Journal ArticleDOI
Malarial parasites decrease reproductive success: an experimental study in a passerine bird
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It is demonstrated that malarial parasites can have dramatic effects on clutch size and other demographic variables, potentially influencing the evolution of clutch size, but also the population dynamics of heavily infected populations of birds.Abstract:
Malarial parasites are supposed to have strong negative fitness consequences for their hosts, but relatively little evidence supports this claim due to the difficulty of experimentally testing this. We experimentally reduced levels of infection with the blood parasite Haemoproteus prognei in its host the house martin Delichon urbica, by randomly treating adults with primaquine or a control treatment. Treated birds had significantly fewer parasites than controls. The primaquine treatment increased clutch size by 18%; hatching was 39% higher and fledging 42% higher. There were no effects of treatment on quality of offspring, measured in terms of tarsus length, body mass, haematocrit or T-cell-mediated immune response. These findings demonstrate that malarial parasites can have dramatic effects on clutch size and other demographic variables, potentially influencing the evolution of clutch size, but also the population dynamics of heavily infected populations of birds.read more
Citations
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Diptera vectors of avian Haemosporidian parasites: untangling parasite life cycles and their taxonomy
TL;DR: It is stressed that the best way to avoid emergent and reemergent diseases is through a program encompassing ecological restoration, environmental education, and enhanced understanding of the value of ecosystem services.
Journal ArticleDOI
Sources of variation in haematocrit in birds
TL;DR: In temperate climates, haematocrit tended to be higher in winter than in summer, which may be due to dehydration or increased oxygen demand caused by thermogenesis, moult or acquisition of reproductive status.
Journal ArticleDOI
Chronic malaria infections increase family inequalities and reduce parental fitness: experimental evidence from a wild bird population.
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that chronic avian malaria infections, far from being benign, can have significant effects on host fitness and may thus constitute an important selection pressure in wild bird populations.
Journal ArticleDOI
Temporal dynamics and diversity of avian malaria parasites in a single host species.
Staffan Bensch,Jonas Waldenström,Niclas Jonzén,Helena Westerdahl,Bengt Hansson,Douglas Sejberg,Dennis Hasselquist +6 more
TL;DR: A remarkable diversity of parasite lineages are unraveled in a long-term population study of great reed warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus that was not foreseen from traditional microscopic examination of blood smears, suggesting that knowledge of extrinsic parameters such as vector distribution and alternative hosts are required to understand these patterns.
Journal ArticleDOI
Effects of malaria double infection in birds: one plus one is not two.
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that malaria infections decrease survival, but also have different consequences on the breeding performance of single‐ and double‐infected wild birds.
References
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Book
Cellular and Molecular Immunology
TL;DR: Cellular and molecular immunology , Cellular and molecular Immunology , کتابخانه الکرونیک و دیجیتال - آذرسا
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Ecological immunology: costly parasite defences and trade-offs in evolutionary ecology
Ben C. Sheldon,Simon Verhulst +1 more
TL;DR: Viewing an individual's immune response to parasites as being subject to optimization in the face of other demands offers potential insights into mechanisms of life history trade-offs, sexual selection, parasite-mediated selection and population dynamics.
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Life history evolution
TL;DR: In this paper, a framework for analysis trade-offs is proposed for evolution in constant and stochastic environments, and a framework is presented for analysis in predictable and uncertain environments.
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The pathogenic basis of malaria
TL;DR: Insight into the complexity of malaria pathogenesis is vital for understanding the disease and will provide a major step towards controlling it.
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Cellular and Molecular Immunology
TL;DR: This sales letter may not influence you to be smarter, but the book that the authors offer will evoke you to being smarter and you'll know more than others who don't.