Feather-Degrading Bacteria Do Not Affect Feathers on Captive Birds

Cristol, Daniel A.; Armstrong, Jessica; Whitaker, Justine M.; Forsyth, Mark H.

doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2005)122[0222:fbdnaf]2.0.co;2

Cited by 29 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In summary, studies with B. licheniformis [70,71] suggest that melanin may be an important defense against FDB. However, experiments manipulating bacteria in vivo on light and dark birds are needed for a more convincing test of this hypothesis, as well as to test the fitness consequences of FDB for birds [72].…”

Section: Feather Toughnessmentioning

confidence: 90%

See 1 more Smart Citation

How Birds Combat Ectoparasites

Clayton¹,

Koop²,

Harbison³

et al. 2010

TOOENIJ

222

211

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Birds are plagued by an impressive diversity of ectoparasites, ranging from feather-feeding lice, to featherdegrading bacteria. Many of these ectoparasites have severe negative effects on host fitness. It is therefore not surprising that selection on birds has favored a variety of possible adaptations for dealing with ectoparasites. The functional significance of some of these defenses has been well documented. Others have barely been studied, much less tested rigorously. In this article we review the evidence -or lack thereof -for many of the purported mechanisms birds have for dealing with ectoparasites. We concentrate on features of the plumage and its components, as well as anti-parasite behaviors. In some cases, we present original data from our own recent work. We make recommendations for future studies that could improve our understanding of this poorly known aspect of avian biology.

show abstract

Section: Feather Toughnessmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…In another study, Cristol et al [71] inoculated the feathers of live birds with B. licheniformis to test the impact of sunning behavior on FDB. They noticed that darkly colored European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) had far less damage than more lightly colored Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis).…”

Section: Feather Toughnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Birds Combat Ectoparasites

Clayton¹,

Koop²,

Harbison³

et al. 2010

TOOENIJ

222

211

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While age was not a significant variable, newly grown feathers of hatch-year birds may harbor different microbial species. Alternatively, because most nearctic migrants undergo a complete molt after breeding and before migration and because molting is correlated with reduction in feather-degrading bacilli, molt has been suggested as an adaptation to microbial control in the plumage of birds [6,9]. Thus, the lower prevalence of some plumage bacteria could be the result of molt rather than changes brought on by initial migratory movements.…”

Section: Migrant Vs Resident Plumage Microbiotamentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in Plumage Microbiota Depends on Season and Migration

et al. 2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The process is particularly a characteristic of the Oligocene Enspel Formation of Germany and was first described by Wuttke (Wuttke 1983;Cristol et al 2005) after the observation of coccoid or bacillus cell-like structures within fossilized soft tissues. The phenomenon involves the mineralization of the cells in a bacterial mat that has covered a carcass (Briggs et al 2005), caused by the precipitation of either siderite, utilising iron from the surrounding sediments (Franzen 1985;Wuttke 1992), or apatite, where the phosphorus from the decaying organism has become trapped by the mat Briggs et al 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Bacteria or melanosomes? A geochemical analysis of micro-bodies on a tadpole from the Oligocene Enspel Formation of Germany

Barden

Bergmann

Edwards

et al. 2014

Palaeobio Palaeoenv

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many exceptionally preserved fossils have long been thought the product of preservation by bacterial autolithification, based largely upon the presence of, micronsized, spherical or elongate bodies on their surface. This has recently been challenged by studies of similar fossils which cite morphological and geochemical evidence that these structures could be fossilized melanosomes, melanin-containing organelles. We geochemically analysed a tadpole from the Oligocene Enspel Formation, Germany, which displays such spherical bodies on its surface. Pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (Py-GCMS) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) indicate that the organic remains of the tadpole are original and are not the result of external contamination, shown by the different chemical compositions of the fossil and its enclosing matrix. Py-GCMS also demonstrates the presence of bacterial and plant biomarkers in the matrix but not the tadpole, suggesting that the spherical bodies are unlikely to be bacterial, and also that such fossils do not develop their dark colour from incorporating plant material, as has been suggested. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) shows high levels of organically bound Zn(II) in the fossilized soft tissue, a metal known to chelate both eu-and pheomelanin.The zinc in the tadpole shows greater similarity to that bound in pheomelanized extant samples than to that in eumelanized ones. Though further geochemical analysis of both pure pheomelanin and bacterial samples is required to completely exclude a bacterial origin, these results are in line with a pheomelanic origin for the spherical bodies on the tadpole.

show abstract

Feather-Degrading Bacteria Do Not Affect Feathers on Captive Birds

Cited by 29 publications

References 4 publications

How Birds Combat Ectoparasites

How Birds Combat Ectoparasites

Variation in Plumage Microbiota Depends on Season and Migration

Bacteria or melanosomes? A geochemical analysis of micro-bodies on a tadpole from the Oligocene Enspel Formation of Germany

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About