0000000001157081
AUTHOR
Marco Barroca
Heterogeneity of host-parasite relationships : ecological and evolution significance
Although parasites have been studied for a long time, the major knowledge concern parasite which have medical or veterinary interest. Whereas they are omnipresent in the nature, the role of parasite infections on natural populations is poorly understood. One of the aim of this work was to study the pathogenicity of two groups of parasites (ticks and Haemosporidae) among natural populations of blackbirds. The study revealed that both parasites are associated with body condition and immune response. However, the study of an urban blackbird population did not confirm the effect of Haemosporidae on the survey and on the population dynamic.The impact of spatial pattern on the relation between ho…
Sensitive measure of prevalence and parasitaemia of haemosporidia from European blackbird (Turdus merula) populations: value of PCR-RFLP and quantitative PCR.
8 pages; International audience; Haemosporidian parasites are common in birds in which they act as an important selective pressure. While most studies so far have focused on the effect of their prevalence on host life-history traits, no study has measured the effect of parasitaemia. We developed molecular methods to detect, identify and quantify haemosporidia in 2 natural populations of the Blackbird Turdus merula. Three different parasite genotypes were found - 1 Haemoproteus and 2 Plasmodium. A PCR-RFLP screening revealed that only approximately 3% of blackbirds were free of parasites, compared to the 34% of uninfected birds estimated by blood smear screening. A quantitative PCR (q-PCR) a…