Ágh Nóra, Pásztory-Kovács Szilvia, Prohászka Viola, Csörgő Tibor, Szöllősi Eszter
HUN-REN-PE Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Veszprém, Hungary.
University of Pannonia, Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Center for Natural Sciences, Veszprém, Hungary.
Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl. 2025 Jun 1;27:101085. doi: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2025.101085. eCollection 2025 Aug.
In migratory passerines, the timing of the different phases of the migratory journey is of great importance for the survival prospect of the individuals. Haemosporidian infections could weaken the immune system, decelerate the ability of fat accumulation and potentially influence the migratory behaviour. As a large number of blood parasites is host-generalist there is a potential for cross-species and cross-population transmission with different parasite species during the migratory route of the passerines. In addition, resident birds also interact with different parasite fauna when migratory birds arrive back from their migratory route, therefore, it is important to study what kind of blood parasites migratory birds carry. We screened three long-distant migratory species during autumn migration in two years. We found that in reed and sedge warblers the overall prevalence of blood parasites was significantly higher in adults than in juveniles, and the prevalence of infections was higher than that of the in adults. In contrast, infections dominated in juveniles in all the three species. The odds of catching infected juvenile individuals increased during the autumn migration, but infections had no significant effect on the actual body mass of the birds. These results could imply age-related differences in the probability of getting infected with different blood parasite genera. Sampling during migration and exploring the potential differences in parasite species composition and their effects on the migratory behaviour in different age groups can provide valuable insight in answering these questions.
在迁徙的雀形目鸟类中，迁徙旅程不同阶段的时间安排对个体的生存前景至关重要。血孢子虫感染可能会削弱免疫系统，减缓脂肪积累能力，并可能影响迁徙行为。由于大量血液寄生虫是宿主广谱性的，在雀形目鸟类的迁徙路线上，不同寄生虫物种存在跨物种和跨种群传播的可能性。此外，当候鸟从迁徙路线返回时，留鸟也会与不同的寄生虫群落相互作用，因此，研究候鸟携带何种血液寄生虫很重要。我们在两年的秋季迁徙期间对三种长途迁徙物种进行了筛查。我们发现，在芦苇莺和莎草莺中，成年鸟血液寄生虫的总体患病率显著高于幼鸟，且感染率高于成年鸟。相比之下，在所有这三个物种中，幼鸟中感染占主导。在秋季迁徙期间捕获受感染幼鸟个体的几率增加，但感染对鸟类的实际体重没有显著影响。这些结果可能意味着感染不同血液寄生虫属的概率存在年龄相关差异。在迁徙期间进行采样，并探索不同年龄组中寄生虫物种组成的潜在差异及其对迁徙行为的影响，可以为回答这些问题提供有价值的见解。
