Infestation of small seabirds by Ornithodoros maritimus ticks: Effects on chick body condition, reproduction and associated infectious agents

Abstract

Ticks can negatively affect their host by direct effects as blood feeding causing anaemia or discomfort, or by pathogen transmission. Consequently, ticks can have an important role in the population dynamics of their hosts. However, specific studies on the demographic effects of tick infestation on seabirds are still scarce. Seabird ticks have also the potential to be responsible for the circulation of little known tick-borne agents, which could have implications for non-seabird species. Here, we report the results of investigations on potential associations between soft tick Ornithodoros maritimus load and reproductive parameters of storm petrels Hydrobates pelagicus breeding in a large colony in a cave of Espartar Island, in the Balearic archipelago. We also investigated by molecular analyses the potential viral and bacterial pathogens associated with O. maritimus ticks present at the colony. Lower nestling survival was recorded in the most infested area, deep in the cave, compared to the area near the entrance. The parasite load was negatively associated with the body condition of the nestlings. One pool of ticks tested positive for West Nile virus and 4 pools tested positive for a Borrelia species which was determined by targeted nested PCR to have a 99% sequence identity with B. turicatae, a relapsing fever Borrelia. Overall, these results show that further investigations are needed to better understand the ecology and epidemiology of the interactions between ticks, pathogens and Procellariiform species.

Changes in Bacterial Diversity, Composition and Interactions During the Development of the Seabird Tick Ornithodoros maritimus (Argasidae)

“…The absence of these genera is consistent with their low prevalence or absence in adult ticks from the same site [52]. Interestingly, the absence of the Borrelia genus in our data contrasts with its molecular detection (by PCR with 99% sequence identity with Borrelia turicatae an agent of relapsing fever) in O. maritimus parasitising the Mediterranean storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus) from Espartar Island (Balearic archipelago, Spain) [57]. This difference suggests microbial variation according to the considered vertebrate host and/or geographical region where ticks are sampled.…”

Protein Deimination and Extracellular Vesicle Profiles in Antarctic Seabirds

“…Numerous studies have examined levels of a range of heavy metal and other contaminants [39,[45][46][47]. Similarly, a range of seabird species have been screened for specific pathogens [48], including for the agent of avian cholera (Pasteurella multocida) [49][50][51][52], avian pox [53] as well as other bacterial [54], viral [55,56] and parasitic infections [57][58][59][60][61]. However, less research has been carried out on immunological markers, which should be indicative of general health in seabirds [62][63][64][65][66].…”

Prevalence of Lyme Disease and Relapsing Fever Borrelia spp. in Vectors, Animals, and Humans within a One Health Approach in Mediterranean Countries

“…in animals [151,221,264,267,330,349,350,357,[364][365][366][367][368][369][370][371][372][373][374][375][376][377]652,653]; Table S6: Relapsing Fever Group Borrelia spp. in ticks [196,204,205,213,221,330,[335][336][337][338][339][340][341][342][343][344][345][346][347][348][349][351][352][353][354][355]…”