Register      Login
Emu Emu Society
Journal of BirdLife Australia
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MU > MU08052
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 109(2)

The prevalence and intensity of tick infestation in passerines from South Australia

Margot Oorebeek A and Sonia Kleindorfer A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: sonia.kleindorfer@flinders.edu.au

Emu 109(2) 121-125 https://doi.org/10.1071/MU08052
Submitted: 3 October 2008  Accepted: 2 February 2009   Published: 2 June 2009

Abstract

Ticks are a major vector of disease, so understanding their distribution, geographically and across hosts, is important for the study of evolutionary ecology. Numerous passerine species worldwide are infested with ticks, and both prevalence and intensity of ticks vary across host species. In bird studies, foraging height is commonly thought to explain the difference in prevalence and intensity of ticks, with ground-foraging birds having a greater chance of encountering a tick. In this study, we used phylogenetically independent contrasts to examine the prevalence and intensity of ticks on passerines in South Australia and the role of abundance, body size and host foraging height for differences in prevalence and intensity of ticks. We examined 1262 birds for ticks between April 2004 and December 2006 at five sites across South Australia. All the ticks we collected were immature life-stages of Ixodes hirsti. Of the mist-netted birds, 347 (27.5%) individuals were infested with an average of 2.8 ticks. Both prevalence and intensity of ticks varied significantly between host species. We found that body size was significantly correlated with tick prevalence, with larger hosts having higher tick prevalence. Abundance and mean foraging height did not explain the variance in prevalence or intensity of ticks.


Acknowledgments

We extend sincere thanks to the organisations that have funded this research including: Australian Research Council, South Australian Department for Environment and Heritage, Sir Mark Mitchell Foundation, Nature Foundation SA Inc., Holsworth Wildlife Research Fund, and Conservation Council of South Australia. All procedures followed the Guidelines for the Use of Animals in Research (Flinders University) and were approved by the Animal Welfare Committee of Flinders University (permit E190).


References

Battaly, G. R. , and Fish, D. (1993). Relative importance of bird species as hosts for immature Ixodes dammini (Acari : Ixodidae) in a suburban residential landscape of southern New York state. Journal of Medical Entomology 30, 740–747.
|  CAS | PubMed | Clayton D. H. , and Moore J. (1997). Introduction. In ‘Host–Parasite Evolution: General Principles and Avian Models’. (Eds D. H. Clayton and J. Moore.) pp. 1–6. (Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.)

Comstedt, P. , Bergström, S. , Olsen, B. , Garpmo, U. , Marjavaara, L. , Mejlon, H. , Barbour, A. G. , and Bunikis, J. (2006). Migratory passerine birds as reservoirs of Lyme Borreliosis in Europe. Emerging Infectious Diseases 12, 1087–1095.
| PubMed | Harvey P. H. , and Pagel M. D. (1991). ‘The Comparative Method in Evolutionary Biology.’ (Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.)

Higgins P. J. , Peter J. M. , and Steele W. K. (Eds) (2001). ‘Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic birds. Vol. 5: Tyrant-flycatchers to Chats.’ (Oxford University Press: Melbourne.)

Hoodless, A. N. , Kurtenbach, K. , Nuttall, P. A. , and Randolph, S. E. (2002). The impact of ticks on pheasant territoriality. Oikos 96, 245–250.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Kikkawa J. (1987). Social relations and fitness in Silvereyes. In ‘Animal Societies: Theories and Fact’. (Eds Y. Ito, J. L. Brown and J. Kikkawa.) pp. 253–266. (Scientific Press: Tokyo.)

Kinsey, A. A. , Durden, L. A. , and Oliver, J. H. (2000). Tick infestations of birds in coastal Georgia and Alabama. Journal of Parasitology 86, 251–254.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | Maddison W. P. , and Maddison D. R. (2005). ‘Mesquite: A Modular System for Evolutionary Analysis.’ Version 1.06. Available at http://www.mesquiteproject.org [Verified 14 May 2009].

Mangin, S. , Gauhier-Clerc, M. , Frenot, Y. , Gender, J.-P. , and Le Maho, Y. (2003). Ticks Ixodes uriae and the breeding performance of a colonial seabird, king penguin Aptenodytes patagonicus. Journal of Avian Biology 34, 30–34.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Midford P. E. , Garland T. Jr , and Maddison W. P. (2005). ‘PDAP Package of Mesquite.’ Version 1.07. Available at http://www.mesquiteproject.org/pdap_mesquite [Verified 14 May 2009].

Needham, G. R. , and Teel, P. D. (1991). Off-host physiological ecology of ixodid ticks. Annual Review of Entomology 36, 659–681.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | Price P. W. (1980). ‘Evolutionary Biology of Parasites.’ (Princeton University Press: Princeton, NJ.)

Pruett-Jones M. , and Pruett-Jones S. (1991). Analysis and ecological correlates of tick burdens in a New Guinea avifauna. In ‘Bird–Parasite Interactions: Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour’. (Eds J. E. Loye and M. Zuk.) pp.154–176. (Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.)

Ramos, J. A. , Davis, L. , Venis, S. , Quinn, J. , and Middleton, C. (2001). Activity patterns and effect of ticks on growth and survival of tropical Roseate Tern nestlings. Auk 118, 709–716.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Roberts F. H. S. (1970). ‘Australian Ticks.’ (CSIRO: Melbourne.)

Rowley I. , and Russell E. (1997). ‘Fairy-wrens and Grasswrens: Maluridae.’ Bird Families of the World. (Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.)

Schlotfeldt, B. E. , and Kleindorfer, S. (2006). Adaptive divergence in the Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus): a mainland versus island comparison of morphology and foraging behaviour. Emu 106, 309–319.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Sonenshine D. E. (1993). ‘Biology of Ticks. Vol. 2.’ (Oxford University Press: New York.)

Stafford, K. C. , Bladen, V. C. , and Magnarelli, L. A. (1995). Ticks (Acari : Ixodidae) infesting wild birds (Aves) and white-footed mice in Lyme, CT. Journal of Medical Entomology 2, 453–466.


Taragel’ová, V. , Koči, J. , Hanincová, K. , Olekšák, M. , and Labuda, M. (2005). Songbirds as hosts for ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in Slovakia. Biologia 60, 529–537.


Waudby, H. P. , and Petit, S. (2007). Seasonal density fluctuations of the exotic ornate kangaroo tick, Amblyomma triguttatum triguttatum Koch, and its distribution on Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. Parasitology Research 101, 1203–1208.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |

Wikel, S. K. (1996). Host immunity to ticks. Annual Review of Entomology 41, 1–22.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed |