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Nest ectoparasites increase physiological stress in breeding birds: an experiment

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Abstract

Parasites are undoubtedly a biotic factor that produces stress. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are important molecules buffering cellular damage under adverse conditions. During the breeding season, blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus (L.) adults are affected by blood parasites, nest-dwelling parasites and biting flies, potentially affecting their HSP-mediated responses. Here, we treated females with primaquine to reduce blood parasites and fumigated nests with permethrin to reduce nest-dwelling parasites to test whether these treatments affect HSP60 level during the breeding season. Medicated females, but not controls, had a significant reduction of the intensity of infection by Haemoproteus spp. blood parasites. However, final intensity of infection did not differ significantly between groups, and we did not find an effect of medication on change in HSP60 level. Fumigation reduced the abundance of nest-dwelling parasites (mites, fleas and blowfly larvae) and engorged biting midges in nests. Females breeding in non-fumigated nests increased HSP60 levels during the season more than those breeding in fumigated nests. Furthermore, the change in HSP60 level was positively correlated with the abundance of biting midges. These results show how infections by nest ectoparasites during the breeding period can increase the level of HSPs and suggest that biting midges impose physiological costs on breeding female blue tits. Although plausible, the alternative that biting midges prefer to feed on more stressed birds is poorly supported by previous studies.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by different projects CGL2006-14129-C02-01, CGL2007-61251 and CGL2009-09439 from Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia. The Junta de Castilla y León authorised the ringing and handling of birds. We thank Javier Donés (Director of “Montes de Valsaín”) for permission to work in the study area. The authors thank Sonia Aracil for their invaluable help in the lab. J.M.-P. is supported by a postdoctoral grant from Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; J. Morales and G. Tomás are supported by Juan de la Cierva fellowships and E. Lobato by a Postdoctoral contract (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación). A.V. Bordería kindly supplied the Petri dishes. This study is a contribution to the research developed at “El Ventorrillo” field station. Three anonymous referees considerably improved a previous version of the manuscript with their constructive comments.

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  1. Josué Martínez-de la Puente

    Present address: Department of Animal Science, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35416, Arucas, Spain

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), J. Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Josué Martínez-de la Puente, Santiago Merino & Juan Moreno

  2. Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (C.S.I.C.), Carretera de Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120, Almería, Spain

    Gustavo Tomás

  3. Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Facultade de Biología, Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, 36310, Spain

    Judith Morales

  4. Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionelle et Evolutive, CNRS, 1919 Route de Mende, Montpellier, France

    Elisa Lobato

  5. Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, 28871, Madrid, Spain

    Javier Martínez

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  1. Josué Martínez-de la Puente
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Correspondence to Josué Martínez-de la Puente.

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Martínez-de la Puente, J., Merino, S., Tomás, G. et al. Nest ectoparasites increase physiological stress in breeding birds: an experiment. Naturwissenschaften 98, 99–106 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-010-0746-z

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