Fungi prevalence in breeding pairs of a monogamous seabird – little auk,Alle alle

Abstract

Sexually transmitted diseases have been frequently hypothesised as a cost of multiple avian mating but relatively few studies have investigated the issue in truly wild birds. The main object of this study was to determine prevalence and concordance of fungi in cloacae of pair members of a socially monogamous Arctic seabird, little auk (Alle alle), thereby testing whether the microbes are likely to be transmitted during copulation. Various fungi species, potentially pathogenic, occurred in the little auk cloacae. One-third of the tested individuals were found to be a host for one to three fungi species. However, half of the 19 studied pairs were found to be not concordant in fungal assemblages, suggesting that transmission of the microbes between partners is not straightforward.

Bird feather fungi from Svalbard Arctic

“…In addition to the Arctic, birds from various other areas have also been reported as fungal carriers (Dupont et al 1994;Tsiodras et al 2008). Knowledge of fungi growing on birds from the Arctic (Wojczulanis- Jakubas et al 2011;Dynowska et al 2013) and Antarctic (Del Frate and Caretta 1990;Singh et al 2014) region is very limited. The presence of fungi on the feathers of common, clinically healthy birds from tropical, subtropical, and other than polar regions (Buck 1983;Buck and Chabasse 1998;Mancianti et al 2002;Czeczuga et al 2004;Dynowska and Kisicka 2005a, b;Cafarchia et al 2006;Kutty and Philip 2008;Mandeel et al 2011;Miljković et al 2011;Gungnani et al 2012) has also been documented.…”

Diversity of major histocompatibility complex of II B gene and mate choice in a monogamous and long-lived seabird, the Little Auk (Alle alle)

“…Such environmental conditions could be expected to relax pathogenic selection on the MHC diversity in Little Auks. However, Little Auks also breed colonially in high densities that may facilitate pathogen transmission [ 27 ] (for example, via direct contact during sexual or aggressive interactions [ 47 ]), which in turn could increase selection pressure on MHC alleles, therefore increasing MHC diversity. These contrasting scenarios predict opposing patterns of MHC diversity in the Little Auk and raise the need to understand the role of MHC in mating preferences and population biology of this species.…”

Use of molecular genetics for understanding seabird evolution, ecology and conservation

“…Weimerskirch et al 2006), disease transmission (e.g. Wojczulanis-Jakubas et al 2011), and the utility of morphology or behaviour in sex determination of wild birds (Zavalaga et al 2009). …”