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Keeping the clock set under the midnight sun: diurnal periodicity and synchrony of avian Isospora parasites cycle in the High Arctic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 July 2011

OLGA V. DOLNIK ,
BENJAMIN J. METZGER  and
MAARTEN J. J. E. LOONEN
OLGA V. DOLNIK*
Affiliation:
Institute for Polar Ecology, Wischhofstrasse, 1-3 Geb. 12, D-24148 Kiel, Germany
BENJAMIN J. METZGER
Affiliation:
Institute of Avian Research ‘Vogelwarte Helgoland’, An der Vogelwarte 21, 26386 Wilhelmshaven, Germany
MAARTEN J. J. E. LOONEN
Affiliation:
Arctic Centre University of Groningen, Aweg 30, 9718 CW Groningen, The Netherlands
*
*Corresponding author: Institute for Polar Ecology, Wischhofstrasse, 1-3 Geb. 12, D-24148 Kiel, Germany. Tel: ++49(0)431 8860842. Fax: ++49(0)431 6001210. E-mail: [email protected]
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Summary

For Isospora (Protozoa: Eimeriidae) parasites of passerine birds, diurnal periodicity of oocyst output is a well-described phenomenon. From the temporal zone to the tropics, oocyst production is correlated with the light-dark cycle, peaking in the afternoon hours. However, nothing is known about the existence of diurnal periodicity of these parasites in the birds of High Arctic environments, under permanent light during summer. We sampled free-ranging Snow Bunting (Aves: Passeriformes), on Svalbard in summer and tested oocysts output of Isospora plectrophenaxia. Here we show that under the permanent light conditions of Arctic summer in the wild, Isospora plectrophenaxia, a parasite of the Snow Bunting, still keeps the 24-h rhythm of oocyst output with the peak in the post-meridiem hours, despite the absence of diurnal periodicity in host's activity. Our findings prove the ability of avian Isospora to invoke alternative cues for synchronizing the circadian rhythms. Possible cues and adaptive significance of diurnal periodicity of parasite output in High Arctic are discussed. The maintenance of synchronization and timing of the parasite life-cycle stages is under positive selection pressure even in permanent daylight in the Arctic.

Keywords

circadian rhythmsCoccidiaSnow BuntingSvalbardhost-parasite interactions
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 138 , Issue 9 , August 2011 , pp. 1077 - 1081
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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