Arbovirus infection is a major determinant of fitness in House Sparrows (<i>Passer domesticus</i>) that invade Cliff Swallow (<i>Petrochelidon pyrrhonota</i>) colonies

O’Brien, Valerie; Brown, Charles R.

doi:10.1525/auk.2012.12036

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Swallow bugs increase in larger cliff swallow colonies (Brown and Brown , ), and this leads to higher BCRV prevalence at sites with more cliff swallows and/or house sparrows (Brown et al , Moore et al , O'Brien and Brown ). House sparrows are particularly effective amplifiers of BCRV, and cliff swallow colony sites with many house sparrows represent spatially predictable foci for BCRV epizootics (O'Brien et al , O'Brien and Brown ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predation by ants controls swallow bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae: Oeciacus vicarius ) infestations

Brown

Page

Robison

et al. 2015

Journal of Vector Ecology

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The swallow bug (Oeciacus vicarius) is the only known vector for Buggy Creek virus (BCRV), an alphavirus that circulates in cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in North America. We discovered ants (Crematogaster lineolata and Formica spp.) preying on swallow bugs at cliff swallow colonies in western Nebraska, U.S.A. Ants reduced the numbers of visible bugs on active swallow nests by 74-90%, relative to nests in the same colony without ants. Ant predation on bugs had no effect on the reproductive success of cliff swallows inhabiting the nests where ants foraged. Ants represent an effective and presumably benign way of controlling swallow bugs at nests in some colonies. They may constitute an alternative to insecticide use at sites where ecologists wish to remove the effects of swallow bugs on cliff swallows or house sparrows. By reducing bug numbers, ant presence may also lessen BCRV transmission at the spatial foci (bird colony sites) where epizootics occur. The effect of ants on swallow bugs should be accounted for in studying variation among sites in vector abundance.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predation by ants controls swallow bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae: Oeciacus vicarius ) infestations

Brown

Page

Robison

et al. 2015

Journal of Vector Ecology

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“…In our study BCRV-infection clearly altered a typically well-preserved and adaptive developmental program of skeletal and wing growth in nestlings and this altered growth would likely have negative ecological consequences for any nestlings surviving infection in the wild. Indeed, field studies of natural BCRV infections in house sparrow nestlings have reported the detrimental impacts of BCRV on survival and fledgling success [ 17 , 70 , 39 ]. Specifically, house sparrow nestlings found infected with BCRV at a young age (less than 12 days of age) often exhibit higher viremia, higher mortality, and reduced fledging success compared to those nestlings infected at older ages [ 71 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…BCRV infection in nestling house sparrows appears to have broad ecological consequences. Among field-sampled nestling house sparrows tested at 4–6 days of age, only 12.8% that were positive for BCRV ultimately fledged, versus 50.5% of those that were negative [ 39 ]. However, the mechanism by which BCRV infection impairs fledging success is unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High costs of infection: Alphavirus infection reduces digestive function and bone and feather growth in nestling house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

Fassbinder-Orth¹,

Killpack²,

Goto³

et al. 2018

PLoS ONE

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Increasingly, ecoimmunology studies aim to use relevant pathogen exposure to examine the impacts of infection on physiological processes in wild animals. Alphaviruses are arthropod-borne, single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) viruses (“arboviruses”) responsible for millions of cases of human illnesses each year. Buggy Creek virus (BCRV) is a unique alphavirus that is transmitted by a cimicid insect, the swallow bug, and is amplified in two avian species: the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) and the cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota). BCRV, like many alphaviruses, exhibits age-dependent susceptibility where the young are most susceptible to developing disease and exhibit a high mortality rate. However, alphavirus disease etiology in nestling birds is unknown. In this study, we infected nestling house sparrows with Buggy Creek virus and measured virological, pathological, growth, and digestive parameters following infection. Buggy Creek virus caused severe encephalitis in all infected nestlings, and the peak viral concentration in brain tissue was over 34 times greater than any other tissue. Growth, tissue development, and digestive function were all significantly impaired during BCRV infection. However, based on histopathological analysis performed, this impairment does not appear to be the result of direct tissue damage by the virus, but likely caused by encephalitis and neuronal invasion and impairment of the central nervous system. This is the first study to examine the course of alphavirus diseases in nestling birds and these results will improve our understanding of age-dependent infections of alphaviruses in vertebrate hosts.

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Arboviruses Pathogenic for Domestic and Wild Animals

Hubálek

Rudolf

Nowotny

2014

Advances in Virus Research

151

139

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Arbovirus infection is a major determinant of fitness in House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) that invade Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) colonies

Cited by 5 publications

References 49 publications

Predation by ants controls swallow bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae: Oeciacus vicarius ) infestations

Predation by ants controls swallow bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae: Oeciacus vicarius ) infestations

High costs of infection: Alphavirus infection reduces digestive function and bone and feather growth in nestling house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

Arboviruses Pathogenic for Domestic and Wild Animals

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