Stockdale, JE, Dunn, JC, Goodman, SJ et al. (4 more authors) (2015) The protozoan parasite Trichomonas gallinae causes adult and nestling mortality in a declining population of European Turtle Doves, Streptopelia turtur. Parasitology, 142 (3). 490 - 498. ISSN 0031-1820
Abstract
Studies incorporating the ecology of clinical and sub-clinical disease in wild populations of conservation concern are rare. Here we examine sub-clinical infection by Trichomonas gallinae in a declining population of free-living European Turtle Doves and suggest caseous lesions cause mortality in adults and nestlings through subsequent starvation and/or suffocation. We found a 100% infection rate by T. gallinae in adult and nestling Turtle Doves (n = 25) and observed clinical signs in three adults and four nestlings (28%). Adults with clinical signs displayed no differences in any skeletal measures of size but had a mean 3·7% reduction in wing length, with no overlap compared to those without clinical signs. We also identified T. gallinae as the suggested cause of mortality in one Red-legged Partridge although disease presentation was different. A minimum of four strains of T. gallinae, characterized at the ITS/5·8S/ITS2 ribosomal region, were isolated from Turtle Doves. However, all birds with clinical signs (Turtle Doves and the Red-legged Partridge) carried a single strain of T. gallinae, suggesting that parasite spill over between Columbidae and Galliformes is a possibility that should be further investigated. Overall, we highlight the importance of monitoring populations for sub-clinical infection rather than just clinical disease.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2015, Cambridge University Press. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Parasitology. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Disease; Feeding ecology; Necropsy; PCR; Supplementary food |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Biological Sciences (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 08 Oct 2015 11:49 |
Last Modified: | 17 Jan 2018 00:55 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0031182014001474 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
Identification Number: | 10.1017/S0031182014001474 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:87089 |