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Blood parasites in noddies and boobies from Brazilian offshore islands – differences between species and influence of nesting habitat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2013

PETRA QUILLFELDT ,
JAVIER MARTÍNEZ ,
LEANDRO BUGONI ,
PATRÍCIA L. MANCINI  and
SANTIAGO MERINO
PETRA QUILLFELDT*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Ecology and Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring, 35392 Giessen, Germany
JAVIER MARTÍNEZ
Affiliation:
Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871, Madrid, Spain
LEANDRO BUGONI
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Instituto de Ciências Biológicas and Instituto de Oceanografia, Campus Carreiros, CP 474, CEP 96203-900, Rio Grande, RS, Brasil
PATRÍCIA L. MANCINI
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Instituto de Ciências Biológicas and Instituto de Oceanografia, Campus Carreiros, CP 474, CEP 96203-900, Rio Grande, RS, Brasil
SANTIAGO MERINO
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, Spain
*
* Corresponding author. Department of Animal Ecology and Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring, 35392 Giessen, Germany. E-mail: petra.quillfeldt@bio.uni-giessen.de
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Summary

Seabirds are often free from blood parasites, and a recent review suggested that phylogenetic, ecological and life-history parameters can determine the prevalence of blood parasites in seabirds. However, there is a lack of data available from many seabird groups, and a larger database is needed to understand prevalence patterns of blood parasites. We used a molecular screening approach to detect parasites of the genera Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, Leucocytozoon and Babesia in five species of two genera of seabirds that breed on Atlantic Ocean islands off Brazil. The observed patterns differed between the two bird genera. Like other Laridae, brown noddy, Anous stolidus adults were infected with Haemoproteus with low prevalence. Masked boobies, Sula dactylatra and brown boobies, Sula leucogaster were infected with Babesia. Of the latter, mainly juveniles were infected. In all species, intensity of infection (i.e. number of infected erythrocytes) was so low that parasites remained undetected in blood smears. This may explain the absence of major effects on the body condition of birds, although infected juvenile masked boobies were lighter than juveniles that were not infected with Babesia. Two tree-nesting species; black noddy, Anous minutus and red-footed booby, Sula sula did not have blood parasites, suggesting that tree-nesting may reduce the exposure to arthropod vectors compared with ground nesting in these species.

Keywords

avian haematozoablood parasiteshaemoparasitesinnate immunityseabirds
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 141 , Issue 3 , March 2014 , pp. 399 - 410
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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