Abstract
Haemosporidian parasites are widespread in birds and are commonly used to evaluate ecological, evolutionary, and behavioral consequences of pathogen infection. While haemosporidian parasites may be important agents of selection, information on the incidence and outcomes of infection in many wild birds remains incomplete and warrants further inquiry. We examined the prevalence and costs of haemosporidian parasites in a wild population of dickcissels (Spiza americana; n ¼ 170) breeding in central Illinois. Over 2 breeding seasons, prevalence of haemosporidian parasites was 41% and was similar between sexes and years. Within each sex, there was no association between proxies of fitness (body condition and number of fledglings produced) and infection status. While we found no evidence that haemosporidian parasites have a direct, negative impact on dickcissels, we discuss how extra-pair paternity and changes across the life cycle of dickcissels and haemosporidian parasites may have masked or prevented detection of negative effects in our study. Ultimately our findings contribute to a growing literature providing improved clarity on how and when parasite infections can negatively impact wild host organisms and can aid in guiding future work examining such associations.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 232-236 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Journal of Parasitology |
Volume | 105 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2019 |
Keywords
- Birds
- Condition
- Fitness
- Haemosporidian
- Infection
- Parasites
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Parasitology
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics