Environmental, geographical and time‐related impacts on avian malaria infections in native and introduced populations of house sparrows (<i>Passer domesticus</i>), a globally invasive species

Ferraguti, Martina; Magallanes, Sergio; Jiménez‐Peñuela, Jéssica; Puente, Josué Martínez de la; García‐Longoria, Luz; Figuerola, Jordi; Muriel, Jaime; Albayrak, Tamer; Bensch, Staffan; Bonneaud, Camille; Clarke, Rohan H.; Czirják, Gábor Á.; Dimitrov, Dimitar; Espinoza, Kathya; Ewen, John G.; Ishtiaq, Farah; Flores‐Saavedra, Wendy; Garamszegi, László Zsolt; Hellgren, Olof; Hořáková, Dita; Huyvaert, Kathryn P.; Jensen, Henrik; Križanauskienė, Asta; Lima, Marcos Robalinho; Lujan‐Vega, Charlene; Magnussen, Eyðfinn; Martin, Lynn B.; Matson, Kevin D.; Møller, Anders Pape; Munclinger, Pavel; Palinauskas, Vaidas; Pap, Péter L.; Pérez‐Tris, Javier; Renner, Swen C.; Ricklefs, Robert E.; Scebba, Sergio; Sehgal, Ravinder N. M.; Soler, Manuel; Szöllősi, Eszter; Valkiūnas, Gediminas; Westerdahl, Helena; Zehtindjiev, Pavel; Marzal, Alfonso

doi:10.1111/geb.13651

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 84 publications

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“…Physical changes from urban-to-rural environments, such as alterations in resource availability, or increasing impervious surfaces can in uence organismal responses 14,15 . Species reactions to urbanization are species-speci c and are mediated by factors like temperature variation, noise, light, air pollution [16][17][18] , or variation in parasite and predator densities 16, [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] . For instance, urban birds tend to breed earlier than those in rural areas, possibly due to higher urban temperatures, leading to mismatches between insect prey availability and bird nesting periods 14,16 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Haemosporidians mediate nestlings' life-history along an urban-to-rural gradient

Neumann,

Suarez-Rubio,

Renner

2024

Preprint

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Urban areas, i.e. dense housing and reduced green spaces, can significantly impact avian health, through altering land use and increasing biotic and abiotic stress. This study assessed the influence of urbanization on Haemosporidian infections, vectors, immune response, and body condition in Parus major nestlings, across four classes of urbanization along an urban-to-rural gradient in Vienna, Austria. Contrary to our expectations, vector abundance remained largely consistent across the gradient, while urban environmental factors, particularly impervious surfaces, significantly influenced Haemosporidian intensity. We found that nestlings in more urbanized areas exhibited higher parasite intensities and altered immune responses, as evidenced by variations in the heterophil to lymphocyte ratio and leucocyte counts. Moreover, nestlings from smaller clutches faced higher infection risks, suggesting increased probabilities to precept infections. Urbanization negatively impacted nestling body condition, with a decrease in fat deposits from forested to highly urbanized areas. Our findings highlight the complex interplay between urbanization, vector-borne parasite transmission, and host immune response, emphasizing the need for comprehensive urban planning. Understanding how urbanization affects bird immunity and parasite infections is critical for adapting urban landscapes for wildlife health and ecosystem integrity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Haemosporidians mediate nestlings' life-history along an urban-to-rural gradient

Neumann,

Suarez-Rubio,

Renner

2024

Preprint

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Landscape and mosquito community impact the avian Plasmodium infection in Culex pipiens

Ferraguti,

Martínez-de la Puente,

Ruiz

et al. 2024

iScience

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Prevalence and diversity of avian malaria parasites in illegally traded white‐winged parakeets in Peruvian Amazonas

Marzal,

Magallanes,

Salas‐Rengifo

et al. 2023

Animal Conservation

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Illegal or poorly regulated wildlife trade may enhance parasite spread worldwide, leading to pathogen outbreaks and the emergence of diseases affecting native wildlife, domestic animals and humans. The order Psittaciformes has the largest proportion of endangered species among all birds worldwide and is one of the most trafficked taxa in the pet trade. However, despite the large number of parrot species commercialized worldwide, the influence of illegally traded wild birds on the introduction of exotic pathogens is still poorly investigated. Here we molecularly examined the prevalence and genetic diversity of haemosporidian parasites in illegally traded white‐winged parakeets (Brotogeris versicolurus), one of the most trafficked parrots in South America. We found that 18.5% of parakeets harboured Plasmodium relictum GRW04, a highly invasive malaria parasite provoking population decline and even extinctions in native avifauna when established outside its natural range. We also showed that malaria infected birds have lower body condition than uninfected parakeets, revealing the negative effects of malaria on their avian hosts. These outcomes highlight the risk of malaria spill over and disease outbreak in illegally traded wildlife. Our results also reveal epidemiological key concepts in disease transmission, such as the role of poorly studied parrot species as natural reservoir hosts of haemosporidians. These findings stress the importance of enforcing health control regulations and trade policies to fight wildlife trafficking effectively.

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Environmental, geographical and time‐related impacts on avian malaria infections in native and introduced populations of house sparrows (Passer domesticus), a globally invasive species

Cited by 4 publications

References 84 publications

Haemosporidians mediate nestlings' life-history along an urban-to-rural gradient

Haemosporidians mediate nestlings' life-history along an urban-to-rural gradient

Landscape and mosquito community impact the avian Plasmodium infection in Culex pipiens

Prevalence and diversity of avian malaria parasites in illegally traded white‐winged parakeets in Peruvian Amazonas

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