High rates of infection by blood parasites during the nestling phase in UK Columbids with notes on ecological associations.

摘要: Studies of blood parasite infection in nestling birds rarely find a high prevalence infection. This is likely due to combination short periods (limiting the age at which nestlings can be sampled) and long prepatent before gametocytes detected peripheral blood. Here we examine rates from three Columbid species UK. We use this system address two key hypotheses epidemiology avian haemoparasites: first, that open nests have higher infection; second, sampled 14 days old apparent rate than those 7 old. Open-nesting individuals had 54% compared with 25% for box-nesters, probably an increased exposure open-nesting dipteran vectors. Nestlings 68% 32% days, suggesting nest are high. Further work should post-fledging identify successful (as opposed abortive development within dead-end host) as well impacts on host survival behaviour.