Conference Proceedings
11th-13th November Lisbon
V FAUNA International Conference
Posters P1- Birds of prey
can we find parasites in necropsy?
Susana Carrega1,2, Inês Caetano3, Manuela Mira3, Luís Manuel Madeira de Carvalho1 1. Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health (CIISA), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon (FMV-ULisboa), Lisbon, Portugal. 2. Valvet centro Veterinário.
[email protected]
Rua
8
de
Setembro,
Flamengos,
Faial,
Açores
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Portugal;
3. LxCras: Centro de Reabilitação de Animais Silvestres de Lisboa
Birds are probably the more obvious "indicator" of natural conditions of ecosystems. One of the most alarming recent developments is the rapid extinction of wildlife, and so it is important to study the pathogens that cause disease and weaken the populations, in order to help protect the wildlife and birds diversity3. All studies of birds of prey are very important, because due to their position in the food chain, any change in their health status can have significant effects on the ecosystem 2,4. Being top predators they are at the end of indirect life cycles and may therefore, due to their diet, be exposed to various parasites 5,7. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasitism in free ranging birds of prey and the identification of parasites found. Between November 2013 and July 2014 necropsy procedures were conducted in several species of birds of prey received at the Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre in Lisbon, Portugal (LxCRAS). 64 birds were subjected to necropsy, with 59.4% (n = 38) belonging to the Order Falconiformes and the most common species were Buteo buteo (n = 20) and Falco tinnunculus (n = 16). The Strigiformes Order represented 40.6% of the sample (n = 26), with Tyto alba being the most frequent species (n = 11). The overall prevalence found was 34.4% with 26.6% (17/64) for acanthocephalans, 18.7% (12/64) for nematodes and 4.7% (3/64) for cestodes. Regarding the results of prevalence by host Order, the recorded values were 47.4% (18/38) in Falconiformes and 15.4% (4/26) in Strigiformes. Concerning the results of prevalence by species, in Falconiformes B. buteo stands out not only by the greater number of specimens analyzed, as the most prevalent in terms of infection, as well as the one in greater diversity of parasites. In Strigiformes, the only parasitized species were Bubo bubo and S. aluco and we only found acantocephalans in the 4 positive specimens. The identified parasites were Centrorhynchus sp., Synhimantus sp., Cyrnea sp. and Porrocaecum sp. Regarding the tapeworms found, it was not possible to identify them because all had damaged scolex. These parasites were found in three B. buteo specimens. The species that registered more specimens with mixed parasitism was B. buteo. B. buteo is a common resident specie in our territory2 and is considered generalist opportunistic feeder, which can lead to greater exposure to potential intermediate hosts6.
Lisbon, 2016
V FAUNA International Conference
The results obtained in southern Italy6, confirm that the more diverse are the feeding habits of the host, the greater the richness of helminth communities. In this study, B. buteo was the host found with the richer helminth communities. Apparently, the free-ranging birds of prey live in a balanced way with its parasites, as some of the birds subjected to necropsy and which were parasitized were in good body condition. There was no histopathological evaluation of the mucosal of the infected birds and so it is not possible to say that there were no injuries of the digestive tract. As mentioned in the introduction, the study of wildlife is important because it allows us to get a lot of information not only for the species studied but also for the entire ecosystem. In the case of birds, particularly birds of prey, this study also can provide important information about the participants in the food chain. _______________ REFERENCES
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ICNF Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas. (n.d.). Livro Vermelho dos Vertebrados de Portugal. Acedido em Jun. 2, 2014. Disponível em http://www.icnf.pt/portal/naturaclas/patrinatur/lvv/resource/doc/tab-class-spp/aves
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Illescas Gomez, M. P., Rodriguez Osorio, M., & Aranda Maza, F. (1993). Parasitation of Falconiform, Strigiform and Passeriform (Corvidae) birds by helminths in Spain. Research and Reviews in Parasitology, 53, 129 135.
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Papazahariadou, M., Diakou, A., Papadopoulos, E., Georgopoulou, I., Komnenou, A., & Antoniadou Sotiriadou, K. (2008). Parasites of the digestive tract in free ranging birds in Greece. Journal of Natural History, 42(5-8), 381 398. doi:10.1080/00222930701835357
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Sánchez-Andrade, R., Panadero, R., López, R., Lago, C., Paz, P., & A & Morrondo, P. (2002). Parasitic forms in faeces and aegagropiles of diurnal and nocturnal birds of prey in Galicia. Revista Ibérica de Parasitologia, 62, 89 92.
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Sanmartín, M., Alvarez, F., Barreiro, G., & Leiro, J. (2004). Helminth fauna of Falconiform and Strigiform birds of prey in Galicia, Northwest Spain. Parasitology Research, 92, 255 263. doi:10.1007/s00436-003-1042-z
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Santoro, M., Kinsella, J. M., Galiero, G., degli Uberti, B., & Aznar, F. J. (2012). Helminth community structure in birds of prey (Accipitriformes and Falconiformes) in southern Italy. The Journal of Parasitology, 98(1), 22 9. doi:10.1645/GE-2924.1
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Zhang, L., Liu, F., Huang, W., & Song, J. (2008). Occurrence of Nematode Parasites in Raptors in Beijing, China. Journal of Raptor Research, 42 (3), 204 209. Acedido em Mai. 16, 2014. Disponível em http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.3356/JRR-07-29.1
________________________ Funding: Project CIISA-FMV-ULisboa Project UID/CVT/00276/2013 (FCT).
Lisbon, 2016
