Exposure to Toxoplasma gondii in Galapagos Penguins (Spheniscus mendiculus) and Flightless Cormorants (Phalacrocorax harrisi) in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Deem, Sharon L.; Merkel, Jane; Ballweber, Lora R.; Vargas, F. Hernán; Cruz, Marilyn; Parker, Patricia G.

doi:10.7589/0090-3558-46.3.1005

Cited by 44 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Evidence of exposure to all the infectious agents we tested for has been detected in other avian species in Galapagos or in other raptor species (Deem, 1999;Padilla et al, 2003Padilla et al, , 2004Gottdenker et al, 2005;Travis et al, 2006a, b;Soos et al, 2008;Deem et al, 2010). The high avian adenovirus-1 antibody prevalence in the study population is similar to that determined in backyard chickens (Gallus gallus) and Flightless Cormorants (Phalacrocorax harrisi) in the Galapagos (Travis et al, 2006a;Soos et al, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

Health Evaluation of Galapagos Hawks (Buteo Galapagoensis) on Santiago Island, Galapagos

Deem

Parker

2012

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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Galapagos Hawks (Buteo galapagoensis), the only endemic, diurnal raptor species in Galapagos, are currently distributed on eight Galapagos Islands having been extirpated from three of the human-inhabited islands. In January 2009, we performed health assessments of 89 Galapagos Hawks on Santiago Island, Galapagos. Four of the 89 Galapagos Hawks (4%) evaluated had physical abnormalities. Blood parameters did not differ between males and females, except for aspartate transaminase values, which were significantly higher in females than males. No Galapagos Hawks tested positive for antibodies to avian encephalitis virus, Marek virus, and paramyxovirus-1 or to haemosporidian antigen. Chlamydophila psittaci antigen was detected in 2 of 86 Galapagos Hawks (2%), with 24 of 43 Galapagos Hawks (56%) antibody-positive for avian adenovirus-1 and 1 of 48 Galapagos Hawks (2%) antibody positive for Toxoplasma gondii. There were no significant differences in infectious disease results based on sex. This study contributes to the understanding of the health status of the Galapagos Hawk and to the establishment of baseline information for the species.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

Health Evaluation of Galapagos Hawks (Buteo Galapagoensis) on Santiago Island, Galapagos

Deem

Parker

2012

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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“…Birds are particularly consequential intermediate hosts of T. gondii because of their high dispersal capabilities. The presence of seropositive animals in felid‐free areas, such as the Arctic and oceanic islands, has been attributed to migratory birds infected elsewhere that arrive and enter the local food chain (Deem et al, 2010; Prestrud et al, 2007). Toxoplasmosis in avian populations can be a considerable concern from the wildlife conservation perspective, because many species are acutely sensitive to T. gondii .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction of diet and habitat predicts Toxoplasma gondii infection rates in wild birds at a global scale

Wilson¹,

Lapen

Mitchell

et al. 2020

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. Abstract Aim: Free-ranging wildlife are valuable sentinels for zoonotic, multi-host pathogens, and new insight into parasite transmission patterns is possible through a macroecological approach. Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan capable of infecting all warmblooded animals, including humans, primarily through a free-living oocyst and/or tissue cyst life stage. Anthropogenic disturbance is facilitating the spread of T. gondii, making it crucial to understand the general ecological and life-history drivers of T. gondii infections in wild birds, which are important intermediate hosts. Our goal was to determine how habitat (terrestrial versus aquatic), dietary trophic level and scavenging behaviour influence the prevalence of T. gondii infection in wild birds at a global scale. Location: Global. Time period: 1952-2017. Major taxa studied: Birds.Methods: Our analysis used the serological, bioassay and molecular prevalence data of T. gondii in avian species compiled from 81 studies conducted worldwide and encompassing 24,344 individuals from 393 avian species from 84 families. Results:We showed that at a global scale, trophic level and habitat interacted significantly to influence T. gondii prevalence in avian intermediate hosts. In the terrestrial environment, T. gondii prevalence increased with trophic level, consistent with predominant tissue cyst transmission. The highest prevalence was in terrestrial omnivores, which might reflect their synanthropic foraging behaviour. In aquatic species, prevalence was more consistent across trophic levels, but high prevalence in aquatic herbivores and insectivores reflects significant waterborne exposure to oocysts.Contrary to our predictions, generalized scavenging per se was not associated with increased prevalence. Main conclusions:This study highlights the value of comparing pathogen prevalence among multiple ecological guilds and ecosystem types for a more comprehensive understanding of the epidemiology of generalist pathogens, such as T. gondii. Increased B I OS K E TCH S U PP O RTI N G I N FO R M ATI O NAdditional supporting information may be found online in the Supporting Information section.We are a group of governmental and non-governmental researchers with a research focus on anthropogenic impacts on wildlife and human health. We adopt a One Health approach to examine zoonotic diseases whose epidemiology is linked to anthropogenic activities, such as urbanization and agricultural activity.

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“…Pinnipeds, sirenians, cetacians and polar bears acquire T. gondii infections (Dubey et al ., 2003; 2008; Gerber et al ., ; Cabezon et al ., ; Alvarado‐Esquivel et al ., ; Rengifo‐Herrera et al ., ), and the parasite is a significant cause of mortality in the Southern sea otter population in California (Kreuder et al ., ; Miller et al ., ; Johnson et al ., ). Recent reports even describe detection of antibodies to T. gondii in flightless Galapagos cormorants ( Phalacrocorax harrisi ) that do not venture beyond a few hundred metres of the coast of the cat‐free island of Fernandina (Deem et al ., ), and in pinnipeds and polar bears from the cat‐free island of Svalbard, in the Arctic Ocean (Jensen et al ., ). Most of these intermediate hosts do not hunt or scavenge warm‐blooded prey, so infection by ingestion of bradyzoite cysts in the tissues of other intermediate hosts (e.g., migrating birds) is unlikely.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concentration and retention of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts by marine snails demonstrate a novel mechanism for transmission of terrestrial zoonotic pathogens in coastal ecosystems

Krusor

Smith

Tinker

et al. 2015

Environmental Microbiology

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The parasite Toxoplasma gondii is an environmentally persistent pathogen that can cause fatal disease in humans, terrestrial warm-blooded animals and aquatic mammals. Although an association between T. gondii exposure and prey specialization on marine snails was identified in threatened California sea otters, the ability of kelp-dwelling snails to transmit terrestrially derived pathogens has not been previously investigated. The objective of this study was to measure concentration and retention of T. gondii by marine snails in laboratory aquaria, and to test for natural T. gondii contamination in field-collected snails. Following exposure to T. gondii-containing seawater, oocysts were detected by microscopy in snail faeces and tissues for 10 and 3 days respectively. Nested polymerase chain reaction was also applied as a method for confirming putative T. gondii oocysts detected in snail faeces and tissues by microscopy. Toxoplasma gondii was not detected in field-collected snails. Results suggest that turban snails are competent transport hosts for T. gondii. By concentrating oocysts in faecal pellets, snails may facilitate entry of T. gondii into the nearshore marine food web. This novel mechanism also represents a general pathway by which marine transmission of terrestrially derived microorganisms can be mediated via pathogen concentration and retention by benthic invertebrates.

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Exposure to Toxoplasma gondii in Galapagos Penguins (Spheniscus mendiculus) and Flightless Cormorants (Phalacrocorax harrisi) in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Cited by 44 publications

References 32 publications

Health Evaluation of Galapagos Hawks (Buteo Galapagoensis) on Santiago Island, Galapagos

Health Evaluation of Galapagos Hawks (Buteo Galapagoensis) on Santiago Island, Galapagos

Interaction of diet and habitat predicts Toxoplasma gondii infection rates in wild birds at a global scale

Concentration and retention of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts by marine snails demonstrate a novel mechanism for transmission of terrestrial zoonotic pathogens in coastal ecosystems

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