1
|
Wolf SE, Zhang S, Clotfelter ED. Experimental ectoparasite removal has a sex-specific effect on nestling telomere length. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9861. [PMID: 36911306 PMCID: PMC9992774 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Parasites are a strong selective force that can influence fitness-related traits. The length of chromosome-capping telomeres can be used to assess the long-term costs of parasitism, as telomere loss accelerates in response to environmental stressors and often precedes poorer survival prospects. Here, we explored the sex-specific effects of ectoparasite removal on morphology and telomere length in nestling tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). To do so, we experimentally removed blow fly (Protocalliphora spp.) larvae from nests using Permethrin, a broad-spectrum insecticide. Compared to water-treated controls, insecticide treatment of nests had a sex-biased effect on blood telomere length: ectoparasite removal resulted in significantly longer telomeres in males but not females. While this treatment did not influence nestling body mass, it was associated with reduced feather development regardless of sex. This may reflect a relaxed pressure to fledge quickly in the absence of parasites, or alternatively, could be a negative side effect of permethrin on morphology. Exploring robust sex-specific telomere dynamics in response to early-life environmental pressures such as parasitism will shed light on sexual dimorphism in adult life histories and aging.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E Wolf
- Department of Biology Indiana University Bloomington Indiana USA.,Department of Biobehavioral Health Pennsylvania State University State College Pennsylvania USA
| | - Samuel Zhang
- Department of Biology Amherst College Amherst Massachusetts USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
Peet R, Kirk A, Behnke JM. A long‐term study of temporal variation in wing feather mite (Acari: Astigmata) infestations on robins,
Erithacus rubecula
, in Nottinghamshire, UK. J Zool (1987) 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- R. Peet
- School of Life Sciences University of Nottingham Nottingham UK
| | - A. Kirk
- Treswell Wood Integrated Population Monitoring Group Pear Tree Farm Rowthorne Derbyshire UK
| | - J. M. Behnke
- School of Life Sciences University of Nottingham Nottingham UK
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Bulgarella M, Knutie SA, Voss MA, Cunninghame F, Florence-Bennett BJ, Robson G, Keyzers RA, Taylor LM, Lester PJ, Heimpel GE, Causton CE. Sub-lethal effects of permethrin exposure on a passerine: implications for managing ectoparasites in wild bird nests. CONSERVATION PHYSIOLOGY 2020; 8:coaa076. [PMID: 32908668 PMCID: PMC7416766 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coaa076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Revised: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 07/26/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Permethrin is increasingly used for parasite control in bird nests, including nests of threatened passerines. We present the first formal evaluation of the effects of continued permethrin exposure on the reproductive success and liver function of a passerine, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), for two generations. We experimentally treated all nest material with a 1% permethrin solution or a water control and provided the material to breeding finches for nest building. The success of two consecutive clutches produced by the parental generation and one clutch produced by first-generation birds were tracked. Finches in the first generation were able to reproduce and fledge offspring after permethrin exposure, ruling out infertility. Permethrin treatment had no statistically significant effect on the number of eggs laid, number of days from clutch initiation to hatching, egg hatch rate, fledgling mass or nestling sex ratio in either generation. However, treating nest material with permethrin significantly increased the number of hatchlings in the first generation and decreased fledgling success in the second generation. Body mass for hatchlings exposed to permethrin was lower than for control hatchlings in both generations, but only statistically significant for the second generation. For both generations, an interaction between permethrin treatment and age significantly affected nestling growth. Permethrin treatment had no effect on liver function for any generation. Permethrin was detected inside 6 of 21 exposed, non-embryonated eggs (28.5% incidence; range: 693-4781 ng of permethrin per gram of dry egg mass). Overall, results from exposing adults, eggs and nestlings across generations to permethrin-treated nest material suggest negative effects on finch breeding success, but not on liver function. For threatened bird conservation, the judicious application of this insecticide to control parasites in nests can result in lower nestling mortality compared to when no treatment is applied. Thus, permethrin treatment benefits may outweigh its sub-lethal effects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Bulgarella
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand
| | - Sarah A Knutie
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, 75 N. Eagleville Road, Unit 3043, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA
| | | | - Francesca Cunninghame
- Charles Darwin Research Station, Charles Darwin Foundation, Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
| | | | - Gemma Robson
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand
| | - Robert A Keyzers
- School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand
| | - Lauren M Taylor
- School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand
| | - Philip J Lester
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand
| | - George E Heimpel
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, 1980 Folwell Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Charlotte E Causton
- Charles Darwin Research Station, Charles Darwin Foundation, Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Matthews AE, Larkin JL, Raybuck DW, Slevin MC, Stoleson SH, Boves TJ. Feather mite abundance varies but symbiotic nature of mite-host relationship does not differ between two ecologically dissimilar warblers. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:1227-1238. [PMID: 29375793 PMCID: PMC5773328 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2017] [Revised: 11/12/2017] [Accepted: 11/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Feather mites are obligatory ectosymbionts of birds that primarily feed on the oily secretions from the uropygial gland. Feather mite abundance varies within and among host species and has various effects on host condition and fitness, but there is little consensus on factors that drive variation of this symbiotic system. We tested hypotheses regarding how within-species and among-species traits explain variation in both (1) mite abundance and (2) relationships between mite abundance and host body condition and components of host fitness (reproductive performance and apparent annual survival). We focused on two closely related (Parulidae), but ecologically distinct, species: Setophaga cerulea (Cerulean Warbler), a canopy dwelling open-cup nester, and Protonotaria citrea (Prothonotary Warbler), an understory dwelling, cavity nester. We predicted that feather mites would be more abundant on and have a more parasitic relationship with P. citrea, and within P. citrea, females and older individuals would harbor greater mite abundances. We captured, took body measurements, quantified feather mite abundance on individuals' primaries and rectrices, and monitored individuals and their nests to estimate fitness. Feather mite abundance differed by species, but in the opposite direction of our prediction. There was no relationship between mite abundance and any measure of body condition or fitness for either species or sex (also contrary to our predictions). Our results suggest that species biology and ecological context may influence mite abundance on hosts. However, this pattern does not extend to differential effects of mites on measures of host body condition or fitness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alix E Matthews
- Department of Biological Sciences Arkansas State University Jonesboro AR USA.,Department of Biology The University of Texas at Tyler Tyler TX USA
| | - Jeffery L Larkin
- Department of Biology Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana PA USA
| | - Douglas W Raybuck
- Department of Biological Sciences Arkansas State University Jonesboro AR USA.,Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries University of Tennessee Knoxville TN USA
| | - Morgan C Slevin
- Department of Biological Sciences Arkansas State University Jonesboro AR USA
| | - Scott H Stoleson
- United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Northern Research Station Forestry Sciences Laboratory Irvine PA USA
| | - Than J Boves
- Department of Biological Sciences Arkansas State University Jonesboro AR USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Hopkins SR, Boyle LJ, Belden LK, Wojdak JM. Dispersal of a defensive symbiont depends on contact between hosts, host health, and host size. Oecologia 2015; 179:307-18. [PMID: 25964062 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-015-3333-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2014] [Accepted: 04/25/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Symbiont dispersal is necessary for the maintenance of defense mutualisms in space and time, and the distribution of symbionts among hosts should be intricately tied to symbiont dispersal behaviors. However, we know surprisingly little about how most defensive symbionts find and choose advantageous hosts or what cues trigger symbionts to disperse from their current hosts. In a series of six experiments, we explored the dispersal ecology of an oligochaete worm (Chaetogaster limnaei) that protects snail hosts from infection by larval trematode parasites. Specifically, we determined the factors that affected net symbiont dispersal from a current "donor" host to a new "receiver" host. Symbionts rarely dispersed unless hosts directly came in contact with one another. However, symbionts overcame their reluctance to disperse across the open environment if the donor host died. When hosts came in direct contact, net symbiont dispersal varied with both host size and trematode infection status, whereas symbiont density did not influence the probability of symbiont dispersal. Together, these experiments show that symbiont dispersal is not a constant, random process, as is often assumed in symbiont dispersal models, but rather the probability of dispersal varies with ecological conditions and among individual hosts. The observed heterogeneity in dispersal rates among hosts may help to explain symbiont aggregation among snail hosts in nature.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Skylar R Hopkins
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
| | - Lindsey J Boyle
- Biology Department, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA
| | - Lisa K Belden
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
6
|
Dabert M, Coulson SJ, Gwiazdowicz DJ, Moe B, Hanssen SA, Biersma EM, Pilskog HE, Dabert J. Differences in speciation progress in feather mites (Analgoidea) inhabiting the same host: the case of Zachvatkinia and Alloptes living on arctic and long-tailed skuas. EXPERIMENTAL & APPLIED ACAROLOGY 2015; 65:163-179. [PMID: 25342243 PMCID: PMC4274374 DOI: 10.1007/s10493-014-9856-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2014] [Accepted: 10/06/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Recent molecular phylogenetic analyses have revealed that some apparently oligoxenous feather mite species are in fact monoxenous cryptic species with little morphological differentiation. In this study we analyzed two species, Zachvatkinia isolata (Avenzoariidae) and Alloptes (Sternalloptes) stercorarii (Alloptidae) which prefer different parts of the plumage of two sister species of birds: arctic skua (Stercorarius parasiticus) and long-tailed skua (S. longicaudus) breeding on tundra in the High Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. Given that there are no reports about hybridization events between the host species, we expected that both skuas would have a species-specific acarofauna. The genetic distances among DNA-barcode sequences (COI and 28S rDNA), phylogenetic tree topologies, and haplotype networks of the COI sequences of mites suggested extensive gene flow in Z. isolata between and within populations inhabiting both skua species, whereas the Alloptes populations were host specific and sufficiently genetically separated as to warrant species-level status. The discrepancy in the genetic structure of Alloptes and Zachvatkinia populations suggests frequent but transient contacts between the two skua species in which the probability of mite exchange is much higher for Zachvatkinia, which is present in high numbers and inhabits exposed parts of primary flight feathers, than for the less abundant Alloptes that lives primarily in more protected and inaccessible parts of the plumage. We discuss the possible nature of these contacts between host species and the area(s) where they might take place. The star-like structures in the haplotype network as well as high haplotype diversity and low nucleotide diversity observed in Z. isolata are concordant with the known dispersal strategy of feather mites: vertical colonization of new host individuals followed by rapid growth of founder populations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Miroslawa Dabert
- Molecular Biology Techniques Laboratory, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 61-614 Poznan, Poland
| | - Stephen J. Coulson
- Department of Arctic Biology, University Centre in Svalbard, P.O. Box 156, 9171 Longyearbyen, Norway
| | - Dariusz J. Gwiazdowicz
- Department of Forest Protection, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71c, 60-625 Poznan, Poland
| | - Børge Moe
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, P.O. Box 5685, 7485 Sluppen, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Sveinn Are Hanssen
- Arctic Ecology Department, Fram Centre, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, 9296 Tromsø, Norway
| | - Elisabeth M. Biersma
- Arctic Centre, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 716, 9700 AS Groningen, The Netherlands
- British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET UK
| | - Hanne E. Pilskog
- Department of Arctic Biology, University Centre in Svalbard, P.O. Box 156, 9171 Longyearbyen, Norway
| | - Jacek Dabert
- Department of Animal Morphology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 61-614 Poznan, Poland
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
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, Jovani R. Repeatability of feather mite prevalence and intensity in passerine birds. PLoS One 2014; 9:e107341. [PMID: 25216248 PMCID: PMC4162594 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0107341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2014] [Accepted: 07/01/2014] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding why host species differ so much in symbiont loads and how this depends on ecological host and symbiont traits is a major issue in the ecology of symbiosis. A first step in this inquiry is to know whether observed differences among host species are species-specific traits or more related with host-symbiont environmental conditions. Here we analysed the repeatability (R) of the intensity and the prevalence of feather mites to partition within- and among-host species variance components. We compiled the largest dataset so far available: 119 Paleartic passerine bird species, 75,944 individual birds, ca. 1.8 million mites, seven countries, 23 study years. Several analyses and approaches were made to estimate R and adjusted repeatability (R(adj)) after controlling for potential confounding factors (breeding period, weather, habitat, spatial autocorrelation and researcher identity). The prevalence of feather mites was moderately repeatable (R = 0.26-0.53; R(adj) = 0.32-0.57); smaller values were found for intensity (R = 0.19-0.30; R(adj )= 0.18-0.30). These moderate repeatabilities show that prevalence and intensity of feather mites differ among species, but also that the high variation within species leads to considerable overlap among bird species. Differences in the prevalence and intensity of feather mites within bird species were small among habitats, suggesting that local factors are playing a secondary role. However, effects of local climatic conditions were partially observed for intensity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Javier Diaz-Real
- Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain
- Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal. Universidade de Vigo, Campus As Lagoas Marconsende, Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain
| | | | - Javier Pérez-Tris
- Departamento de Zoología y Antropología Física. Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Grupo Ornitológico SEO-Monticola. Unidad de Zoología. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sofía Fernández-González
- Departamento de Zoología y Antropología Física. Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ana Bermejo
- Grupo Ornitológico SEO-Monticola. Unidad de Zoología. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan A. Calleja
- Grupo Ornitológico SEO-Monticola. Unidad de Zoología. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento Biología Animal, Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Javier De la Puente
- Grupo Ornitológico SEO-Monticola. Unidad de Zoología. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Diana De Palacio
- Grupo Ornitológico SEO-Monticola. Unidad de Zoología. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - José L. Martínez
- Grupo Ornitológico SEO-Monticola. Unidad de Zoología. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Rubén Moreno-Opo
- Grupo Ornitológico SEO-Monticola. Unidad de Zoología. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Carlos Ponce
- Grupo Ornitológico SEO-Monticola. Unidad de Zoología. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Jose Gutiérrez Abascal, Madrid, Spain
| | - Óscar Frías
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Jose Gutiérrez Abascal, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Anders P. Møller
- Laboratoire d'Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, CNRS UMR 8079, Université Paris-Sud 11, Bâtiment 362, Orsay, France
| | | | - Péter L. Pap
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania
- MTA-DE “Lendület” Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - István Kovács
- 'Milvus Group' Bird and Nature Protection Association, Târgu Mureş, Romania
| | - Csongor I. Vágási
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania
| | - Leandro Meléndez
- Unidad Mixta de Investigacion en Biodiversidad. Instituto Cantábrico de Biodiversidad (CSIC-Universidad de Oviedo), Oviedo, Spain
| | - Guillermo Blanco
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Jose Gutiérrez Abascal, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Juan Carlos Senar
- Unidad Asociada de Ecología Evolutiva y del Comportamiento, Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Barcelona (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Francisco Atiénzar
- Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Valencia, Paterna, Spain
| | - Emilio Barba
- Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Valencia, Paterna, Spain
| | - José L. Cantó
- Parque Natural del Carrascal de la Font Roja, Alcoi, Spain
| | - Verónica Cortés
- Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Valencia, Paterna, Spain
| | - Juan S. Monrós
- Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Valencia, Paterna, Spain
| | - Rubén Piculo
- Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Valencia, Paterna, Spain
| | - Matthias Vögeli
- Federal Office for the Environment FOEN, Species, Ecosystems, Landscape Division, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Antoni Borràs
- Unidad Asociada de Ecología Evolutiva y del Comportamiento, Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Barcelona (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Alexandre Mestre
- Department of Microbiology and Ecology, University of Valencia, Burjassot, Spain
| | - Roger Jovani
- Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Watson MJ. What drives population-level effects of parasites? Meta-analysis meets life-history. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-PARASITES AND WILDLIFE 2013; 2:190-6. [PMID: 24533334 PMCID: PMC3862538 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2013.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2013] [Revised: 05/07/2013] [Accepted: 05/08/2013] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Parasites are considered drivers of population regulation in some species; unfortunately the research leading to this hypothesis has all been conducted on managed populations. Still unclear is whether parasites have population-level effects in truly wild populations and what life-history traits drive observed virulence. A meta-analysis of 38 data sets where parasite loads were altered on non-domesticated, free-ranging wild vertebrate hosts (31 birds, 6 mammals, 1 fish) was conducted and found a strong negative effect of parasites at the population-level (g = 0.49). Among different categories of response variables measured, parasites significantly affected clutch size, hatching success, young produced, and survival, but not overall breeding success. A meta-regression of effect sizes and life-history traits thought to determine parasite virulence indicate that average host life span may be the single most important driver for understanding the effects of parasites. Further studies, especially of long-lived hosts, are necessary to prove this hypothesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maggie J Watson
- School of Animal & Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Boorooma Street, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2642, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Heneberg P, Szép T, Iciek T, Literák I. Collyriclosis in Central European hirundines. Parasitol Res 2011; 109:699-706. [PMID: 21380577 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-011-2301-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2011] [Accepted: 02/17/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Cutaneous monostome trematode Collyriclum faba (Bremser in Schmalz 1831) is a digenetic flatworm with unknown life cycle. Here, we provide the first compelling evidence that despite low prevalence of the parasite, European hirundines are parasitized by this species. First host record for sand martin (Riparia riparia) and first European host record for barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is provided. The birds were captured and checked in ten European and Middle Eastern countries, stretching from Ireland to Bahrain, but only samples from Central Europe (Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland) were positive for C. faba. In total, 164,582 sand martins and 100,443 barn swallows were examined, and seven and two birds had cutaneous C. faba cysts. Even though over 40% of the birds captured were juveniles, all but one infected individuals were adults, equally both males and females. The prevalence of the parasite on Central European hirundines were calculated as one in 20,641 for sand martins and one in 4,484 for barn swallows. All the infected birds were captured in close vicinity of water bodies. All the cysts were found close to the vent or on the legs. No adverse effects on its bird hosts were observed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Petr Heneberg
- Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, Ruská 87, 100 00 Prague, Czech Republic.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
10
|
Smits JE. Are we enlightened about the immunocompetence of a severely inbred population of New Zealand robins? Challenges inherent in studies using immunological endpoints. Anim Conserv 2007. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-1795.2006.00092.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
|
11
|
Brown CR, Brazeal KR, Strickler SA, Brown MB. Feather mites are positively associated with daily survival in cliff swallows. CAN J ZOOL 2006. [DOI: 10.1139/z06-110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Feather mites (Acari: Astigmata) have been reported to be parasitic, commensal, and even mutualistic on the birds that serve as their hosts. We investigated whether there was a relationship between number of feather mites ( Pteronyssoides obscurus (Berlese, 1885)) on the wing and daily survival of cliff swallows ( Petrochelidon pyrrhonota (Vieillot, 1817)) during the breeding season at 12 nesting colonies in Nebraska in 2005. Survival of birds with known mite loads was monitored by mark–recapture, and survival models with and without a linear effect of mites were compared with the program MARK. For adult swallows, mites were positively associated with daily survival at six colonies, negatively associated at two colonies, and there was no relationship at four colonies. For recently fledged juveniles studied at two colonies, survival varied positively with mite load at one, while the other showed no relationship. Feather mites may provide direct benefits to cliff swallows by consuming old oil, pollen, fungi, and harmful bacteria on the feathers or by pre-empting resources used by deleterious fungi or bacteria. The data do not support a truly parasitic relationship in which mites are costly to cliff swallows; these particular feather mites may be beneficial mutualists.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Charles R. Brown
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK 74104, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| | - Kathleen R. Brazeal
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK 74104, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| | - Stephanie A. Strickler
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK 74104, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| | - Mary Bomberger Brown
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK 74104, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Pap PL, Szép T, Tökölyi J, Piper S. Habitat preference, escape behavior, and cues used by feather mites to avoid molting wing feathers. Behav Ecol 2005. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arj026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
|