Seabirds blinded by ticks
International audience In December 2017, on Possession Island (part of the Crozet Archipelago in the southern Indian Ocean), we observed two breeding white‐chinned petrels (Procellaria aequinoctialis ) with very high levels of tick (Ixodes kerguelenensis ) infestation on both eyes. This degree of in...
Published in: | Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment |
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ftunmontpellier3:oai:HAL:hal-02913663v1 2024-05-19T07:47:36+00:00 Seabirds blinded by ticks Gamble, Amandine Weimerskirch, Henri Boulinier, Thierry Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE) Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro - Montpellier SupAgro Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro) Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC) La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE) 2020-08 https://hal.science/hal-02913663 https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2237 en eng HAL CCSD Ecological Society of America info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1002/fee.2237 hal-02913663 https://hal.science/hal-02913663 doi:10.1002/fee.2237 ISSN: 1540-9295 Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment https://hal.science/hal-02913663 Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2020, 18 (6), pp.322-322. ⟨10.1002/fee.2237⟩ [SDE]Environmental Sciences info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2020 ftunmontpellier3 https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2237 2024-04-22T17:00:06Z International audience In December 2017, on Possession Island (part of the Crozet Archipelago in the southern Indian Ocean), we observed two breeding white‐chinned petrels (Procellaria aequinoctialis ) with very high levels of tick (Ixodes kerguelenensis ) infestation on both eyes. This degree of infestation was likely responsible for the birds’ death. Although this rare observation may seem anecdotal, it reveals that ticks can be fatal for a long‐lived colonial seabird species, in this case one that is already under pressure from fisheries bycatch and predation by introduced black rats (Rattus rattus ). It also raises questions about the frequency and spatial distribution of such a phenomenon and the conditions that may have been responsible for its occurrence. Such high parasite loads imply high local tick abundances but also a lack of preening by the partner. Could this be linked to the recent death of the partner? Infestations by ticks can affect the health of hosts through blood loss, the injection of toxins, and the transmission of infectious agents. In this instance, the mechanical blocking of eyesight may also have affected the birds’ behavior. The potential impact of climate change on local parasitic infestation levels is another important question. Parasites and diseases can harm endangered species in polar and subpolar areas, and could play critical roles in some circumstances. Article in Journal/Newspaper Possession Island Rattus rattus HAL Portal Paul-Valéry University Montpellier 3 Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 18 6 322 322 |
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HAL Portal Paul-Valéry University Montpellier 3 |
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English |
topic |
[SDE]Environmental Sciences |
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[SDE]Environmental Sciences Gamble, Amandine Weimerskirch, Henri Boulinier, Thierry Seabirds blinded by ticks |
topic_facet |
[SDE]Environmental Sciences |
description |
International audience In December 2017, on Possession Island (part of the Crozet Archipelago in the southern Indian Ocean), we observed two breeding white‐chinned petrels (Procellaria aequinoctialis ) with very high levels of tick (Ixodes kerguelenensis ) infestation on both eyes. This degree of infestation was likely responsible for the birds’ death. Although this rare observation may seem anecdotal, it reveals that ticks can be fatal for a long‐lived colonial seabird species, in this case one that is already under pressure from fisheries bycatch and predation by introduced black rats (Rattus rattus ). It also raises questions about the frequency and spatial distribution of such a phenomenon and the conditions that may have been responsible for its occurrence. Such high parasite loads imply high local tick abundances but also a lack of preening by the partner. Could this be linked to the recent death of the partner? Infestations by ticks can affect the health of hosts through blood loss, the injection of toxins, and the transmission of infectious agents. In this instance, the mechanical blocking of eyesight may also have affected the birds’ behavior. The potential impact of climate change on local parasitic infestation levels is another important question. Parasites and diseases can harm endangered species in polar and subpolar areas, and could play critical roles in some circumstances. |
author2 |
Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE) Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro - Montpellier SupAgro Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro) Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC) La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gamble, Amandine Weimerskirch, Henri Boulinier, Thierry |
author_facet |
Gamble, Amandine Weimerskirch, Henri Boulinier, Thierry |
author_sort |
Gamble, Amandine |
title |
Seabirds blinded by ticks |
title_short |
Seabirds blinded by ticks |
title_full |
Seabirds blinded by ticks |
title_fullStr |
Seabirds blinded by ticks |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seabirds blinded by ticks |
title_sort |
seabirds blinded by ticks |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://hal.science/hal-02913663 https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2237 |
genre |
Possession Island Rattus rattus |
genre_facet |
Possession Island Rattus rattus |
op_source |
ISSN: 1540-9295 Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment https://hal.science/hal-02913663 Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2020, 18 (6), pp.322-322. ⟨10.1002/fee.2237⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1002/fee.2237 hal-02913663 https://hal.science/hal-02913663 doi:10.1002/fee.2237 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2237 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment |
container_volume |
18 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
322 |
op_container_end_page |
322 |
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1799488053201338368 |