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Sandoval-Rodríguez A, Marcone D, Alegría-Morán R, Larraechea M, Yévenes K, Fredes F, Briceño C. Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. in Free-Ranging Introduced Monk Parakeets from Santiago, Chile. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11030801. [PMID: 33809350 PMCID: PMC7999449 DOI: 10.3390/ani11030801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Revised: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Monk Parakeets are medium-sized parrots that were internationally traded as pets and that as a byproduct have become invasive species in 19 countries. This is the case of Chile, where Monk Parakeets have thrived in the city of Santiago. Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. are parasites that can affect the digestive system of a wide variety of animals, including humans and birds. This study sought to determine the occurrence of these parasites within Monk Parakeets from the city of Santiago. To do this, 207 fecal samples from Monk Parakeet nestlings that were captured during the summer seasons of 2017 and 2018 were analyzed. Environmental data related to the trees in which the nestlings were captured was studied in order to the determine the existence of areas more prone to have infected parakeets and whether certain environmental variables influence the presence or absence of these parasites in Monk Parakeets. In total, 33 samples were positive to the presence of one or both parasites. Of the 33, 10 nestlings (30%) were infected with Cryptosporidium spp. and 25 (76%) with Giardia spp. Two nestlings were infected with both parasites (6%). Environmental analyses revealed that pruned trees might constitute a protective factor against infection with these parasites. These findings emphasize Monk Parakeet’s potential role as a disease disseminator, especially in urban environments. Abstract Monk Parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) are medium-sized parrots that due to international pet trade currently exist as invasive species in 19 countries globally. Such is the case of Chile, where Monk Parakeets have thrived in the city of Santiago. Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. are worldwide distributed gastrointestinal parasites whose potential hosts include birds and humans. The present study sought to determine the presence of these pathogens in Monk Parakeets from Santiago. During the austral summers of 2017 and 2018, 207 Monk Parakeet nestlings were captured, and fecal samples were studied via microscopical analyses. Environmental data related to the trees in which the nestlings were captured were analyzed to establish the existence of infection clusters. Associations between spatial clusters, environmental variables, and the presence or absence of these pathogens were explored. In total, 33 samples were positive to the presence of one or both protozoa. Of the 33, Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts were detected in 10 nestlings (30%) while Giardia spp. cysts were detected in 25 (76%). Two nestlings presented poly-parasitism (6%). Statistical analyses established pruned trees as a potential protective factor against infection with these parasites. The present study corresponds to the second report of Cryptosporidium spp. in Monk Parakeets in Chile and the first worldwide report of Giardia spp. in these birds, emphasizing Monk Parakeet’s potential role as a reservoir and pathogen disseminator, especially in urban environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandra Sandoval-Rodríguez
- Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Silvoagropecuarias y Veterinarias, Campus Sur Universidad de Chile, Santa Rosa 11315, La Pintana, Santiago CP 8820808, Chile;
- Animal Preventive Medicine Department, Faculty of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Chile, Santiago CP 8820808, Chile; (D.M.); or (R.A.-M.); (M.L.); (K.Y.); (F.F.)
| | - Daniela Marcone
- Animal Preventive Medicine Department, Faculty of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Chile, Santiago CP 8820808, Chile; (D.M.); or (R.A.-M.); (M.L.); (K.Y.); (F.F.)
| | - Raúl Alegría-Morán
- Animal Preventive Medicine Department, Faculty of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Chile, Santiago CP 8820808, Chile; (D.M.); or (R.A.-M.); (M.L.); (K.Y.); (F.F.)
- Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Pedro de Valdivia University, Santiago CP 8370007, Chile
| | - Matilde Larraechea
- Animal Preventive Medicine Department, Faculty of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Chile, Santiago CP 8820808, Chile; (D.M.); or (R.A.-M.); (M.L.); (K.Y.); (F.F.)
| | - Karina Yévenes
- Animal Preventive Medicine Department, Faculty of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Chile, Santiago CP 8820808, Chile; (D.M.); or (R.A.-M.); (M.L.); (K.Y.); (F.F.)
| | - Fernando Fredes
- Animal Preventive Medicine Department, Faculty of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Chile, Santiago CP 8820808, Chile; (D.M.); or (R.A.-M.); (M.L.); (K.Y.); (F.F.)
| | - Cristóbal Briceño
- Animal Preventive Medicine Department, Faculty of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Chile, Santiago CP 8820808, Chile; (D.M.); or (R.A.-M.); (M.L.); (K.Y.); (F.F.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +56-2-29785665
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Nabi G, Wang Y, Lü L, Jiang C, Ahmad S, Wu Y, Li D. Bats and birds as viral reservoirs: A physiological and ecological perspective. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 754:142372. [PMID: 33254850 PMCID: PMC7505891 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2020] [Revised: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The birds (class Aves) and bats (order Chiroptera, class Mammalia) are well known natural reservoirs of a diverse range of viruses, including some zoonoses. The only extant volant vertebrates, bats and birds have undergone dramatic adaptive radiations that have allowed them to occupy diverse ecological niches and colonize most of the planet. However, few studies have compared the physiology and ecology of these ecologically, and medically, important taxa. Here, we review convergent traits in the physiology, immunology, flight-related ecology of birds and bats that might enable these taxa to act as viral reservoirs and asymptomatic carriers. Many species of birds and bats are well adapted to urban environments and may host more zoonotic pathogens than species that do not colonize anthropogenic habitats. These convergent traits in birds and bats and their ecological interactions with domestic animals and humans increase the potential risk of viral spillover transmission and facilitate the emergence of novel viruses that most likely sources of zoonoses with the potential to cause global pandemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ghulam Nabi
- Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Yang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Liang Lü
- Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Chuan Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Shahid Ahmad
- Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Yuefeng Wu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Dongming Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China.
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The role of woodpeckers (family: Picidae) as ecosystem engineers in urban parks: a case study in the city of Madrid (Spain). Urban Ecosyst 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11252-020-01087-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Kotowska D, Zegarek M, Osojca G, Satory A, Pärt T, Żmihorski M. Spatial patterns of bat diversity overlap with woodpecker abundance. PeerJ 2020; 8:e9385. [PMID: 32596056 PMCID: PMC7306217 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2019] [Accepted: 05/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Woodpecker diversity is usually higher in natural forests rich in dead wood and old trees than in managed ones, thus this group of birds is regarded as an indicator of forest biodiversity. Woodpeckers excavate cavities which can be subsequently used by several bird species. As a consequence, their abundance indicates high avian abundance and diversity in forests. However, woodpecker-made holes may be also important for other animals, for example, mammals but it has seldom been investigated so far. Here, we examine how well one species, the Great Spotted Woodpecker, predicts species richness, occurrence and acoustic activity of bats in Polish pine forests. In 2011 we conducted woodpecker and bat surveys at 63 point-count sites in forests that varied in terms of stand age, structure and amount of dead wood. From zero to five Great Spotted Woodpeckers at a point-count site were recorded. The total duration of the echolocation calls during a 10-min visit varied from 0 to 542 s and the number of bat species/species groups recorded during a visit ranged between zero to five. The local abundance of the woodpecker was positively correlated with bat species richness (on the verge of significance), bat occurrence and pooled bat activity. The occurrence of Eptesicus and Vespertilio bats and Nyctalus species was positively related with the abundance of the Great Spotted Woodpecker. The activity of Pipistrellus pygmaeus, Eptesicus and Vespertilio bats and a group of Myotis species was not associated with the woodpecker abundance, but echolocation calls of Nyctalus species, P. nathusii and P.pipistrellus were more often at sites with many Great Spotted Woodpeckers. Moreover, the probability of bat presence and the activity of bats was generally higher shortly after dusk and in middle of the summer than in late spring. We suggest that the observed correlations can be driven by similar roosting habitats (e.g., woodpeckers can provide breeding cavities for bats) or possibly by associated invertebrate food resources of woodpeckers and bats. The abundance of Great Spotted Woodpecker seems to be a good positive indicator of bat species richness, occurrence and activity, thus adding a group of relatively cryptic forest species that are indicated by the presence of the Great Spotted Woodpecker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorota Kotowska
- Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
| | - Marcin Zegarek
- Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Białowieża, Poland
| | - Grzegorz Osojca
- Department of Management and Logistics, Helena Chodkowska University of Technology and Economics, Warsaw, Poland
| | | | - Tomas Pärt
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Michał Żmihorski
- Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Białowieża, Poland
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Briceño C, Sandoval-Rodríguez A, Yévenes K, Larraechea M, Morgado A, Chappuzeau C, Muñoz V, Dufflocq P, Olivares F. Interactions between Invasive Monk Parakeets ( Myiopsitta monachus) and Other Bird Species during Nesting Seasons in Santiago, Chile. Animals (Basel) 2019; 9:E923. [PMID: 31694253 PMCID: PMC6912311 DOI: 10.3390/ani9110923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2019] [Revised: 10/30/2019] [Accepted: 10/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) is considered to be one of the most invasive bird species because its unique ability among parrots to build their own communal nests. Currently, they are considered an invasive species in 19 countries and a pest-even in their native distribution-because of economic losses derived from their impacts. During the reproductive seasons of 2017 and 2018, we registered interactions between invasive monk parakeets and resident bird species in Santiago, Chile. We observed agonistic and affiliative interactions, and further, we described monk parakeets' nest occupancy by nine bird species, two invasive and seven native. For this reason, we consider that the monk parakeet is an allogenic ecosystem engineer with the potential to shape distribution and richness of sympatric species in urban environments. Our results contribute to an assessment of the implications of the monk parakeet's ecological invasion to other synanthropic species, and raise concern of other potential impacts, such as pathogen transmission derived from these interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristóbal Briceño
- ConserLab, Animal Preventive Medicine Department, Faculty of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Chile, Santiago 8820808, Chile
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Caron A, Bourgarel M, Cappelle J, Liégeois F, De Nys HM, Roger F. Ebola Virus Maintenance: If Not (Only) Bats, What Else? Viruses 2018; 10:E549. [PMID: 30304789 PMCID: PMC6213544 DOI: 10.3390/v10100549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2018] [Revised: 09/26/2018] [Accepted: 10/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The maintenance mechanisms of ebolaviruses in African forest ecosystems are still unknown, but indirect evidences point at the involvement of some bat species. Despite intense research, the main bat-maintenance hypothesis has not been confirmed yet. The alternative hypotheses of a non-bat maintenance host or a maintenance community including, or not, several bat and other species, deserves more investigation. However, African forest ecosystems host a large biodiversity and abound in potential maintenance hosts. How does one puzzle out? Since recent studies have revealed that several bat species have been exposed to ebolaviruses, the common denominator to these hypotheses is that within the epidemiological cycle, some bats species must be exposed to the viruses and infected by these potential alternative hosts. Under this constraint, and given the peculiar ecology of bats (roosting behaviour, habitat utilisation, and flight mode), we review the hosts and transmission pathways that can lead to bat exposure and infection to ebolaviruses. In contrast to the capacity of bats to transmit ebolaviruses and other pathogens to many hosts, our results indicate that only a limited number of hosts and pathways can lead to the transmission of ebolaviruses to bats, and that the alternative maintenance host, if it exists, must be amongst them. A list of these pathways is provided, along with protocols to prioritise and investigate these alternative hypotheses. In conclusion, taking into account the ecology of bats and their known involvement in ebolaviruses ecology drastically reduces the list of potential alternative maintenance hosts for ebolaviruses. Understanding the natural history of ebolaviruses is a health priority, and investigating these alternative hypotheses could complete the current effort focused on the role of bats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Caron
- CIRAD, UMR ASTRE, RP-PCP, Harare, Zimbabwe.
- ASTRE, Uni. Montpellier, CIRAD, INRA, 34398 Montpellier, France.
- Faculdade de Veterinaria, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo 01009, Mozambique.
| | - Mathieu Bourgarel
- CIRAD, UMR ASTRE, RP-PCP, Harare, Zimbabwe.
- ASTRE, Uni. Montpellier, CIRAD, INRA, 34398 Montpellier, France.
| | - Julien Cappelle
- ASTRE, Uni. Montpellier, CIRAD, INRA, 34398 Montpellier, France.
- UMR EPIA, INRA, VetAgro Sup, Univ Lyon, F-69280 Marcy-l'étoile, France.
- CIRAD, UMR ASTRE, 34398 Montpellier, France.
| | - Florian Liégeois
- UMR 224, MIVEGEC, IRD/CNRS/Uni. Montpellier, 34394 Montpellier, France.
| | - Hélène M De Nys
- ASTRE, Uni. Montpellier, CIRAD, INRA, 34398 Montpellier, France.
- CIRAD, UMR ASTRE, 34398 Montpellier, France.
- UMR 233 TransVIHMI, IRD/Uni. Montpellier/INSERM, 34394 Montpellier, France.
| | - François Roger
- ASTRE, Uni. Montpellier, CIRAD, INRA, 34398 Montpellier, France.
- CIRAD, UMR ASTRE, 34398 Montpellier, France.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Nicole Welch
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology; University of Tennessee; 569 Dabney Hall, 1416 Circle Drive Knoxville TN 37996 USA
| | - Christy Leppanen
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology; University of Tennessee; 569 Dabney Hall, 1416 Circle Drive Knoxville TN 37996 USA
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