Occurrence of blood parasites and intensity of infection in Prunella modularis in the montane and subalpine zone in the Slovak Carpathians
The objective of this study was to obtain primary information on the occurrence of blood parasites and intensity of infection in the Dunnock Prunella modularis in the montane region of Slovakia. Altogether 109 birds were examined during the years 2006–2010. The occurrence of Haemoproteus sp., Leucoc...
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Published in | Acta parasitologica Vol. 57; no. 3; pp. 221 - 227 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Heidelberg
SP Versita
01.09.2012
Versita Springer Nature B.V |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The objective of this study was to obtain primary information on the occurrence of blood parasites and intensity of infection in the Dunnock
Prunella modularis
in the montane region of Slovakia. Altogether 109 birds were examined during the years 2006–2010. The occurrence of
Haemoproteus
sp.,
Leucocytozoon fringillinarum
and
Trypanosoma
sp. was documented. Blood parasite prevalences of 45% by microscopic examination and 55% by PCR diagnostics were found. The prevalence of
Leucocytozoon
sp. was found to be dependent on host sex with males showing a significantly higher intensity of infection with
Leucocytozoon
. Adult birds showed significantly higher infection prevalence than subadults. The prevalences of both
Leucocytozoon
sp. and
Haemoproteus
sp. were significantly dependent on bird age. The intensity of infection with
Haemoproteus
and
Leucocytozoon
was positively correlated and higher intensity of infection was confirmed in adult birds then in subadults birds. The prevalence of blood parasites in our samples was significantly higher in comparison to most other studies from different countries of Europe conducted at lower altitudes, indicating that the montane zone is especially favourable for the transmission of
Leucocytozoon
and
Haemoproteus
species. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1230-2821 1896-1851 |
DOI: | 10.2478/s11686-012-0041-6 |