Dynamics of a novel pathogen in an avian host: Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis in house finches

Dhondt, André A.; Altizer, Sonia; Cooch, Evan G.; Davis, Andrew K.; Dobson, Andrew; Driscoll, Melanie J. L.; Hartup, Barry K.; Hawley, Dana M.; Hochachka, Wesley M.; Hosseini, Parviez R.; Jennelle, Christopher S.; Kollias, George V.; Ley, David; Swarthout, Elliott C. H.; Sydenstricker, Keila V.

doi:10.1016/j.actatropica.2005.01.009

Cited by 99 publications

(59 citation statements)

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“…As well as increasing aggressive interactions (e.g., WojczulanisJakubas et al, 2015;Le Louarn et al, 2016; and presumably stress levels), these aggregations also provide ideal conditions under which infectious agents persist and spread. Perhaps the best-studied example is provided by the so-called House Finch Disease, a particularly virulent form of conjunctivitis spread by mycoplasmal bacteria (e.g., Dhondt et al, 2005). Within a few months of this disease's appearance among house finches Carpodacus mexicanus in the mid-1990s near Washington DC in the US it was reported by participants in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project FeederWatch.…”

Section: Feeding and Disease Transmissionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Garden Bird Feeding: Insights and Prospects from a North-South Comparison of This Global Urban Phenomenon

et al. 2017

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Intentional feeding of wild birds in gardens or backyards is one of the most popular forms of human-wildlife interactions in the developed world, especially in urban environments. The scale and intensity of bird feeding are enormous with mainly birdseed consumed daily by a range of species. This represents a subsidy to natural diets of birds attracted to the feeders and typically involves novel dietary components. Yet, relatively little is known about how it influences the behavior and ecology of the species visiting feeders. In part, research has been hampered by logistical difficulties of working in urban areas but studies have demonstrated powerful influences on behavior and phenology of avian breeding, the spread of disease, and the structure of avian communities. Here, we compare bird feeding between Northern and Southern Hemispheres as a means of exploring how similarities and differences in avian responses might inform knowledge of this global urban phenomenon. We start by tracing its origins to north-western Europe and how its expansion has occurred before considering how geographical differences in feeding practices and attitudes map onto bird feeding "on the ground." We explore some of the major emerging themes of recent interest, including why citizens are motivated to feed birds, whether birds become fully dependent on food supplements, the role of feeding in avian disease transmission, and how feeding changes urban bird communities. By proposing that scientists work in collaboration with the public providing food to birds, we pose key research questions that need to be answered urgently and suggest accompanying experimental approaches to do so. These approaches are essential if we are to improve our understanding of how bird feeding shapes the behavior, ecology, movements, and community structure of urban birds. Our hope is that through such citizen science we will be able to provide advice as to location-relevant practices that should maximize benefits to both urban biodiversity and human well-being, and minimize potential adverse impacts. We demonstrate that bird feeding is important for urban biodiversity conservation, community engagement, and in establishing personal connections with nature and their associated benefits.

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Section: Feeding and Disease Transmissionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Garden Bird Feeding: Insights and Prospects from a North-South Comparison of This Global Urban Phenomenon

et al. 2017

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“…Several are potential zoonotics, among them Mycobacterium avium, which causes avian tuberculosis, Vibrio cholerae, the cause of cholera, and Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease (Hubalek, 2004). Mycoplasma gallisepticum, the cause of several outbreaks of eye lesions in house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus), has been widely studied since its initial outbreak in 1993 in the eastern United States (Dhondt et al, 2005;Hawley et al, 2006;Hochachka and Dhondt, 2000;Hosseini et al, 2006). Fungal pathogens include the yeast-like fungi Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis and the agent of aspergillosis Aspergillus fumigatus (Hubalek, 2004).…”

Section: Bacteria and Fungimentioning

confidence: 99%

Deforestation and avian infectious diseases

Sehgal

2010

Journal of Experimental Biology

108

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SummaryIn this time of unprecedented global change, infectious diseases will impact humans and wildlife in novel and unknown ways. Climate change, the introduction of invasive species, urbanization, agricultural practices and the loss of biodiversity have all been implicated in increasing the spread of infectious pathogens. In many regards, deforestation supersedes these other global events in terms of its immediate potential global effects in both tropical and temperate regions. The effects of deforestation on the spread of pathogens in birds are largely unknown. Birds harbor many of the same types of pathogens as humans and in addition can spread infectious agents to humans and other wildlife. It is thought that avifauna have gone extinct due to infectious diseases and many are presently threatened, especially endemic island birds. It is clear that habitat degradation can pose a direct threat to many bird species but it is uncertain how these alterations will affect disease transmission and susceptibility to disease. The migration and dispersal of birds can also change with habitat degradation, and thus expose populations to novel pathogens. Some recent work has shown that the results of landscape transformation can have confounding effects on avian malaria, other haemosporidian parasites and viruses. Now with advances in many technologies, including mathematical and computer modeling, genomics and satellite tracking, scientists have tools to further research the disease ecology of deforestation. This research will be imperative to help predict and prevent outbreaks that could affect avifauna, humans and other wildlife worldwide.Key words: deforestation, birds, infectious diseases, disease ecology, global change. THE JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY956 Brownstein et al., 2005; Killilea et al., 2008), and cutaneous leishmaniasis is increasing with deforestation in Costa Rica (Chaves et al., 2008). Deforestation has also been associated with the increased emergence of viral pathogens, such as SARS, Ebola and other viruses of bats (Field, 2009; Leroy et al., 2005; Looi and Chua, 2007). In addition, deforestation can indirectly result in increased human contact with wildlife, increasing the exposure to zoonoses (Wolfe et al., 2005;Wolfe et al., 2007). For example, it is now clear that human/chimpanzee contacts led to the HIV pandemic (Keele et al., 2006; Keele et al., 2009), and may have provided the first transmission of Falciparum malaria (Rich et al., 2009).Birds are affected by viral, bacterial, parasitic and fungal infectious pathogens, and can also act as reservoirs of numerous zoonotic pathogens (Davis, 1971;Hubalek, 2004;Thomas and Hunter, 2007). It is likely that the direct and indirect effects of deforestation could affect the transmission of all the four major classes of avian pathogens. Viruses Avian influenzaThe most topical virus of birds is the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1. Avian influenza viruses reside in wild aquatic birds; they are the natural reservoir for all influenza A viruses (Ol...

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“…Such disease emergence usually occurs via the introduction of a novel pathogen into a naive population, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality [1,3]. In wild birds, novel bacterial and viral pathogens have been shown to cause large-scale disease outbreaks [4][5][6], but few studies have evaluated the longer term effects of disease emergence, such as the extent of population declines [5] and recovery [7], or the effects on species ecology and behaviour [8,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The emergence and spread of finch trichomonosis in the British Isles

Lawson

Robinson

Colvile

et al. 2012

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Finch trichomonosis, caused by the protozoal parasite Trichomonas gallinae, was first recognized as an emerging infectious disease of British passerines in 2005. The first year of seasonal epidemic mortality occurred in 2006 with significant declines of greenfinch Carduelis chloris and chaffinch Fringilla coelebs populations. Here, we demonstrate that large-scale mortality, principally of greenfinch, continued in subsequent years, 2007 -2009, with a shifting geographical distribution across the British Isles over time. Consequent to the emergence of finch trichomonosis, the breeding greenfinch population in Great Britain has declined from ca 4.3 million to ca 2.8 million birds and the maximum mean number of greenfinches (a proxy for flock size) visiting gardens has declined by 50 per cent. The annual rate of decline of the breeding greenfinch population within England has exceeded 7 per cent since the initial epidemic. Although initially chaffinch populations were regionally diminished by the disease, this has not continued. Retrospective analyses of disease surveillance data showed a rapid, widespread emergence of finch trichomonosis across Great Britain in 2005 and we hypothesize that the disease emerged by T. gallinae jumping from columbiforms to passeriforms. Further investigation is required to determine the continuing impact of finch trichomonosis and to develop our understanding of how protozoal diseases jump host species.

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Dynamics of a novel pathogen in an avian host: Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis in house finches

Cited by 99 publications

References 50 publications

Garden Bird Feeding: Insights and Prospects from a North-South Comparison of This Global Urban Phenomenon

Garden Bird Feeding: Insights and Prospects from a North-South Comparison of This Global Urban Phenomenon

Deforestation and avian infectious diseases

The emergence and spread of finch trichomonosis in the British Isles

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