Investigations of the tick burden on passeriform, water-associated and predatory birds reveal new tick-host associations and habitat-related factors of tick infestation

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F68081766%3A_____%2F24%3A00584831" target="_blank" >RIV/68081766:_____/24:00584831 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/00216208:11310/24:10489042

Result on the web

<a href="https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-024-06229-1" target="_blank" >https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-024-06229-1</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13071-024-06229-1" target="_blank" >10.1186/s13071-024-06229-1</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Investigations of the tick burden on passeriform, water-associated and predatory birds reveal new tick-host associations and habitat-related factors of tick infestation

Original language description

Background: Previous studies on the tick infestation of birds in the Carpathian Basin focused on songbirds (Passeriformes). Thus, the primary aim of the present work was to extend the scope of previous studies, i.e. to include aquatic (water-associated) bird species in a similar context, especially considering that these birds are usually long-distance migrants.nMethods: Between March 2021 and August 2023, 11,919 birds representing 126 species were checked for the presence of ticks. From 352 birds belonging to 40 species, 905 ixodid ticks were collected. Tick species were identified morphologically and/or molecularly.nResults: Ticks from avian hosts belonged to seven species: Ixodes ricinus (n = 448), I. frontalis (n = 31), I. festai (n = 2), I. arboricola (n = 36), I. lividus (n = 4), Haemaphysalis concinna (n = 382) and Dermacentor reticulatus (n = 2). Nymphs of I. ricinus occurred with a single activity peak around March-May, whereas its larvae typically infested birds in May, June or July. By contrast, H. concinna usually had its activity maximum during the summer (nymphs in June-July, larvae later in July-August). Interestingly, two ornithophilic species, I. frontalis and I. arboricola, were most active around winter months (between October and April). A significantly lower ratio of aquatic birds was found tick-infested than songbirds. Several new tick-host associations were revealed, including I. ricinus from Greylag Goose (Anser anser) and D. reticulatus from Great Egret (Ardea alba) and Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus). Ticks were collected for the first time in Europe from two species of predatory birds as well as from Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus). Bird species typically inhabiting reedbeds were most frequently infested with H. concinna, and most ticks localized at their throat, as opposed to forest-dwelling avian hosts, on which I. ricinus predominated and ticks were more evenly distributed.nConclusions: In the evaluated region, aquatic birds appear to be less important in tick dispersal than songbirds. However, newly revealed tick-host associations in this category attest to their hitherto neglected contribution. The results suggest that the habitat type will have significant impact not only on the species composition but also on the feeding location of ticks on birds.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10618 - Ecology

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2024

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Parasites & Vectors

ISSN

1756-3305

e-ISSN

1756-3305

Volume of the periodical

17

Issue of the periodical within the volume

1

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

10

Pages from-to

144

UT code for WoS article

001187392800001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85188081017