Grabow Marius, Landgraf Conny, Niedballa Juergen, Scholz Carolin, Pufelski Jan, Nathan Ran, Toledo Sivan, Jeltsch Florian, Blaum Niels, Radchuk Viktoriia, Tiedemann Ralph, Kramer-Schadt Stephanie
Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany.
Proc Biol Sci. 2025 Apr;292(2044):20250238. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2025.0238. Epub 2025 Apr 9.
Pathogens play an important role in ecosystems and may impair fitness-enhancing activities such as foraging. However, the sublethal effects of pathogens on host movement behaviour and their subsequent impacts on reproductive success are poorly understood. In this study, we used high-resolution tracking to examine the movements of free-ranging European starlings () associated with sublethal avian blood parasite infections. We found that naturally infected individuals displayed reduced foraging behaviour, remained closer to their breeding location, and selected lower-quality habitats. These patterns were associated with poorer body condition of adults and less favourable development for their offspring. These behavioural changes suggest physiological limitations imposed by infection, reducing parental care and reproductive output. Our results provide compelling evidence that pathogen-induced changes in fine-scale movement behaviour are linked to impaired reproductive success, further emphasizing the need for a movement ecology perspective in local host-pathogen dynamics.
病原体在生态系统中发挥着重要作用，可能会损害诸如觅食等增强适应性的活动。然而，病原体对宿主移动行为的亚致死效应及其对繁殖成功的后续影响却鲜为人知。在本研究中，我们利用高分辨率追踪技术来研究自由放养的欧洲椋鸟（）与亚致死性鸟类血液寄生虫感染相关的移动情况。我们发现，自然感染的个体表现出觅食行为减少，更靠近其繁殖地点，并选择质量较低的栖息地。这些模式与成年个体较差的身体状况以及其后代不太有利的发育情况相关。这些行为变化表明感染造成了生理限制，减少了亲代抚育和繁殖产出。我们的结果提供了令人信服的证据，即病原体引起的精细尺度移动行为变化与繁殖成功受损有关，进一步强调了在局部宿主 - 病原体动态研究中需要从移动生态学角度进行研究。
