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Gastrointestinal parasite fauna of Emperor Penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) at the Atka Bay, Antarctica

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Abstract

In general, the knowledge on parasites infecting Antarctic birds is scarce. The present study intends to extend the knowledge on gastrointestinal parasites of Emperor Penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) at the Atka Bay, Antarctica. Fecal samples of 50 individual Emperor Penguins were collected at the Atka Bay and analyzed using the sodium-acetate-formaldehyde (SAF) method for the identification of intestinal helminth eggs and/or protozoan parasite stages. In addition, coproantigen ELISAs were performed to detect Cryptosporidium and Giardia infections. Overall, 13 out of 50 penguins proved parasitized (26 %). The following stages of gastrointestinal parasites were identified: One Capillaria sp. egg, Tetrabothrius spp. eggs, Diphyllobothrium spp. eggs, and proglottids of the cestode Parorchites zederi. The recorded Capillaria infection represents a new host record for Emperor Penguins. All coproantigen ELISAs for the detection of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. were negative. This paper provides current data on parasites of the Emperor Penguin, a protected endemic species of the Antarctica.

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Acknowledgments

We are thankful to the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research for logistical support and sample acquisition. Furthermore, we thank the German Federal Environment Agency for the sampling permission. We are grateful to Christine Henrich, Agnes Mohr, and Birgit Reinhardt for technical assistance. Special thanks to Boyko B. Georgiev (Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria) and Krzysztof Tomczuk (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Lublin, Poland) for providing us with assistive literature.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Parasitology, Biomedical Research Centre Seltersberg, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Schubertstr. 81, 35392, Giessen, Germany

    S. Kleinertz, L. M. R. Silva, J. Hirzmann, C. Hermosilla & A. Taubert

  2. Rostock University, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Chair of Aquaculture and Sea-Ranching, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 6, 18059, Rostock, Germany

    S. Kleinertz

  3. Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, Germany

    S. Christmann

  4. ICAAM-Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas, University of Évora, Évora, Portugal

    L. M. R. Silva

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  1. S. Kleinertz
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  3. L. M. R. Silva
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  4. J. Hirzmann
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  5. C. Hermosilla
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Correspondence to S. Kleinertz.

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Kleinertz, S., Christmann, S., Silva, L.M.R. et al. Gastrointestinal parasite fauna of Emperor Penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) at the Atka Bay, Antarctica. Parasitol Res 113, 4133–4139 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-4085-4

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