Effects of stress exposure in captivity on physiology and infection in avian hosts: no evidence of increased Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. infectivity to vector ticks

Norte, Ana Cláudia; Araújo, Paulo; Augusto, Lia Giraldo da Silva; Guímaro, Hugo; Santos, Sofia F.; Lopes, Ricardo; Núncio, Maria Sofia; Ramos, Jaime A.; Carvalho, Isabel Lopes de

doi:10.1007/s00248-021-01738-3

Cited by 1 publication

(5 citation statements)

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“…Likewise, relapses in both avian borreliosis and hemosporidiosis occur in spring in European birds, presumably due to hormonal and immunological responses to migration [ 32 , 33 ]. These results, but also the results of other studies [ 9 ], suggest that while borreliae and apicomplexans routinely coinfect their hosts, the interactions between ticks, parasites and hosts can vary temporally [ 24 ].…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…Even though ticks, borreliae and haemosporidians are common avian parasites, covariations between these parasites did not receive much attention. The results of previous studies did not show any association between tick and/or Borrelia prevalences with respect to hosts’ haemosporidian infection status [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Although these results may indicate that the parasites occur independently within hosts, one of the latter studies detected a tendency for a higher probability of haemosporidian infection in birds infected with borreliae [ 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…The results of previous studies did not show any association between tick and/or Borrelia prevalences with respect to hosts’ haemosporidian infection status [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Although these results may indicate that the parasites occur independently within hosts, one of the latter studies detected a tendency for a higher probability of haemosporidian infection in birds infected with borreliae [ 9 ]. In contrast to the above studies, multiple studies have demonstrated that intracellular apicomplexan and intracellular bacterial parasites routinely covary.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…Previously, three studies examined the associations between tick loads and/or tick infection with Borrelia spirochetes and haemosporidian infection in avian hosts [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. None of the latter studies found a clear link between bird-feeding ticks, tick-borne Borrelia and haemosporidians, although Eurasian blackbirds infected with Borrelia tended to have a higher probability of haemosporidian infection in a captivity study [ 9 ]. Parasite associations were examined differently in our study compared to the previous two field studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Importantly, birds are common hosts of diverse parasite communities, including haemosporidians [ 6 ]. Even though different parasites routinely covary within hosts [ 7 ], only a few studies examined whether tick infestation and/or Borrelia prevalences vary with the hosts’ haemosporidian infection status [ 8 , 9 , 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Infection Rate of Bird-Feeding Ixodes ricinus Ticks with Borrelia garinii and B. valaisiana Varies with Host Haemosporidian Infection Status

2022

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Background: Birds are known to maintain and spread human pathogenic borreliae, but they are common hosts of diverse parasite communities, notably haemosporidians. Only a few studies examined whether tick infestation and/or Borrelia prevalences vary with hosts’ haemosporidian infection status. Methods: Here, we study whether Ixodes ricinus infestation rates and Borrelia infection rates in bird-feeding ticks vary according to haemosporidian infection status in a community of free-living avian tick hosts. Results: Birds of six avian species harbored the majority of ticks. Both the tick infestation prevalence and the intensity peaked during spring and summer, but while bird-feeding nymphs prevailed in spring, bird-feeding larvae dominated in summer. Almost half of the bird-feeding ticks were found to be positive for B. burgdorferi s.l. Although the majority of infections involved bird-associated B. garinii and B. valaisiana, B. garinii appears to be the dominant Borrelia strain circulating in locally breeding avian species. We detected a negative link between the hosts’ haemosporidian infection status and the Borrelia infection rate of bird-feeding ticks, but the association was dependent on the host’s age. Conclusions: Our results on tick infestation intensity support the idea that more immunologically vulnerable hosts harbor more ticks but suggest that different mechanisms may be responsible for tick infestation rates among immunologically naïve and experienced avian hosts. The results on Borrelia infection rates in bird-feeding ticks are consistent with studies revealing that intracellular parasites, such as haemosporidians, can benefit from the host immune system prioritizing immune responses against extracellular parasites at the expense of immune responses against intracellular parasites. The findings of our study urge for a more robust design of parasitological studies to understand the ecology of interactions among hosts and their parasites.

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