Blood Parasites in Sympatric Vultures: Role of Nesting Habits and Effects on Body Condition
Avian haemosporidians are a common and widespread group of vector-borne parasitescapable of infecting most bird species around the world. They can negatively affect host conditionand fitness. Vultures are assumed to have a very low prevalence of these blood parasites, likelydue to their strong immun...
| Autores: | , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2021 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/240564 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/240564 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Avian malaria Vultures Leucocytozoon Haemoproteus Plasmodium Scavengers Transmission Anthropogenic effects Immunity Growth time Nesting sites |
| Sumario: | Avian haemosporidians are a common and widespread group of vector-borne parasitescapable of infecting most bird species around the world. They can negatively affect host conditionand fitness. Vultures are assumed to have a very low prevalence of these blood parasites, likelydue to their strong immunity; however, factors contributing to variation in host exposure andsusceptibility to haemosporidians are complex, and supporting evidence is still very limited. Weanalyzed blood samples collected from nestlings of three vulture species in Spain over 18 years,and used updated nested-PCR protocols capable of detecting all haesmosporidian cytochrome blineages typical for diurnal birds of prey (Accipitriformes). Similarly to previous studies, we foundlow haemosporidian prevalence in cliff-breeding species, withLeucocytozoonas the only representedblood parasite genus: 3.1% in griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) (n= 128) and 5.3% in Egyptian vultures(Neophron percnopterus) (n= 114). In contrast, the tree-breeding cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus)had a substantially higher prevalence: 10.3% (n= 146). By far the most common lineage in Spanishscavenging raptors was theLeucocytozoonlineage CIAE02. No effects of nestling age and sex, ortemporal trends in prevalence were found, but an effect of nest habitat (tree-nest vs. cliff-nest) wasfound in the griffon vulture. These patterns may be explained by a preference of vectors to foragein and around trees rather than on cliffs and wide open spaces. We found an apparent detrimentaleffect of haemosporidians on body mass of nestling cinereous vultures. Further research is needed toevaluate the pathogenicity of each haemosporidian lineage and their interaction with the immunesystem of nestlings, especially if compromised due to pollution with pharmaceuticals and infectionby bacterial and mycotic pathogens. |
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