Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Veterinárias, Setor de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Rua dos Funcionários 1540, Curitiba, PR, 80035-050, Brazil.
Instituto de Pesquisa e Reabilitação de Animais Marinhos, Rodovia BR 262 Km 0, Cariacica, ES, 29140-130, Brazil.
Parasitol Res. 2022 Nov;121(11):3203-3215. doi: 10.1007/s00436-022-07638-w. Epub 2022 Sep 3.
Espinilho savanna ("seasonal steppe savanna") is a unique vegetation formation of the Pampas biome that is found near the tri-border of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. The Yellow Cardinal (Gubernatrix cristata) is a flagship species of this ecosystem, but it is classified as "critically endangered" in Brazil due to habitat loss and poaching for the illegal trade. Population supplementation through the release of individuals that were captive-bred or apprehended by authorities from the illegal trade has been considered as a conservation strategy for this species; however, the risk of pathogen introduction is a critical concern. We used microscopy and molecular methods to investigate the occurrence of blood parasites in wild passerines (n = 64, including three Yellow Cardinals) at Espinilho State Park, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and in captive Yellow Cardinals (n = 30) at three facilities in Brazil. Haemosporidian parasites were detected in the blood smears of 10.9% of the wild passerines, comprising the morphospecies Haemoproteus erythrogravidus in Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis), H. quiscalus in Grayish Baywing (Agelaioides badius), and H. tyranni in Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus); these are the southernmost records for these morphospecies and their first record for the Pampas biome. No haemosporidian parasites were detected in the blood smears of the Yellow Cardinals, wild or captive. Microfilariae were detected in the blood smears of 14.1% of the wild passerines, including all wild Yellow Cardinals, and in 43.3% of captive Yellow Cardinals. Trypanosoma sp. was detected in the blood smear of one captive Yellow Cardinal. Nested PCR and gene sequencing of the cyt-b gene of Haemoproteus/Plasmodium was used to test a subset of wild passerines and captive Yellow Cardinals, allowing for the molecular barcoding of H. quiscalus lineage AGEBAD04 and H. tyranni lineage PITSUL01; additionally, DNA identical to that of lineage PITSUL01 was detected in the blood of one captive Yellow Cardinal. This study provides valuable data to support the conservation management of the Yellow Cardinal and other threatened passerines from the Pampas and highlights the need for further studies on the epidemiology and pathology of filarioid worms and trypanosomes in passerines from this biome.
埃斯皮尼略萨凡纳（“季节性干草原萨凡纳”）是潘帕斯生物群落中一种独特的植被形成，位于巴西、乌拉圭和阿根廷三国的三边境附近。黄背红雀（Gubernatrix cristata）是该生态系统的旗舰物种，但由于栖息地丧失和非法贸易偷猎，它在巴西被列为“极度濒危”物种。通过释放圈养或从非法贸易中抓获的个体来补充种群，被认为是该物种的保护策略；然而，引入病原体的风险是一个关键问题。我们使用显微镜和分子方法调查了巴西里奥格兰德州埃斯皮尼略州立公园（Espinilho State Park）的野生雀形目鸟类（n=64 只，包括 3 只黄背红雀）和巴西三个设施中圈养的黄背红雀（n=30 只）血液寄生虫的发生情况。在 10.9%的野生雀形目鸟类的血涂片上检测到血孢子虫，包括 Rufous-collared Sparrow（Zonotrichia capensis）中的 Haemoproteus erythrogravidus、Grayish Baywing（Agelaioides badius）中的 H. quiscalus 和 Great Kiskadee（Pitangus sulphuratus）中的 H. tyranni；这些是这些形态种的最南端记录，也是它们在潘帕斯生物群落中的首次记录。在黄背红雀的血涂片上未检测到血孢子虫，无论是野生的还是圈养的。在 14.1%的野生雀形目鸟类的血涂片上检测到微丝蚴，包括所有野生的黄背红雀和 43.3%的圈养的黄背红雀。在一只圈养的黄背红雀的血涂片上检测到了锥虫。使用巢式 PCR 和细胞色素 b 基因的基因测序对一小部分野生雀形目鸟类和圈养的黄背红雀进行了测试，允许对 H. quiscalus 谱系 AGEBAD04 和 H. tyranni 谱系 PITSUL01 进行分子条码标记；此外，在一只圈养的黄背红雀的血液中检测到与谱系 PITSUL01 相同的 DNA。本研究提供了有价值的数据，支持对黄背红雀和潘帕斯其他受威胁雀形目鸟类的保护管理，并强调需要进一步研究该生物群落中寄生线虫和锥虫在雀形目鸟类中的流行病学和病理学。
