Monitoring wild greenfinch <i>(Carduelis chloris)</i> for <i>Salmonella enterica typhimurium</i>

Grant, David; Todd, Peter A.; Pennycott, T. W.

doi:10.1007/s11284-006-0056-2

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…However, the numbers of incidents and cases of salmonellosis in greenfinches in winter far outweighed those in chaffinches, indicating a real predisposition of the greenfinch to this disease in Britain. This concurs with other reports which identified the greenfinch as the species most frequently affected by salmonellosis in Great Britain (Wilson and Macdonald, 1967;Routh and Sleeman, 1995;Pennycott et al, 1998;Grant et al, 2007).…”

Section: Garden Bird Speciessupporting

confidence: 92%

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Epidemiology of Salmonellosis in Garden Birds in England and Wales, 1993 to 2003

et al. 2010

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Salmonellosis has been reported as an important cause of mortality of garden birds in several countries, including Norway and Scotland. We investigated the frequency of the disease in garden birds submitted for postmortem examination by members of the public in England and Wales between 1993 and 2003, inclusive. We found salmonellosis to be the most frequent cause of death due to infectious disease in the garden birds submitted. This disease was confirmed in 7 of the 45 bird species that were examined postmortem, with the greenfinch (Carduelis chloris) and the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) most frequently affected. Salmonella Typhimurium definitive phage type (DT) 40, DT56 variant(v), and DT160 accounted for the majority of isolates. Salmonellosis incidents chiefly occurred in the English Midlands, the English/Welsh border region, and southern England. Variation in the temporal and spatial distribution of the phage types occurred over the study period. While birds were examined throughout the year, there was a marked winter seasonality in salmonellosis. A significant sex bias was observed in affected greenfinches, with males more frequently diagnosed with salmonellosis than females. No sex bias was observed for other affected species. Further research is required to determine if salmonellosis is an important constraint to the populations of affected species and if disease outbreaks are driven by human factors, such as provisioning.

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Section: Garden Bird Speciessupporting

confidence: 92%

“…A recent study that combined fecal screening of sick birds with postmortem examination of carcasses recovered from a single site in Scotland found that poor body fat scores and low body weight were useful field indicators to identify greenfinches with S. Typhimurium DT56(v) infection (Grant et al, 2007).…”

Section: Garden Bird Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epidemiology of Salmonellosis in Garden Birds in England and Wales, 1993 to 2003

et al. 2010

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“…PFGE band profiles are shown, and the scale indicates percent similarity. (7,26). While the number of isolates each year will be influenced by the overall number of salmonellosis incidents, variation in the intensity of opportunistic surveillance, coupled with the transition between single and dual surveillance schemes, might have altered the efficiency of reporting over the study period.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis Supports the Presence of Host-Adapted Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica Serovar Typhimurium Strains in the British Garden Bird Population

Lawson

Hughes

Peters³

et al. 2011

Appl Environ Microbiol

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Salmonellosis is a frequently diagnosed infectious disease of passerine birds in garden habitats within GreatBritain with potential implications for human and domestic animal health. Postmortem examinations were performed on 1,477 garden bird carcasses of circa 50 species from England and Wales, 1999 to 2007 inclusive. Salmonellosis was confirmed in 263 adult birds of 10 passerine species in this 11-year longitudinal study. A subset of 124 fully biotyped Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium isolates was examined using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to investigate the hypothesis that these strains are host adapted and to determine whether this molecular technique offers greater resolution in understanding the epidemiology of Salmonella Typhimurium infection than phage typing alone. For the two most common phage types, definitive type (DT) 40 and DT56v, which together accounted for 97% (120/124) of isolates, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis groupings closely correlated with phage type with remarkably few exceptions. A high degree of genetic similarity (>90%) was observed within and between the two most common pulsed-field gel electrophoresis groups. No clustering or variation was found in the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis groupings by bird species, year, or geographical region beyond that revealed by phage typing. These findings support the hypothesis that there are currently two host-adapted Salmonella phage types, S. Typhimurium DT40 and DT56v, circulating widely in British garden birds and that the reservoir of infection is maintained within wild bird populations. Large-scale multilocus sequence typing studies are required to further investigate the epidemiology of this infection.

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“…birds affected by disease. This is especially relevant for greenfinches due to the current prevalence of the parasite Trichomonas gallinae (Robinson et al 2010) as well as the greenfinches' susceptibility to Salmonella infections (Refsum et al 2003, Grant et al 2007. Considering that the average ω-6/ω-3 ratio in the blood of greenfinches in our study was 76:1, it is possible that such high levels of ω-6 could aggravate the already poor health condition of infected birds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Sperm head abnormalities are associated with excessive omega‐6 fatty acids in two finch species feeding on sunflower seeds

Støstad

Rowe

Johnsen

et al. 2019

Journal of Avian Biology

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In a rapidly changing world, it is important to understand how urban environments impact wildlife. For example, supplementary feeding of birds, though well‐intended, might have unexpected negative effects on the health of individual animals. Sunflower seeds are commonly provided in garden bird feeders, but they contain high levels of linoleic acid (LA), an omega‐6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA). Omega‐6 PUFAs are associated with increased oxidative stress, which can damage cell membranes, and in particular sperm cells. We assessed the level of LA in the blood of two seed‐eating finch species, greenfinches Chloris chloris and hawfinches Coccothraustes coccothraustes, caught in and in environments with direct access to sunflower seed feeders (Norway), and compared these with the level of LA in a smaller number of individuals sampled in in a rural area with low incidence of sunflower seed feeders (Czech Republic). Furthermore, we investigated the relationship between the proportion of LA in the blood (as well as the proportion of 10 other fatty acids) and sperm quality (the frequency of sperm head abnormalities and sperm swimming speed). We found that both finch species, but particularly greenfinches caught near feeders, exhibited levels of LA that were considerably higher than those previously reported for other wild birds. We also found that the proportion of LA was positively correlated with the frequency of abnormal sperm heads (sperm missing the acrosome), while there was no significant effect of fatty acid composition on sperm swimming speed. Our results indicate that the sperm quality of finches may be negatively affected by a high intake of sunflower seeds, adding to a growing body of research showing that supplementary feeding may have detrimental side effects for urban animals. This is particularly relevant for the greenfinch, which is currently affected by disease and population declines.

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Monitoring wild greenfinch (Carduelis chloris) for Salmonella enterica typhimurium

Cited by 11 publications

References 14 publications

Epidemiology of Salmonellosis in Garden Birds in England and Wales, 1993 to 2003

Epidemiology of Salmonellosis in Garden Birds in England and Wales, 1993 to 2003

Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis Supports the Presence of Host-Adapted Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica Serovar Typhimurium Strains in the British Garden Bird Population

Sperm head abnormalities are associated with excessive omega‐6 fatty acids in two finch species feeding on sunflower seeds

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