Elevational Patterns of Blowfly Parasitism in Two Hole Nesting Avian Species

Climate change is predicted to cause shifts in parasite distributions, leading to encounters with new hosts. Mountains offer a natural experimental background to study how parasite distributions vary across climatic gradients. Parasite abundance is generally assumed to decrease with ascending elevat...

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Autor principal:	Gregorio Moreno-Rueda
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	elevational patterns <i>Protocalliphora azurea</i> <i>Parus major</i> <i>Periparus ater</i> Mediterranean environments Biology (General) QH301-705.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/60f586af20464a55bfca485925c01364
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:60f586af20464a55bfca485925c013642021-11-25T17:22:57ZElevational Patterns of Blowfly Parasitism in Two Hole Nesting Avian Species10.3390/d131105911424-2818https://doaj.org/article/60f586af20464a55bfca485925c013642021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/13/11/591https://doaj.org/toc/1424-2818Climate change is predicted to cause shifts in parasite distributions, leading to encounters with new hosts. Mountains offer a natural experimental background to study how parasite distributions vary across climatic gradients. Parasite abundance is generally assumed to decrease with ascending elevation, as colder climates may preclude several parasites to complete their life cycles. The present study analyses the elevational variation in the prevalence and intensity of the blowfly <i>Protocalliphora azurea</i> found in the nests of two hosts—the coal tit (<i>Periparus ater</i>) and great tit (<i>Parus major</i>)—in Sierra Nevada (SE Spain). <i>Protocalliphora azurea</i> adults are free-living flies, while their larvae are nest-dwelling parasites that feed on nestling blood. In contrast to initial predictions, <i>P. azurea</i> larvae were less prevalent at lower elevations. In Mediterranean environments, the colder and damper climate of medium and high elevations might favour this parasite. Alternatively, greater anthropogenic perturbation in lowland environments may have a negative impact on the parasite. The findings also show that the two host species had similar parasite loads. As coal tits are half the size of great tits, this suggests that the coal tits were more severely parasitised. In conclusion, the generalised assumption that parasite abundance decreases with elevation does not hold true for the present case and elevational parasite patterns probably depend on specific host–parasite systems and climatic conditions in the mountains.Gregorio Moreno-RuedaMDPI AGarticleelevational patterns<i>Protocalliphora azurea</i><i>Parus major</i><i>Periparus ater</i>Mediterranean environmentsBiology (General)QH301-705.5ENDiversity, Vol 13, Iss 591, p 591 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	elevational patterns <i>Protocalliphora azurea</i> <i>Parus major</i> <i>Periparus ater</i> Mediterranean environments Biology (General) QH301-705.5
spellingShingle	elevational patterns <i>Protocalliphora azurea</i> <i>Parus major</i> <i>Periparus ater</i> Mediterranean environments Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Gregorio Moreno-Rueda Elevational Patterns of Blowfly Parasitism in Two Hole Nesting Avian Species
description	Climate change is predicted to cause shifts in parasite distributions, leading to encounters with new hosts. Mountains offer a natural experimental background to study how parasite distributions vary across climatic gradients. Parasite abundance is generally assumed to decrease with ascending elevation, as colder climates may preclude several parasites to complete their life cycles. The present study analyses the elevational variation in the prevalence and intensity of the blowfly <i>Protocalliphora azurea</i> found in the nests of two hosts—the coal tit (<i>Periparus ater</i>) and great tit (<i>Parus major</i>)—in Sierra Nevada (SE Spain). <i>Protocalliphora azurea</i> adults are free-living flies, while their larvae are nest-dwelling parasites that feed on nestling blood. In contrast to initial predictions, <i>P. azurea</i> larvae were less prevalent at lower elevations. In Mediterranean environments, the colder and damper climate of medium and high elevations might favour this parasite. Alternatively, greater anthropogenic perturbation in lowland environments may have a negative impact on the parasite. The findings also show that the two host species had similar parasite loads. As coal tits are half the size of great tits, this suggests that the coal tits were more severely parasitised. In conclusion, the generalised assumption that parasite abundance decreases with elevation does not hold true for the present case and elevational parasite patterns probably depend on specific host–parasite systems and climatic conditions in the mountains.
format	article
author	Gregorio Moreno-Rueda
author_facet	Gregorio Moreno-Rueda
author_sort	Gregorio Moreno-Rueda
title	Elevational Patterns of Blowfly Parasitism in Two Hole Nesting Avian Species
title_short	Elevational Patterns of Blowfly Parasitism in Two Hole Nesting Avian Species
title_full	Elevational Patterns of Blowfly Parasitism in Two Hole Nesting Avian Species
title_fullStr	Elevational Patterns of Blowfly Parasitism in Two Hole Nesting Avian Species
title_full_unstemmed	Elevational Patterns of Blowfly Parasitism in Two Hole Nesting Avian Species
title_sort	elevational patterns of blowfly parasitism in two hole nesting avian species
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/60f586af20464a55bfca485925c01364
work_keys_str_mv	AT gregoriomorenorueda elevationalpatternsofblowflyparasitismintwoholenestingavianspecies
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Elevational Patterns of Blowfly Parasitism in Two Hole Nesting Avian Species

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