TY - JOUR
T1 - Association of insularity and body condition to cloacal bacteria prevalence in a small shorebird
AU - Valdebenito, Jose O.
AU - Martínez-De La Puente, Josué
AU - Castro, Macarena
AU - Perez-Hurtado, Alejandro
AU - Tejera, Gustavo
AU - Szekely, Tamas
AU - Halimubieke, Naerhulan
AU - Schroeder, Julia
AU - Figuerola, Jordi
PY - 2020/8/17
Y1 - 2020/8/17
N2 - Do islands harbour less diverse disease communities than mainland? The island biogeography theory predicts more diverse communities on mainland than on islands due to more niches, more diverse habitats and availability of greater range of hosts. We compared bacteria prevalences of Campylobacter, Chlamydia and Salmonella in cloacal samples of a small shorebird, the Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) between two island populations of Macaronesia and two mainland locations in the Iberian Peninsula. Bacteria were found in all populations but, contrary to the expectations, prevalences did not differ between islands and mainland. Females had higher prevalences than males for Salmonella and when three bacteria genera were pooled together. Bacteria infection was unrelated to bird's body condition but females from mainland were heavier than males and birds from mainland were heavier than those from islands. Abiotic variables consistent throughout breeding sites, like high salinity that is known to inhibit bacteria growth, could explain the lack of differences in the bacteria prevalence between areas. We argue about the possible drivers and implications of sex differences in bacteria prevalence in Kentish plovers.
AB - Do islands harbour less diverse disease communities than mainland? The island biogeography theory predicts more diverse communities on mainland than on islands due to more niches, more diverse habitats and availability of greater range of hosts. We compared bacteria prevalences of Campylobacter, Chlamydia and Salmonella in cloacal samples of a small shorebird, the Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) between two island populations of Macaronesia and two mainland locations in the Iberian Peninsula. Bacteria were found in all populations but, contrary to the expectations, prevalences did not differ between islands and mainland. Females had higher prevalences than males for Salmonella and when three bacteria genera were pooled together. Bacteria infection was unrelated to bird's body condition but females from mainland were heavier than males and birds from mainland were heavier than those from islands. Abiotic variables consistent throughout breeding sites, like high salinity that is known to inhibit bacteria growth, could explain the lack of differences in the bacteria prevalence between areas. We argue about the possible drivers and implications of sex differences in bacteria prevalence in Kentish plovers.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85089555940&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0237369
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0237369
M3 - Article
C2 - 32804958
VL - 15
SP - e0237369
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
SN - 1932-6203
IS - 8
M1 - e0237369
ER -