Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Lay Summary
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (12)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Nilsson, J.-A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Nilsson, J.-A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Behavioral Ecology Vol. 14 No. 2: 175-181
© 2003 International Society for Behavioral Ecology

Ectoparasitism in marsh tits: costs and functional explanations

Jan-Åke Nilsson

Department of Animal Ecology, University of Lund, S-223 62 Lund, Sweden

Address correspondence to J.-. Nilsson. E-mail: jan-ake.nilsson{at}zooekol.lu.se.

Among hole-nesting birds, the blood-sucking hen flea is a common parasite affecting both nestlings and parents. By adding fleas to marsh tit (Parus palustris) nests, I aimed to investigate the effect of fleas on nestling growth rate and parental effort as well as evaluating a potential mechanism by which fleas affect nestlings (i.e., resting metabolic rate; RMR). Nestlings from flea-infested broods were lighter than nestlings from control broods. This reduced growth rate was evident as soon as 3 days after adding extra fleas to the nest, but the reduction did not increase after this initial drop in mass. Parents did not alter their feeding frequency in response to the manipulation; thus the small size of nestlings in manipulated nests seems to be directly caused by the fleas. Mass-specific RMR was significantly higher in nestlings from flea-infested nests compared to nestlings from control nests. I used the results to evaluate the suggested mechanisms for parasite-related decrease in host growth rate. The increase in RMR and the very rapid reduction in nestling growth rate after experimental addition of fleas can be explained by an immune reaction, mainly by the innate immune system, to substances in the saliva of the fleas.

Key words: ectoparasitism, fleas, innate immune system, marsh tits, metabolic rate, nestling condition, parental effort, Parus palustris.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Phil Trans R Soc BHome page
D. Hasselquist and J.-A. Nilsson
Maternal transfer of antibodies in vertebrates: trans-generational effects on offspring immunity
Phil Trans R Soc B, January 12, 2009; 364(1513): 51 - 60.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
F. Helfenstein, A. Berthouly, M. Tanner, F. Karadas, and H. Richner
Nestling begging intensity and parental effort in relation to prelaying carotenoid availability
Behav. Ecol., January 1, 2008; 19(1): 108 - 115.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc R Soc BHome page
M Scantlebury, J.M Waterman, M Hillegass, J.R Speakman, and N.C Bennett
Energetic costs of parasitism in the Cape ground squirrel Xerus inauris
Proc R Soc B, September 7, 2007; 274(1622): 2169 - 2177.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.