénzes J, Benkő Z, Lendvai ÁZ and Barta Z 2021. Social groups with diverse personalities mitigate physiological stress in a songbird. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 288: 20203092. pdf § Shared first authorship

  13. Vágási CI, Vincze O, Lemaître JF, Pap PL, Ronget V and Gaillard JM 2021. Is degree of sociality associated with reproductive senescence? A comparative analysis across birds and mammals. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 376: 20190744. pdf

  14. Vágási CI, Tóth Z, Pénzes J, Pap PL, Ouyang JQ and Lendvai ÁZ 2020. The Relationship between Hormones, Glucose and Oxidative Damage is Condition- and Stress-dependent in a Free-living Passerine Bird. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 93: 466–476. pdf

  15. Pap PL, Fülöp A, Adamkova M, Cepak J, Michalkova R, Saffran RJ, Stermin AN, Tomasek O, Vágási CI, Vincze O, Wilins MR and Albtrecht T 2019. Selection on multiple sexual signals in two Central- and Eastern-European populations of the barn swallow. Ecology and Evolution 9: 11277–11287. pdf

  16. Vincze O, Vágási CI, Pap PL, Palmer C and Møller AP 2019. Wing morphology, flight type and migration distance predict accumulated fuel load in birds. Journal of Experimental Biology 222: jeb183517. pdf

  17. Pap PL, Vincze O, Vágási CI, Salamon Z, Pándi A, Bálint B, Nord A, Nudds RL and Osváth G 2019. Vane macrostructure of primary feathers and its adaptations to flight in birds. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 126: 256–267. pdf

  18. Vágási CI, Vincze O, Pătraș L, Osváth G, Pénzes J, Haussmann MF, Barta Z and Pap PL 2019. Longevity and life history coevolve with oxidative stress in birds. Functional Ecology 33: 152–161. pdf

  19. Vágási CI, Pătraș L, Pap PL, Vincze O, Mureșan C, Németh J and Lendvai ÁZ 2018. Experimental increase in baseline corticosterone level reduces oxidative damage and enhances innate immune response. PLoS One 13: e0192701. pdf

  20. Pap PL, Vincze O, Fülöp A, Székely-Béres O, Pătraș L, Pénzes J and Vágási CI 2018. Oxidative physiology of reproduction in a passerine bird: a field experiment. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 72: 18. pdf

  21. Osváth G, Daubner T, Dyke GJ, Fuisz TI, Nord A, Pénzes J, Vargancsik D, Vágási CI, Vincze O and Pap PL 2018. How feathered are birds? Environment predicts both the mass and density of body feathers. Functional Ecology 32: 701–712. pdf

  22. Fülöp A, Vágási CI and Pap PL 2017. Cohabitation with farm animals rather than breeding effort increases the infection with feather-associated bacteria in the barn swallow Hirundo rustica. Journal of Avian Biology 48: 1005–1014. pdf

  23. Pap PL, Vincze O, Wekerle B, Daubner T, Vágási CI, Nudds RL, Dyke GJ and Osváth G 2017. A phylogenetic comparative analysis reveals correlations between body feather structure and habitat. Functional Ecology 31: 1241–1251. pdf

  24. Geue JC, Vágási CI, Schweizer M, Pap PL and Thomassen HA 2016. Environmental selection is a main driver of divergence in house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in Romania and Bulgaria. Ecology and Evolution 6: 7954–7964. pdf

  25. Vágási CI, Vincze O, Pătraș L, Osváth G, Marton A, Bărbos L, Sol D and Pap PL 2016. Large-brained birds suffer less oxidative damage. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 29: 1968–1976. pdf

  26. Fülöp A, Czirják GÁ, Pap PL and Vágási CI 2016. Feather-degrading bacteria, uropygial gland and feather quality in House Sparrows Passer domesticus. Ibis 158: 362–370. pdf

  27. Vágási CI, Pap PL, Vincze O, Osváth G, Erritzøe J and Møller AP 2016. Morphological adaptations to migration in birds. Evolutionary Biology 43: 48–59. pdf

  28. Paștiu AI, Pap PL, Vágási CI, Niculae M, Páll E, Brudașcă FG and Spînu M 2016. Wild birds in Romania are more exposed to West Nile virus than to Newcastle Disease virus. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases 16: 176–180. pdf

  29. Vincze O, Vágási CI, Pap PL, Osváth G and Møller AP 2015. Brain regions associated with visual cues are important for bird migration. Biology Letters 11: 20150678. pdf

  30. Pap PL, Osváth G, Aparicio JM, Bărbos L, Matyjasiak P, Rubolini D, Saino N, Vágási CI, Vincze O and Møller AP 2015. Sexual dimorphism and population differences in structural properties of barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) wing and tail feathers. PLoS ONE 10: e0130844. pdf

  31. Fenesi A, Vágási CI, Beldean M, Földesi R, Kolcsár L-P, Shapiro JT, Török E and Kovács-Hostyánszki A 2015. Solidago canadensis impacts on native plant and pollinator communities in different-aged old fields. Basic and Applied Ecology 16: 335–346. pdf

  32. Pap PL, Pătraș L, Osváth G, Buehler DM, Versteegh MA, Sesarman A, Banciu M and Vágási CI 2015. Seasonal patterns and relationships among coccidian infestations, measures of oxidative physiology, and immune function in free-living house sparrows over an annual cycle. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 88: 395–405. pdf

  33. Pap PL, Osváth G, Sándor K, Vincze O, Bărbos L, Marton A, Nudds RL and Vágási CI 2015. Interspecific variation in the structural properties of flight feathers in birds indicates adaptation to flight requirements and habitat. Functional Ecology 29: 746–757. pdf

    Spotlighted paper in the 29(6) issue of Functional Ecology.

  34. Pap PL, Vágási CI, Vincze O, Osváth G, Veres-Szászka J and Czirják GÁ. 2015. Physiological pace of life: the link between constitutive immunity, developmental period, and metabolic rate in European birds. Oecologia 177: 147–158. pdf

  35. Diaz-Real J, Serrano D, Pérez-Tris J, Fernández-González S, Bermejo A, Calleja JA, De la Puente J, De Palacio D, Martínez JL, Moreno-Opo R, Ponce C, Frías Ó, Tella JL, Møller AP, Figuerola J, Pap PL, Kovács I, Vágási CI, Meléndez L, Blanco G, Aguilera E, Senar JC, Galván I, Atiénzar F, Barba E, Cantó JL, Cortés V, Monrós JS, Piculo R, Vögeli M, Borràs A, Navarro C, Mestre A and Jovani R 2014. Repeatability of feather mite prevalence and intensity in passerine birds. PLoS ONE 9: e107341. pdf

  36. Pap PL, Sesarman A, Vágási CI, Buehler DM, Pătraș L, Versteegh MA and Banciu M 2014. No Evidence for Parasitism-linked Changes in Immune Function or Oxidative Physiology over the Annual Cycle of an Avian Species. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 87: 729–739. pdf

  37. Vágási CI 2014. The origin of feather holes: a word of caution. Journal of Avian Biology 45: 431–436. pdf

  38. Bókony V, Lendvai ÁZ, Vágási CI, Pătraș L, Pap PL, Németh J, Vincze E, Papp S, Preiszner B, Seress G and Liker A 2014. Necessity or capacity? Physiological state predicts problem-solving performance in house sparrows. Behavioral Ecology 25: 124–135. pdf

  39. Vincze O, Vágási CI, Kovács I, Galván I and Pap PL 2013. Sources of variation in uropygial gland size in European birds. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 110: 543–563. pdf

  40. Møller AP, Vágási CI and Pap PL 2013. Risk-taking and the evolution of mechanisms for rapid escape from predators. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 26: 1143–1150. pdf

  41. Czirják GÁ, Pap PL, Vágási CI, Giraudeau M, Mureşan C, Mirleau P and Heeb P 2013. Preen gland removal increases plumage bacterial load but not that of feather-degrading bacteria. Naturwissenschaften 100: 145–151. pdf

  42. Pap PL, Vágási CI, Bărbos L and Marton A 2013. Chronic coccidian infestation compromises flight feather quality in house sparrows Passer domesticus. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 108: 414–428. pdf

  43. Pap PL, Adam C, Vágási CI, Benkő Z and Vincze O 2013. Sex ratio and sexual dimorphism of three lice species with contrasting prevalence parasitizing the house sparrow. Journal of Parasitology 99: 24–30. pdf

  44. Vágási CI, Pap PL, Vincze O, Benkő Z, Marton A and Barta Z 2012. Haste Makes Waste but Condition Matters: Molt Rate-Feather Quality Trade-Off in a Sedentary Songbird. PLoS ONE 7: e40651. pdf

  45. Galván I, Aguilera E, Atiénzar F, Barba E, Blanco G, Cantó JL, Cortés V, Frías Ó, Kovács I, Meléndez L, Møller AP, Monrós JS, Pap PL, Piculo R, Senar JC, Serrano D, Tella JL, Vágási CI, Vögeli M and Jovani R 2012. Feather mites and body condition of their avian hosts: a large correlative study. Journal of Avian Biology 43: 273–279. pdf

  46. Pap PL, Vágási CI, Czirják GÁ, Titilincu A, Pintea A, Osváth G, Fülöp A and Barta Z 2011. The effect of coccidians on the condition and immune profile of molting house sparrows (Passer domesticus). Auk 128: 330–339. pdf

  47. Vágási CI, Pap PL, Tökölyi J, Székely E and Barta Z 2011. Correlates of variation in flight feather quality in the Great Tit Parus major. Ardea 99: 53–60. pdf

  48. Vágási CI, Pap PL and Barta Z 2010. Haste Makes Waste: Accelerated Molt Adversely Affects the Expression of Melanin-based and Depigmented Plumage Ornaments in House Sparrows. PLoS ONE 5: e14215. pdf

  49. Pap PL, Vágási CI, Osváth G, Mureşan C and Barta Z 2010. Seasonality in the uropygial gland size and feather mite abundance in house sparrows: natural covariation and an experiment. Journal of Avian Biology 41: 653–661. pdf

  50. Pap PL, Czirják GÁ, Vágási CI, Barta Z and Hasselquist D 2010. Sexual dimorphism in immune function changes during the annual cycle in the house sparrows. Naturwissenschaften 97: 891–901. pdf

  51. Pap PL, Vágási CI, Tökölyi J, Czirják GÁ and Barta Z 2010. Variation in haematological indices and immune function during the annual cycle in the Great Tit Parus major. Ardea 98: 105–112. pdf

  52. Pap PL, Vágási CI, Czirják GÁ, Titilincu A, Pintea A and Barta Z 2009. Carotenoids modulate the effect of coccidian infection on the condition and immune response in moulting house sparrows. Journal of Experimental Biology 212: 3228–3235. pdf

  53. Pap PL, Vágási CI, Czirják GÁ and Barta Z 2008. Diet quality affects postnuptial molting and feather quality of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus): interaction with humoral immune function? Canadian Journal of Zoology 86: 834–842. pdf

  54. Pap PL, Barta Z, Tökölyi J and Vágási CI 2007. Increase of feather quality during moult: a possible implication of feather deformities in the evolution of partial moult in the great tit. Journal of Avian Biology 38: 471–478. pdf

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