Parasite mediated mortality and host immune response explain age-related differences in blood parasitism in birds

An important pattern in host-parasite assem- blages is a higher intensity of parasites in juveniles than in adults, but the reasons for these differences remain obscure. Three non-mutually exclusive hypotheses have been proposed: (1) heavily parasitized juveniles die before being recruited into the...

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Authors: Sol, Daniel, Jovani, Roger, Torres, Jordi
Format: article
Publication Date:2003
Country:España
Institution:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repository:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/36866
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/36866
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Columba livia
Haematozoa
Haemoproteus columbae
Parasite-host interaction
Survival selection
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spelling Parasite mediated mortality and host immune response explain age-related differences in blood parasitism in birdsSol, DanielJovani, RogerTorres, JordiColumba liviaHaematozoaHaemoproteus columbaeParasite-host interactionSurvival selectionAn important pattern in host-parasite assem- blages is a higher intensity of parasites in juveniles than in adults, but the reasons for these differences remain obscure. Three non-mutually exclusive hypotheses have been proposed: (1) heavily parasitized juveniles die before being recruited into the adult population (‘selec- tion’ hypothesis); (2) the development of an acquired immunity by the host in front of the parasite reduces the intensity of the parasite in adult hosts (‘immunity’ hypothesis); and (3) differences in behavior makes adults less exposed to the parasite than juveniles (‘vector exposure’ hypothesis). Having rejected the ‘vector expo- sure’ hypothesis in a previous study, here we tested the ‘selection’ and ‘immunity’ hypotheses in feral pigeons (Columba livia) infected by the blood parasite Haemo- proteus columbae. In agreement with the ‘selection’ hypothesis, young (but not adult) pigeons that were highly parasitized had a lower probability of surviving until adulthood, independent of their body condition. However, selection was not strong enough to account for the observed differences in parasite intensity between age- classes, and after selection parasite intensity of survivors still remained 85% higher in juveniles than in adults. In contrast, the ‘immunity’ hypothesis offered a greater explanatory power. The intensity of blood parasites in young pigeons, but not in adults, decreased over time so dramatically that by the time they had become adults their intensities were indistinguishable from that typically seen in adults. Therefore, while selection against highly parasitized juveniles can contribute to some extent to a reduction in parasitism seen in the adult population, age- specific blood parasitism in feral pigeons is best explained as a transitory phase just before the host develops an effective immune responsePeer reviewedSpringer Nature201120112003info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501http://hdl.handle.net/10261/36866reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSICinstname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)Ingléshttp://www.springerlink.com/content/22a2416p486hxhb2/fulltext.pdfinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:digital.csic.es:10261/368662026-05-22T06:33:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Parasite mediated mortality and host immune response explain age-related differences in blood parasitism in birds
title Parasite mediated mortality and host immune response explain age-related differences in blood parasitism in birds
spellingShingle Parasite mediated mortality and host immune response explain age-related differences in blood parasitism in birds
Sol, Daniel
Columba livia
Haematozoa
Haemoproteus columbae
Parasite-host interaction
Survival selection
title_short Parasite mediated mortality and host immune response explain age-related differences in blood parasitism in birds
title_full Parasite mediated mortality and host immune response explain age-related differences in blood parasitism in birds
title_fullStr Parasite mediated mortality and host immune response explain age-related differences in blood parasitism in birds
title_full_unstemmed Parasite mediated mortality and host immune response explain age-related differences in blood parasitism in birds
title_sort Parasite mediated mortality and host immune response explain age-related differences in blood parasitism in birds
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Sol, Daniel
Jovani, Roger
Torres, Jordi
author Sol, Daniel
author_facet Sol, Daniel
Jovani, Roger
Torres, Jordi
author_role author
author2 Jovani, Roger
Torres, Jordi
author2_role author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Columba livia
Haematozoa
Haemoproteus columbae
Parasite-host interaction
Survival selection
topic Columba livia
Haematozoa
Haemoproteus columbae
Parasite-host interaction
Survival selection
description An important pattern in host-parasite assem- blages is a higher intensity of parasites in juveniles than in adults, but the reasons for these differences remain obscure. Three non-mutually exclusive hypotheses have been proposed: (1) heavily parasitized juveniles die before being recruited into the adult population (‘selec- tion’ hypothesis); (2) the development of an acquired immunity by the host in front of the parasite reduces the intensity of the parasite in adult hosts (‘immunity’ hypothesis); and (3) differences in behavior makes adults less exposed to the parasite than juveniles (‘vector exposure’ hypothesis). Having rejected the ‘vector expo- sure’ hypothesis in a previous study, here we tested the ‘selection’ and ‘immunity’ hypotheses in feral pigeons (Columba livia) infected by the blood parasite Haemo- proteus columbae. In agreement with the ‘selection’ hypothesis, young (but not adult) pigeons that were highly parasitized had a lower probability of surviving until adulthood, independent of their body condition. However, selection was not strong enough to account for the observed differences in parasite intensity between age- classes, and after selection parasite intensity of survivors still remained 85% higher in juveniles than in adults. In contrast, the ‘immunity’ hypothesis offered a greater explanatory power. The intensity of blood parasites in young pigeons, but not in adults, decreased over time so dramatically that by the time they had become adults their intensities were indistinguishable from that typically seen in adults. Therefore, while selection against highly parasitized juveniles can contribute to some extent to a reduction in parasitism seen in the adult population, age- specific blood parasitism in feral pigeons is best explained as a transitory phase just before the host develops an effective immune response
publishDate 2003
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2003
2011
2011
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10261/36866
url http://hdl.handle.net/10261/36866
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv http://www.springerlink.com/content/22a2416p486hxhb2/fulltext.pdf
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer Nature
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer Nature
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
instname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
instname_str Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
reponame_str DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
collection DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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