Can the intake of antiparasitic secondary metabolites explain the low prevalence of hemoparasites among wild Psittaciformes?
Abstract Background Parasites can exert selection pressure on their hosts through effects on survival, on reproductive success, on sexually selected ornament, with important ecological and evolutionary consequences, such as changes in population viability. Consequently, hemoparasites have become the...
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
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Figshare
2018
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Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4138916 https://figshare.com/collections/Can_the_intake_of_antiparasitic_secondary_metabolites_explain_the_low_prevalence_of_hemoparasites_among_wild_Psittaciformes_/4138916 |
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Open Polar |
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DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) |
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unknown |
topic |
Microbiology FOS Biological sciences Evolutionary Biology 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified FOS Earth and related environmental sciences Ecology 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified 110309 Infectious Diseases FOS Health sciences Computational Biology |
spellingShingle |
Microbiology FOS Biological sciences Evolutionary Biology 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified FOS Earth and related environmental sciences Ecology 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified 110309 Infectious Diseases FOS Health sciences Computational Biology Masello, Juan Martínez, Javier Calderón, Luciano Wink, Michael Quillfeldt, Petra Sanz, Virginia Theuerkauf, Jörn Ortiz-Catedral, Luis Berkunsky, Igor Brunton, Dianne Díaz-Luque, José Hauber, Mark Ojeda, Valeria Barnaud, Antoine Casalins, Laura Jackson, Bethany Mijares, Alfredo Rosales, Romel Gláucia Seixas Serafini, Patricia Silva-Iturriza, Adriana Elenise Sipinski Vásquez, Rodrigo Widmann, Peter Widmann, Indira Merino, Santiago Can the intake of antiparasitic secondary metabolites explain the low prevalence of hemoparasites among wild Psittaciformes? |
topic_facet |
Microbiology FOS Biological sciences Evolutionary Biology 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified FOS Earth and related environmental sciences Ecology 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified 110309 Infectious Diseases FOS Health sciences Computational Biology |
description |
Abstract Background Parasites can exert selection pressure on their hosts through effects on survival, on reproductive success, on sexually selected ornament, with important ecological and evolutionary consequences, such as changes in population viability. Consequently, hemoparasites have become the focus of recent avian studies. Infection varies significantly among taxa. Various factors might explain the differences in infection among taxa, including habitat, climate, host density, the presence of vectors, life history and immune defence. Feeding behaviour can also be relevant both through increased exposure to vectors and consumption of secondary metabolites with preventative or therapeutic effects that can reduce parasite load. However, the latter has been little investigated. Psittaciformes (parrots and cockatoos) are a good model to investigate these topics, as they are known to use biological control against ectoparasites and to feed on toxic food. We investigated the presence of avian malaria parasites (Plasmodium), intracellular haemosporidians (Haemoproteus, Leucocytozoon), unicellular flagellate protozoans (Trypanosoma) and microfilariae in 19 Psittaciformes species from a range of habitats in the Indo-Malayan, Australasian and Neotropical regions. We gathered additional data on hemoparasites in wild Psittaciformes from the literature. We considered factors that may control the presence of hemoparasites in the Psittaciformes, compiling information on diet, habitat, and climate. Furthermore, we investigated the role of diet in providing antiparasitic secondary metabolites that could be used as self-medication to reduce parasite load. Results We found hemoparasites in only two of 19 species sampled. Among them, all species that consume at least one food item known for its secondary metabolites with antimalarial, trypanocidal or general antiparasitic properties, were free from hemoparasites. In contrast, the infected parrots do not consume food items with antimalarial or even general antiparasitic properties. We found that the two infected species in this study consumed omnivorous diets. When we combined our data with data from studies previously investigating blood parasites in wild parrots, the positive relationship between omnivorous diets and hemoparasite infestation was confirmed. Individuals from open habitats were less infected than those from forests. Conclusions The consumption of food items known for their secondary metabolites with antimalarial, trypanocidal or general antiparasitic properties, as well as the higher proportion of infected species among omnivorous parrots, could explain the low prevalence of hemoparasites reported in many vertebrates. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Masello, Juan Martínez, Javier Calderón, Luciano Wink, Michael Quillfeldt, Petra Sanz, Virginia Theuerkauf, Jörn Ortiz-Catedral, Luis Berkunsky, Igor Brunton, Dianne Díaz-Luque, José Hauber, Mark Ojeda, Valeria Barnaud, Antoine Casalins, Laura Jackson, Bethany Mijares, Alfredo Rosales, Romel Gláucia Seixas Serafini, Patricia Silva-Iturriza, Adriana Elenise Sipinski Vásquez, Rodrigo Widmann, Peter Widmann, Indira Merino, Santiago |
author_facet |
Masello, Juan Martínez, Javier Calderón, Luciano Wink, Michael Quillfeldt, Petra Sanz, Virginia Theuerkauf, Jörn Ortiz-Catedral, Luis Berkunsky, Igor Brunton, Dianne Díaz-Luque, José Hauber, Mark Ojeda, Valeria Barnaud, Antoine Casalins, Laura Jackson, Bethany Mijares, Alfredo Rosales, Romel Gláucia Seixas Serafini, Patricia Silva-Iturriza, Adriana Elenise Sipinski Vásquez, Rodrigo Widmann, Peter Widmann, Indira Merino, Santiago |
author_sort |
Masello, Juan |
title |
Can the intake of antiparasitic secondary metabolites explain the low prevalence of hemoparasites among wild Psittaciformes? |
title_short |
Can the intake of antiparasitic secondary metabolites explain the low prevalence of hemoparasites among wild Psittaciformes? |
title_full |
Can the intake of antiparasitic secondary metabolites explain the low prevalence of hemoparasites among wild Psittaciformes? |
title_fullStr |
Can the intake of antiparasitic secondary metabolites explain the low prevalence of hemoparasites among wild Psittaciformes? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Can the intake of antiparasitic secondary metabolites explain the low prevalence of hemoparasites among wild Psittaciformes? |
title_sort |
can the intake of antiparasitic secondary metabolites explain the low prevalence of hemoparasites among wild psittaciformes? |
publisher |
Figshare |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4138916 https://figshare.com/collections/Can_the_intake_of_antiparasitic_secondary_metabolites_explain_the_low_prevalence_of_hemoparasites_among_wild_Psittaciformes_/4138916 |
genre |
Avian Studies |
genre_facet |
Avian Studies |
op_relation |
https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13071-018-2940-3 |
op_rights |
CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4138916 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-018-2940-3 |
_version_ |
1766365017615106048 |
spelling |
ftdatacite:10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4138916 2023-05-15T15:34:43+02:00 Can the intake of antiparasitic secondary metabolites explain the low prevalence of hemoparasites among wild Psittaciformes? Masello, Juan Martínez, Javier Calderón, Luciano Wink, Michael Quillfeldt, Petra Sanz, Virginia Theuerkauf, Jörn Ortiz-Catedral, Luis Berkunsky, Igor Brunton, Dianne Díaz-Luque, José Hauber, Mark Ojeda, Valeria Barnaud, Antoine Casalins, Laura Jackson, Bethany Mijares, Alfredo Rosales, Romel Gláucia Seixas Serafini, Patricia Silva-Iturriza, Adriana Elenise Sipinski Vásquez, Rodrigo Widmann, Peter Widmann, Indira Merino, Santiago 2018 https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4138916 https://figshare.com/collections/Can_the_intake_of_antiparasitic_secondary_metabolites_explain_the_low_prevalence_of_hemoparasites_among_wild_Psittaciformes_/4138916 unknown Figshare https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13071-018-2940-3 CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 CC-BY Microbiology FOS Biological sciences Evolutionary Biology 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified FOS Earth and related environmental sciences Ecology 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified 110309 Infectious Diseases FOS Health sciences Computational Biology Collection article 2018 ftdatacite https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4138916 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-018-2940-3 2021-11-05T12:55:41Z Abstract Background Parasites can exert selection pressure on their hosts through effects on survival, on reproductive success, on sexually selected ornament, with important ecological and evolutionary consequences, such as changes in population viability. Consequently, hemoparasites have become the focus of recent avian studies. Infection varies significantly among taxa. Various factors might explain the differences in infection among taxa, including habitat, climate, host density, the presence of vectors, life history and immune defence. Feeding behaviour can also be relevant both through increased exposure to vectors and consumption of secondary metabolites with preventative or therapeutic effects that can reduce parasite load. However, the latter has been little investigated. Psittaciformes (parrots and cockatoos) are a good model to investigate these topics, as they are known to use biological control against ectoparasites and to feed on toxic food. We investigated the presence of avian malaria parasites (Plasmodium), intracellular haemosporidians (Haemoproteus, Leucocytozoon), unicellular flagellate protozoans (Trypanosoma) and microfilariae in 19 Psittaciformes species from a range of habitats in the Indo-Malayan, Australasian and Neotropical regions. We gathered additional data on hemoparasites in wild Psittaciformes from the literature. We considered factors that may control the presence of hemoparasites in the Psittaciformes, compiling information on diet, habitat, and climate. Furthermore, we investigated the role of diet in providing antiparasitic secondary metabolites that could be used as self-medication to reduce parasite load. Results We found hemoparasites in only two of 19 species sampled. Among them, all species that consume at least one food item known for its secondary metabolites with antimalarial, trypanocidal or general antiparasitic properties, were free from hemoparasites. In contrast, the infected parrots do not consume food items with antimalarial or even general antiparasitic properties. We found that the two infected species in this study consumed omnivorous diets. When we combined our data with data from studies previously investigating blood parasites in wild parrots, the positive relationship between omnivorous diets and hemoparasite infestation was confirmed. Individuals from open habitats were less infected than those from forests. Conclusions The consumption of food items known for their secondary metabolites with antimalarial, trypanocidal or general antiparasitic properties, as well as the higher proportion of infected species among omnivorous parrots, could explain the low prevalence of hemoparasites reported in many vertebrates. Article in Journal/Newspaper Avian Studies DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) |