The Relapse Phenomenon in the Leucocytozoon Simondi Infection of the Domestic Duck1

Chernin, Eli

doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a119545

Cited by 35 publications

(31 citation statements)

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“…The release of sex hormones has been proposed as having a suppressive effect on the immune system, generating physiological stress (Folstad & Karter 1992), or alternatively parasites in the tissues may become 'activated' by such hormones. Chernin (1952) showed in the domestic duck (Anas plathyrhyncos) that a relapse of a chronic latent infection took place when daylength in winter was altered to that prevailing during the breeding season. Environmental stress may increase costs such as time and energy during breeding, for example, as a result of nest building, courtship feeding and mate-guarding activities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive investment and parasite susceptibility in the Great Tit

Allander

1997

Functional Ecology

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Summary1. Reproduction and parasite defence are assumed to be costly activities for hosts, and therefore trade-offs might exist between reproduction and parasite defence. 2. Brood sizes were manipulated in a population of Great Tits (Parus major L.) to assess trade-offs between reproduction and parasite defence. Blood samples were taken from males and females during the late nestling phase, and parasite prevalence was compared among parents raising enlarged, reduced and control broods. 3. A higher prevalence of protozoan blood parasites dominated by Haemoproteus majoris was found among parents with enlarged broods, as compared with parents with control and reduced broods, respectively. Brood size manipulation did not affect parasite prevalence between the sexes or between age classes differently. 4. Mean parasite intensity (number of parasites per microscope field) among adult birds only infected with H. majoris was higher for parents with experimentally enlarged broods than controls and reduced broods, respectively. 5. These results support the hypothesis of a trade-off between parasite defence and reproduction. Key-words: Blood parasites, brood size manipulation, Haemoproteus majoris, Parus major, trade-offFunctional Ecology (1997) 11, 358-364 * Present address: ETH Zürich, Experimental Ecology ETH-Zentrum NW, CH 8092 Zürich, Switzerland. 359Reproductive investment and parasite susceptibility the notion that the effects of an increased intensity of parasites may operate for a considerable time. Thus, the trade-off between reproductive effort and parasite defence could be one mechanism that operates in the observed patterns of costs of reproduction (reviewed by Lindén & Møller 1989).The aim of this study was to investigate whether experimentally increased reproductive effort (achieved by altering brood size) might affect the prevalence and intensity of avian blood parasites in Great Tits P. major. This particular population of Great Tits has previously been found to be infected by a variety of blood parasites with Haemoproteus majoris being by far the most common, infecting around 75% of the adults depending on year and age of the birds (Allander & Bennett 1994). The paper also compares results from similar experiments of trade-offs between reproductive effort and parasite defence in other Great Tit populations exposed to different environments and parasites (i.e. Norris et al. 1994;Richner et al. 1995). Methods STUDY SPECIES AND STUDY AREAThe study was carried out in 1993 using a population of Great Tits breeding on the island of Gotland in the Baltic, SE Sweden (5710'N, 1820'E). The study area contains about 950 nestboxes distributed among 13 different plots. Twelve plots consist of deciduous woodland with ash (Fraxinus excelsior), oak (Quercus robur), birch (Betula spp.), hazel (Corylus avellana) and hawthorn (Crataegus spp.), whereas one plot is mainly coniferous forest, dominated by pine (Pinus sylvestris) with some birch.The Great Tit is a small (c. 20 g), mainly insectivorous passerine bird, resident in ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive investment and parasite susceptibility in the Great Tit

Allander

1997

Functional Ecology

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“…While the avian host is preparing either for spring migration to the breeding ground or for breeding, it undergoes hormonal changes that induce an increase in the number of circulating blood parasites. Day length and interspecific stress also play a role (Chernin 1952b;Barrow 1963). This raises the parasitemia to a level that facilitates infection of vectors just prior to the production of naïve young of the year.…”

Section: Epizootiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Leucocytozoonosis

Forrester¹,

Greiner²

2008

Parasitic Diseases of Wild Birds

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“…infections and the appearance of parasitaemia in avian Trypanosoma spp. after a latent stage of infection in European wild birds are lacking, and studies on the mechanism causing this phenomenon are rare (Coatney 1933;Chernin 1952;Barrow 1963;Desser et al 1968;Khan and Fallis 1970;Applegate 1971;Alverson and Noblet 1977). Therefore, we investigated two factors which may be involved in the relapse of Haemoproteus spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The blackcap is a common Palearctic migratory songbird (Cramp 1992), and haemoproteids and trypanosomes are common blood parasites in this species (Bishop and Bennett 1992), with an overall prevalence of the infections of over 50% in numerous populations across Europe (Valki" unas 1997). Two factors were considered: first, photoperiod, as this is a pronounced environmental cue affecting many aspects of avian life cycles (Gwinner and Hau 2000) and is known to influence the relapse of Leucocytozoon simondi infections in ducks (Chernin 1952), and second, environmental challenge, as stress-induced corticosterone is known to modulate the immune system and alter parasite intensity (Hillgarth and Wingfield 1997). In the house sparrow, Passer domesticus, raised corticosterone levels are involved in spring relapses of avian malaria (Applegate 1970;Applegate and Beaudoin 1970), while in dark-eyed juncos, Junco hyemalis, seasonal changes in blood parasite prevalence are thought to be associated with changes in steroid hormones (Deviche et al 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors affecting the relapse of Haemoproteus belopolskyi infections and the parasitaemia of Trypanosoma spp. in a naturally infected European songbird, the blackcap, Sylvia atricapilla

et al. 2004

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The effects of photoperiod and stress on the relapse of Haemoproteus belopolskyi infections and the parasitaemia of Trypanosoma spp. were studied in naturally infected blackcaps, Sylvia atricapilla. Twenty-one birds (12 infected with H. belopolskyi, 5 with Trypanosoma spp.) were kept indoors and investigated by microscopic examination of stained blood films. All infections were latent before the experiments started on 7 February 2002. The relapse of H. belopolskyi and the parasitaemia of Trypanosoma spp. after the latent stage of infection were induced by increased day length and stress due to a change of room. At 44 days after the beginning of the experiment, all latent infections were patent in the experimental birds, while no parasites were recorded in the control birds. The relapse of avian Haemoproteus spp. infection and of the parasitaemia of avian Trypanosoma spp. may be related to gonadal hormones, corticosterone and melatonin.

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The Relapse Phenomenon in the Leucocytozoon Simondi Infection of the Domestic Duck1

Cited by 35 publications

References 0 publications

Reproductive investment and parasite susceptibility in the Great Tit

Reproductive investment and parasite susceptibility in the Great Tit

Leucocytozoonosis

Factors affecting the relapse of Haemoproteus belopolskyi infections and the parasitaemia of Trypanosoma spp. in a naturally infected European songbird, the blackcap, Sylvia atricapilla

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