Breeding status, contaminant burden and helminth parasites of Northern FulmarsFulmarus glacialisfrom the Canadian high Arctic

Abstract

We studied the relationship between contaminant concentrations in livers, endohelminth prevalence and physiological indices of chronic stress (spleen size, heterophil/lymphocyte ratios) in Northern Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis collected during the breeding season in Nunavut, Canada. No blood parasites were found, similar to reports for other petrel species elsewhere. However, 54% of Fulmars had gastrointestinal helminths, principally cestodes (52% prevalence, mean intensity of 11 worms), nematodes (34% prevalence, 3.6 worms) and acanthocephalans (3%, eight worms). Both prevalence and intensity of helminth infections were lower for Arctic Fulmars than for Fulmars and other petrels found in southern parts of the species’ range. Spleen size was not significantly related to either contaminant concentration or presence of parasites, suggesting that Fulmar health was generally unaffected by contaminant and parasite levels at the colony. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that Fulmars with higher parasitaemias or contaminant loads were in poorer condition and did not attend the breeding colony.

Parasitism, mercury contamination, and stable isotopes in fish-eating double-crested cormorants: no support for the co-ingestion hypothesis

“…One hypothesis to explain such relationships is that methyl mercury and also organochlorines reduce immunity, thereby resulting in a higher degree of parasitism (e.g., Luebke et al 1994, Borošková et al 1995. However, when immune status was measured and compared with concentrations of organochlorines and abundance of parasites in northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis (L., 1761)), there was no relationship with either (Mallory et al 2007). There are no experimental studies on birds in their native habitat showing that increased methyl mercury levels lead to an increased susceptibility to parasitism.…”

Parasites of seabirds: A survey of effects and ecological implications

“…In Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) in southern Canada, Robinson et al (2008) found that males had significantly higher levels of the trematode Drepanocaphalus spathans when compared with females. Mallory et al (2007) found a higher frequency of occurrence of cestodes in Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) during the post-breeding season as compared with the pre-breeding season. The diversity of cestodes and trematodes has been shown to vary across a host species range.…”

“…In contrast, Provencher et al (2016) found that the abundance of cestodes and acanthocephalans were negatively correlated with each other in Common Eiders, and suggested a possible negative interaction between helminth species within a host, at least in some species. Northern Fulmars from the high Canadian Arctic harboured several helminth species including cestodes, trematodes, nematodes, and acanthocephalans in varying levels of infection (Mallory et al, 2007). Tourangeau et al (2018) similarly found that Common Eiders in northern Canada to have several cestodes and acanthocephalans with varying levels of infection in relation to age and sex.…”

“…Helminths are typically studied in seabirds through carcass collection (e.g. Mallory et al, 2007), although some studies have used regurgitation, endoscopic techniques, and anti-helminth treatments in seabirds, to assess parasitism in the gastrointestinal tract and their effects (Fonteneau and Cook, 2013;Granroth-Wilding et al, 2017;Provencher et al, 2017). Information on the impact of helminths on some species are more available because they are hunted or often beach cast, but overall the need for carcasses poses a challenge to explore helminth-seabird relationships in wild populations, as lethal sampling is most often used.…”

“…In situations where carcasses are available, a range of helminths have been found in host species (e.g. Mallory et al, 2007;Tourangeau et al, 2018).…”