Non–<i>West Nile virus</i>-Associated Mortality in a Population of American Crows (<i>Corvus Brachyrhynchos</i>): A Gross and Histopathologic Study

Miller, Andrew D.; Townsend, Andrea K.; McGowan, Kevin J.; Clark, Anne B.; Glaser, Amy L.; Patrican, Lisa A.; Dobson, Elizabeth; Buckles, Elizabeth L.

doi:10.1177/104063871002200223

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…In winter, crows aggregate in large nocturnal roosts (sometimes .10,000 birds; Hinton et al 2015), often in areas of high human density and activity (Gorenzel and Salmon 1995, Hinton et al 2015. Crows are of particular concern with respect to disease transmission because they are common urban and suburban birds in North America (McGowan 2001) that can harbor numerous pathogens important to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife, including West Nile virus (Wheeler et al 2014, Hinton et al 2015, Campylobacter jejuni (Weis et al 2016, Taff and, and other pathogens (Miller et al 2010, Halová et al 2014, Freund et al 2016, Jamborova et al 2017, Townsend et al 2018.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where do winter crows go? Characterizing partial migration of American Crows with satellite telemetry, stable isotopes, and molecular markers

Townsend

Frett

McGarvey

et al. 2018

The Auk

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where do winter crows go? Characterizing partial migration of American Crows with satellite telemetry, stable isotopes, and molecular markers

Townsend

Frett

McGarvey

et al. 2018

The Auk

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“…For this study, we assumed that the two sympatric species (carrion crows and jungle crows), which have similar habitats and co-occur in east Asia, likely share a more similar suite of pathogens with each other than with American crows. Diverse pathogen burdens are well-documented in all three species, and a comparative study of jungle crows and carrion crows revealed that ten specific helminth species were shared between the two species ( Mizuno, 1984 ; Miller et al, 2010 ; Wheeler et al, 2014 ). There have been several surveys of intestinal parasites in American crows; however no report to date has identified these Asian helminth species in American crows, except for one anecdotal case ( Jones, 1968 ; Hendricks, Harkema & Miller, 1969 ; Cawthorn, Anderson & Barker, 1980 ; Naderman & Pence, 1980 ; Mizuno, 1984 ; Miller et al, 2010 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Diverse pathogen burdens are well-documented in all three species, and a comparative study of jungle crows and carrion crows revealed that ten specific helminth species were shared between the two species ( Mizuno, 1984 ; Miller et al, 2010 ; Wheeler et al, 2014 ). There have been several surveys of intestinal parasites in American crows; however no report to date has identified these Asian helminth species in American crows, except for one anecdotal case ( Jones, 1968 ; Hendricks, Harkema & Miller, 1969 ; Cawthorn, Anderson & Barker, 1980 ; Naderman & Pence, 1980 ; Mizuno, 1984 ; Miller et al, 2010 ). A strong relationship between MHC class IIB and resistance to helminth parasites has been established ( Goüy de Bellocq, Charbonnel & Morand, 2008 ; Zhang & He, 2013 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of evolution of MHC class II genes of crows (Corvus) suggest trans-species polymorphism

Eimes

Townsend

Sepil

et al. 2015

PeerJ

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A distinguishing characteristic of genes that code for the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is that alleles often share more similarity between, rather than within species. There are two likely mechanisms that can explain this pattern: convergent evolution and trans-species polymorphism (TSP), in which ancient allelic lineages are maintained by balancing selection and retained by descendant species. Distinguishing between these two mechanisms has major implications in how we view adaptation of immune genes. In this study we analyzed exon 2 of the MHC class IIB in three passerine bird species in the genus Corvus: jungle crows (Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis) American crows (C. brachyrhynchos) and carrion crows (C. corone orientalis). Carrion crows and American crows are recently diverged, but allopatric, sister species, whereas carrion crows and jungle crows are more distantly related but sympatric species, and possibly share pathogens linked to MHC IIB polymorphisms. These patterns of evolutionary divergence and current geographic ranges enabled us to test for trans-species polymorphism and convergent evolution of the MHC IIB in crows. Phylogenetic reconstructions of MHC IIB sequences revealed several well supported interspecific clusters containing all three species, and there was no biased clustering of variants among the sympatric carrion crows and jungle crows. The topologies of phylogenetic trees constructed from putatively selected sites were remarkably different than those constructed from putatively neutral sites. In addition, trees constructed using non-synonymous substitutions from a continuous fragment of exon 2 had more, and generally more inclusive, supported interspecific MHC IIB variant clusters than those constructed from the same fragment using synonymous substitutions. These phylogenetic patterns suggest that recombination, especially gene conversion, has partially erased the signal of allelic ancestry in these species. While clustering of positively selected amino acids by supertyping revealed a single supertype shared by only jungle and carrion crows, a pattern consistent with convergence, the overall phylogenetic patterns we observed suggest that TSP, rather than convergence, explains the interspecific allelic similarity of MHC IIB genes in these species of crows.

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“…Post-mortem examinations were performed on the dead crows discovered between November 2006 and July 2008 that tested negative for West Nile virus (WNV), as described in Miller et al (2010) and Townsend et al (2009a). Of the 299 focal birds, 100 were still alive, 21 died with signs of infectious disease (poxviral dermatitis, n ¼ 14; WNV, n ¼ 3; bacterial infections, n ¼ 2; fungal pneumonia, n ¼ 1; enteritis; n ¼ 1), 54 met with traumatic deaths and 124 died or disappeared of unknown causes by July 2008 (described in detail in Townsend et al 2009a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Condition, innate immunity and disease mortality of inbred crows

et al. 2010

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Cooperatively breeding American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) suffer a severe disease-mediated survival cost from inbreeding, but the proximate mechanisms linking inbreeding to disease are unknown. Here, we examine indices of nestling body condition and innate immunocompetence in relationship to inbreeding and disease mortality. Using an estimate of microsatellite heterozygosity that predicts inbreeding in this population, we show that inbred crows were in relatively poor condition as nestlings, and that body condition index measured in the first 2-33 days after hatching, in addition to inbreeding index, predicted disease probability in the first 34 months of life. Inbred nestlings also mounted a weaker response along one axis of innate immunity: the proportion of bacteria killed in a microbiocidal assay increased as heterozygosity index increased. Relatively poor body condition and low innate immunocompetence are two mechanisms that might predispose inbred crows to ultimate disease mortality. A better understanding of condition-mediated inbreeding depression can guide efforts to minimize disease costs of inbreeding in small populations.

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Non–West Nile virus-Associated Mortality in a Population of American Crows (Corvus Brachyrhynchos): A Gross and Histopathologic Study

Cited by 10 publications

References 16 publications

Where do winter crows go? Characterizing partial migration of American Crows with satellite telemetry, stable isotopes, and molecular markers

Where do winter crows go? Characterizing partial migration of American Crows with satellite telemetry, stable isotopes, and molecular markers

Patterns of evolution of MHC class II genes of crows (Corvus) suggest trans-species polymorphism

Condition, innate immunity and disease mortality of inbred crows

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