Abstract
Mycological studies of selected populations of black-headed gulls were carried out in response to the increasing interest in wild birds as reservoirs of potentially pathogenic fungi and links in the epidemiological chain of mycoses hazardous to human and animals. The biological material comprised swabs from the beaks and cloacae of adult and young birds subjected to standard mycological diagnostics. 79.5% of samples were positive, comprising 22 fungal species belonging to 10 genera, mainly Candida, Rhodotorula, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Cryptococcus, and Trichosporon. The most frequently isolated species were Candida albicans and Rhodotorula rubra, found in the beaks of females and young birds and in the cloacae of young birds with comparable frequency. Cryptococcus laurentii, Cr. neoformans, Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, and Rh. muscilaginosa were isolated relatively frequently from all birds. The results highlight the ecological importance of wild birds in the circulation of potentially pathogenic fungi in the biosphere.
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Dynowska, M., Indykiewicz, P. & Ejdys, E. Black-headed gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) - a natural reservoir of potentially pathogenic microfungi?. Biologia 73, 241–246 (2018). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-018-0030-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-018-0030-9