Animal Demography and Ecology Unit, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Miguel Marques 21, Esporles, Spain; Applied Zoology and Animal Conservation Group, University of Balearic Islands, Ctra Valldemosa km 7.5, Palma, Spain.
School of Biological Sciences, Zoology Building, University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK.
Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2020 Jan;11(1):101281. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2019.101281. Epub 2019 Aug 25.
Ticks can negatively affect their host by direct effects as blood feeding causing anaemia or discomfort, or by pathogen transmission. Consequently, ticks can have an important role in the population dynamics of their hosts. However, specific studies on the demographic effects of tick infestation on seabirds are still scarce. Seabird ticks have also the potential to be responsible for the circulation of little known tick-borne agents, which could have implications for non-seabird species. Here, we report the results of investigations on potential associations between soft tick Ornithodoros maritimus load and reproductive parameters of storm petrels Hydrobates pelagicus breeding in a large colony in a cave of Espartar Island, in the Balearic archipelago. We also investigated by molecular analyses the potential viral and bacterial pathogens associated with O. maritimus ticks present at the colony. Lower nestling survival was recorded in the most infested area, deep in the cave, compared to the area near the entrance. The parasite load was negatively associated with the body condition of the nestlings. One pool of ticks tested positive for West Nile virus and 4 pools tested positive for a Borrelia species which was determined by targeted nested PCR to have a 99% sequence identity with B. turicatae, a relapsing fever Borrelia. Overall, these results show that further investigations are needed to better understand the ecology and epidemiology of the interactions between ticks, pathogens and Procellariiform species.
蜱虫通过直接吸食血液导致贫血或不适，或传播病原体，从而对宿主的种群动态产生重要影响。因此，蜱虫可能在宿主的种群动态中发挥重要作用。然而，关于蜱虫感染对海鸟的种群动态的影响的具体研究仍然很少。海鸟蜱虫也有可能是传播鲜为人知的蜱传病原体的原因，这可能对非海鸟物种产生影响。在这里，我们报告了对在巴利阿里群岛埃斯帕塔尔岛洞穴中的一个大型海鸟繁殖地的软蜱奥氏革蜱（Ornithodoros maritimus）负载与暴风雨海燕（Hydrobates pelagicus）繁殖参数之间潜在关联的调查结果。我们还通过分子分析调查了与在繁殖地发现的奥氏革蜱相关的潜在病毒和细菌病原体。与靠近入口的区域相比，在洞穴深处受感染最严重的区域，雏鸟的存活率较低。寄生虫负荷与雏鸟的身体状况呈负相关。一组蜱虫检测到西尼罗河病毒呈阳性，4 组蜱虫检测到一种 Borrelia 物种呈阳性，通过靶向巢式 PCR 确定该物种与回归热 Borrelia 即 B. turicatae 的序列同一性为 99%。总的来说，这些结果表明，需要进一步调查以更好地了解蜱虫、病原体和 Procellariiform 物种之间相互作用的生态学和流行病学。
