Golnar Andrew J, Medeiros Matthew C I, Rosenbaum Katlyn, Bejcek Justin, Hamer Sarah A, Hamer Gabriel L
Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Pacific Biosciences Research Center, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
Microorganisms. 2021 Feb 27;9(3):504. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9030504.
Great-tailed grackles () have dramatically expanded into North America over the past century. However, little is known about the blood that parasites they support. Here, for the first time, we document an assemblage of trypanosome, haemosporida, and filarial nematodes co-circulating in invasive great-tailed grackles. Between February and July, 2015, 61 individuals were captured in an urban environment of College Station, Texas. Field microscopy and molecular diagnostics indicate that 52% (24/46) were visually infected with filarioid nematodes, 24% (11/46) with avian trypanosomes, and 73% ( = 44/60) with haemosporida parasites, such as ( and Overall, 87% of great-tailed grackles were infected with blood parasites. Although 50% of individuals hosted parasites from multiple phylum, no patterns of parasite assembly were observed. Results indicate that great-tailed grackles can support a relatively high level of blood parasitism. However, the consequences for avian health remain to be determined.
在过去的一个世纪里，长尾拟八哥（）已大幅扩展至北美地区。然而，对于它们所携带的寄生虫种类，人们却知之甚少。在此，我们首次记录了锥虫、血孢子虫和丝虫线虫在入侵的长尾拟八哥中共存的情况。2015年2月至7月间，在得克萨斯州大学城的城市环境中捕获了61只长尾拟八哥。野外显微镜检查和分子诊断表明，52%（24/46）的个体在肉眼观察下感染了丝状线虫，24%（11/46）感染了禽锥虫，73%（ = 44/60）感染了血孢子虫寄生虫，如（和 ）。总体而言，87%的长尾拟八哥感染了血液寄生虫。尽管50%的个体携带来自多个门的寄生虫，但未观察到寄生虫组合的模式。结果表明，长尾拟八哥能够携带相对高水平的血液寄生虫。然而，其对鸟类健康的影响仍有待确定。
