Blood parasites prevalence of migrating passerines increases over the spring passage period
Emmenegger, T. LU
; Bauer, S.
; Hahn, S.
; Müller, S.B.
; Spina, F.
and Jenni, L.
(2018)
In Journal of Zoology
306(1).
p.23-27
- Abstract
Whether long-distance animal migration facilitates or hampers pathogen transmission depends on how infections affect the routes and timing of migrating hosts. If an infection directly or indirectly impedes migratory flight capacity, infected individuals lag behind their uninfected conspecifics. Although such temporal segregation can limit parasite transmission and thus play an important role for host–parasite interactions, empirical evidence remains scarce. Here, we investigated haemosporidians – blood parasites commonly infecting birds – in four passerine species on spring passage and linked infection status to passage date. As a step towards identifying the mechanisms behind infection-related delays, we incorporated sets of... (More)
Whether long-distance animal migration facilitates or hampers pathogen transmission depends on how infections affect the routes and timing of migrating hosts. If an infection directly or indirectly impedes migratory flight capacity, infected individuals lag behind their uninfected conspecifics. Although such temporal segregation can limit parasite transmission and thus play an important role for host–parasite interactions, empirical evidence remains scarce. Here, we investigated haemosporidians – blood parasites commonly infecting birds – in four passerine species on spring passage and linked infection status to passage date. As a step towards identifying the mechanisms behind infection-related delays, we incorporated sets of individual, energetic, haematological and biometric variables into the analysis. Haemosporidian prevalence virtually doubled between birds sampled at the beginning of the passage period with those sampled 1 month later. This indicates that infected individuals arrived later than uninfected individuals. Both the average prevalence and its increase over time varied among host species. In addition, the leucocyte counts of infected birds were elevated, suggesting that immune response may require resources which could otherwise be allocated to migratory flights. However, infection status was not related to any other variable such as body mass, energy stores, sex, age and feather length. Yet regardless of the underlying mechanisms, infection-related differential timing might influence transmission and affect pathogen prevalence in wildlife populations year-round.
(Less)
- author
- Emmenegger, T.
LU
; Bauer, S.
; Hahn, S.
; Müller, S.B.
; Spina, F.
and Jenni, L.
- publishing date
- 2018-09
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- keywords
- blood parasites, haemosporida, immune response, migration timing, parasite transmission, passerines, spring passage, stopover
- in
- Journal of Zoology
- volume
- 306
- issue
- 1
- pages
- 23 - 27
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85052695666
- ISSN
- 0952-8369
- DOI
- 10.1111/jzo.12565
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- Funding Information: This study was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation with the project 31003A_160265 granted to SB and SH. The article is the Publication number 61 of the ‘Progetto Piccole Isole’ of ISPRA. We thank the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute for providing infrastructure, Susanne Jenni-Eiermann for organizing the laboratory work and Fr€anzi Korner-Nievergelt for statistical feedback. Publisher Copyright: © 2018 The Zoological Society of London
- id
- a03d48b9-009d-473c-bfe4-8fde92bf3284
- date added to LUP
- 2021-10-29 11:04:09
- date last changed
- 2022-04-27 05:27:10
@article{a03d48b9-009d-473c-bfe4-8fde92bf3284,
abstract = {{<p>Whether long-distance animal migration facilitates or hampers pathogen transmission depends on how infections affect the routes and timing of migrating hosts. If an infection directly or indirectly impedes migratory flight capacity, infected individuals lag behind their uninfected conspecifics. Although such temporal segregation can limit parasite transmission and thus play an important role for host–parasite interactions, empirical evidence remains scarce. Here, we investigated haemosporidians – blood parasites commonly infecting birds – in four passerine species on spring passage and linked infection status to passage date. As a step towards identifying the mechanisms behind infection-related delays, we incorporated sets of individual, energetic, haematological and biometric variables into the analysis. Haemosporidian prevalence virtually doubled between birds sampled at the beginning of the passage period with those sampled 1 month later. This indicates that infected individuals arrived later than uninfected individuals. Both the average prevalence and its increase over time varied among host species. In addition, the leucocyte counts of infected birds were elevated, suggesting that immune response may require resources which could otherwise be allocated to migratory flights. However, infection status was not related to any other variable such as body mass, energy stores, sex, age and feather length. Yet regardless of the underlying mechanisms, infection-related differential timing might influence transmission and affect pathogen prevalence in wildlife populations year-round.</p>}},
author = {{Emmenegger, T. and Bauer, S. and Hahn, S. and Müller, S.B. and Spina, F. and Jenni, L.}},
issn = {{0952-8369}},
keywords = {{blood parasites; haemosporida; immune response; migration timing; parasite transmission; passerines; spring passage; stopover}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{23--27}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
series = {{Journal of Zoology}},
title = {{Blood parasites prevalence of migrating passerines increases over the spring passage period}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jzo.12565}},
doi = {{10.1111/jzo.12565}},
volume = {{306}},
year = {{2018}},
}