Effect of Haemoproteus belopolskyi (Haemosporida: Haemoproteidae) on Body Mass of the Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla

Abstract

The effect of initial Haemoproteus belopolskyi infection on the weight of its natural host, the blackcap Sylvia atricapilla, was investigated. Fourteen blackcap nestlings were taken at the age of 4-5 days and raised by hand in the laboratory. They were free of blood parasites. Seven 20- to 21-day-old nestlings were infected experimentally by inoculation in their pectoral muscle with approximately 45 sporozoites, which had developed in the experimentally infected biting midge Culicoides impunctatus. Seven nestlings were used as negative controls. Parasitemia developed in 6 inoculated nestlings, with a prepatent period of 11-12 days. No infections were detected in the controls during this study. The weight of experimentally infected and control birds was measured 2 days before parasitemia became patent and for a 45-day period after patency. Blood smears were prepared from all birds on the days when they were weighed. When compared with controls, there was a significant weight loss of experimentally infected blackcaps during 6 days after the decline of parasitemia at 10-16 days of patency, indicating a short-term influence of the infection on the birds' body mass. Clinical symptoms of the infection were not recorded. All birds from both groups survived until the end of the experiment.

Biogeographical patterns and co-occurrence of pathogenic infection across island populations of Berthelot’s pipit (Anthus berthelotii)

“…Research into the impact of avian diseases on host body condition has generally shown that, as one may expect, infected individuals present poorer body conditions than uninfected individuals (Marzal et al 2008;Valkiunas et al 2006). However, in our study, we found the opposite: infected individuals had better body conditions than uninfected individuals.…”

“…Alternatively, it may be that some of the pox-like lesions were caused by a different, unknown pathogen, although this seems highly unlikely given the similarity in appearance to the pox lesions observed in pipits by ourselves and others (Smits et al 2005). Similarly, avian malaria can remain in bird blood at chronic levels for long periods of time after an initial, acute infection (Atkinson et al 2001;Kilpatrick et al 2006;Valkiunas 2005). If infection with pox and malaria does kill low-quality individuals, this implies that infection with the pathogens studied here confers severe fitness costs to the hosts.…”

Recent Advances in Studies on Avian Malaria Parasites

“…By mean of an intraperitoneally inoculation of 3.000 -4.000 sporozoites of H. danilewsky obtained from Culicoides edeni (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), they showed sublethal pathologic changes in the liver, lung and spleen of birds. Also, Valkiūnas et al (2006a) infected nestling blackcaps Sylvia atricapilla by inoculation in their pectoral muscle with 45 sporozoites of Haemoproteus belopolskyi developed in the experimentally infected biting midge Culicoides impunctatus. When compared with controls, they showed that experimentally infected birds suffered from a significant weight loss, indicating a short-term influence of the infection on the birds' body mass.…”

Haemosporidian infections affect antioxidant defences in great tits Parus major but are not related to exposure to aerial pollutants

“…They can also affect other life history traits such as decrease the breeding success of hosts (Merino et al 2000;Marzal et al 2005;Valkiunas, 2005;Asghar et al 2015). Reported effects of their infection on health status in the wild include decrease in body mass and condition (Figuerola et al 1999;Garvin et al 2006;Valkiunas et al 2006;Norte et al 2009), decrease in total plasma proteins (Norte et al 2009), decrease in haemoglobin levels (Norte et al 2009;Krams et al 2013), increase in total white blood cell (WBC) counts (Figuerola et al 1999;Norte et al 2009), modification of the leucocyte profiles (Ots and Hõrak, 1998;Fokidis et al 2008;Norte et al 2009), decrease in T-cell-mediated response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA response; Navarro et al 2003) and increase in circulating immunoglobulin levels (Ots & Hõrak, 1998). However, the magnitude of those effects depends on the degree of co-evolution between the parasite and host and is also linked to environmental conditions (Lindström et al 2005).…”