Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T17:35:48.677Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Wildlife disease and conservation in Hawaii: Pathogenicity of avian malaria (Plasmodium relictum) in experimentally infected Iiwi (Vestiaria coccinea)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

C. T. Atkinson ,
K. L. Woods ,
R. J. Dusek ,
L. S. Sileo  and
W. M. Iko
C. T. Atkinson
Affiliation:
National Biological Service, National Wildlife Health Center, Hawaii Volcanoes Field Station, P.O. Box 218, Hawaii National Park, HI 96718, USA
K. L. Woods
Affiliation:
National Biological Service, National Wildlife Health Center, Hawaii Volcanoes Field Station, P.O. Box 218, Hawaii National Park, HI 96718, USA
R. J. Dusek
Affiliation:
National Biological Service, National Wildlife Health Center, Hawaii Volcanoes Field Station, P.O. Box 218, Hawaii National Park, HI 96718, USA
L. S. Sileo
Affiliation:
National Biological Service, National Wildlife Health Center, Hawaii Volcanoes Field Station, P.O. Box 218, Hawaii National Park, HI 96718, USA
W. M. Iko
Affiliation:
National Biological Service, National Wildlife Health Center, Hawaii Volcanoes Field Station, P.O. Box 218, Hawaii National Park, HI 96718, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Native Hawaiian forest birds are facing a major extinction crisis with more than 75% of species recorded in historical times either extinct or endangered. Reasons for this catastrophe include habitat destruction, competition with non-native species, and introduction of predators and avian diseases. We tested susceptibility of Iiwi (Vestiaria coccinea), a declining native species, and Nutmeg Mannikins (Lonchura punctulata), a common non-native species, to an isolate of Plasmodium relictum from the island of Hawaii. Food consumption, weight, and parasitaemia were monitored in juvenile Iiwi that were infected by either single (low-dose) or multiple (high-dose) mosquito bites. Mortality in both groups was significantly higher than in uninfected controls, reaching 100% of high-dose birds and 90% of low-dose birds. Significant declines in food consumption and a corresponding loss of body weight occurred in malaria-infected birds. Both sex and body weight had significant effects on survival time, with males more susceptible than females and birds with low initial weights more susceptible than those with higher initial weights. Gross and microscopic lesions in malaria fatalities included massive enlargement of the spleen and liver, hyperplasia of the reticuloendothelial system with extensive deposition of malarial pigment, and overwhelming anaemia in which over 30% of the circulating erythrocytes were parasitized. Nutmeg Mannikins, by contrast, were completely refractory to infection. Our findings support previous studies documenting high susceptibility of native Hawaiian forest birds to avian malaria. This disease continues to threaten remaining high elevation populations of endangered native birds.

Keywords

Hawaiian IslandsDrepanidinaepathologyhoneycreeperPlasmodiummalariaexperimental infectionscoevolution
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 111 , Supplement S1: Ecology of wildlife host-parasite interactions , January 1995 , pp. S59 - S69
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Al-Dabagh, M. A. (1966). Mechanisms of Death and Tissue Injury in Malaria: with special reference to five species of avian malaria, Baghdad: Shafik Press.Google Scholar
Applegate, J. E. (1970). Population changes in latent avian malaria infections associated with season and corticosterone treatment. Journal of Parasitology 56, 439–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Atkinson, I. A. E. (1977). A reassessment of factors, particularly Rattus rattus L., that influenced the decline of endemic forest birds in the Hawaiian Islands. Pacific Science 31, 109–33.Google Scholar
Banko, W. E. & Banko, P. C. (1976). Role of food depletion by foreign organisms in the historical decline of Hawaiian forest birds. In Proceedings of the First Conference in Natural Sciences, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, (ed. Smith, C. W.), pp. 29–34. Honolulu: Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit.Google Scholar
Berger, A. J. (1988). Hawaiian Birdlife, 2nd edn.Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii.Google Scholar
Black, F. L. (1992). Why did they die? Science 258, 1739–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carothers, J. H. (1986 a). The effects of retreat site quality on interference related behavior among Hawaiian honeycreepers. The Condor 88, 421–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carothers, J. H. (1986 b). Behavioral and ecological correlates of interference competition among some Hawaiian Drepanididae. The Auk 106, 564–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cox, D. R. & Oakes, D. (1984). Analysis of Survival Data, New York: Chapman and Hall.Google Scholar
Dobson, A. P. & May, R. M. (1986). Disease and conservation. In Conservation Biology: The Science of Scarcity and Diversity, (ed. Soule, M. E.), pp. 345–365. Sunderland, Massachusetts: Sinauer Associates, Inc.Google Scholar
Fancy, S. G., Pratt, T. K., Lindsey, G. D., Harada, C. K., Parent, A. H. Jr & Jacobi, J. D. (1993). Identifying sex and age of Apapane and Iiwi on Hawaii. Journal of Field Ornithology 64, 262–9.Google Scholar
Fink, E. (1968). Experimentelle Infektion von Kanarien mit Plasmodium cathemerium Hartman, 1927, durch den Stich infizierter Müchen (Culex pipiens L.) und durch inokulation isolierter sporozoiten. Zeitschrift für Parasitenkunde 31, 232–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freed, L. A., Conant, S. & Fleischer, R. C. (1987). Evolutionary ecology and radiation of Hawaiian passerine birds. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 2, 196–293.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Friend, M. & Pearson, G. L. (1973). Duck plague: the present situation. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Western Association of State Game and Fish Commissioners 53, 315–25.Google Scholar
Godfrey, R. D. Jr, Fedynich, A. M. & Pence, D. B. (1987). Quantification of hematozoa in blood smears. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 23, 558–65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coff, M. L. & Van Riper, C. III (1980). Distribution of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) on the east flank of Mauna Loa volcano, Hawaii. Pacific Insects 22, 178–88.Google Scholar
Haberkorn, A. (1968). Zur hormonellen Beeinflussung von Haemoproteus-Infektionen. Zeitschrift für Parasitenkunde 31, 108–12.Google Scholar
Harlow, E. & James, D. (1988). Antibodies. A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, pp. 92–137.Google Scholar
Hewitt, R. I., Richardson, A. P. & Seager, L. D. (1942). Observations on untreated infections with Plasmodium lophurae in twelve hundred young white pekin ducks. American Journal of Hygiene 36, 362–73.Google Scholar
Jacobi, J. D. & Atkinson, C. T. (1995). Hawaii's endemic birds. In Our Living Resources: a Report to the Nation on the Distribution, Abundance, and Health of U.S. Plants, Animals, and Ecosystems, (ed. LaRoe, E. T., Farris, G. S., Puckett, C. E., Doran, P. D. & Mac, M. J.), pp. 376–381. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
James, H. F. & Olson, S. L. (1991). Descriptions of thirty-two new species of birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Part II. Passeriformes. Ornithological Monographs No. 46, 1–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jeffery, G. M. (1962). Survival of trophozoites of Plasmodium berghei and Plasmodium gallinaceum in glycerolized whole blood at low temperatures. Journal of Parasitology 48, 601–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kamis, A. B. & Ibrahim, J. B. (1989). Effects of testosterone on blood leukocytes in Plasmodium berghei-infected mice. Parasitology Research 75, 611–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kirch, P. V. (1982). The impact of prehistoric Polynesians on the Hawaiian ecosystem. Pacific Science 36, 1–14.Google Scholar
Kirk, R. E. (1982). Experimental Design: Procedures for the Behavioral Sciences. New York: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Mcneill, W. H. (1976). Plagues and Peoples. Garden City: Anchor Press.Google Scholar
Merton, D. V. (1978). Controlling introduced predators and competitors on islands. In Endangered Birds: Management Techniques for Preserving Threatened Species, (ed. Temple, S. A.), pp. 121–128. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar
Mountainspring, S. & Scott, J. M. (1985). Interspecific competition among Hawaiian forest birds. Ecological Monographs 55, 219–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newton, I. (1989). Synthesis. In Lifetime Reproduction in Birds, (ed. Newton, I.), pp. 441–469. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Pruett-Jones, S. G., Pruett-Jones, M. A. & Jones, H. I. (1991). Parasites and sexual selection in a New Guinea avifauna. Current Ornithology 8, 213–45.Google Scholar
Ralph, C. J. & Fancy, S. G. (1995). Demography and movements of Apapane and Iiwi in Hawaii. The Condor 97, 729–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Samuel, M. D. & Fuller, M. R. (1994). Wildlife radiotelemetry. In Research and Management Techniques for Wildlife and Habitats, (ed. Brookhout, T. A.), pp. 370–418, 5th edn., Bethesda, Maryland: The Wildlife Society.Google Scholar
Sas Institute Inc. (1990). SAS/STAT user's guide, version 6, vol. 1, 4th edn.Cary, North Carolina: SAS Institute, Inc.Google Scholar
Schuurs, A. H. W. M. & Verheul, H. A. M. (1990). Effects of gender and sex steroids on the immune response. Journal of Steroid Biochemistry 35, 157–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scott, G. R. (1981). Rinderpest. In Infectious Diseases of Wild Mammals, 2nd edn. (ed. Davis, J. W., Karstad, L. H. & Trainer, D. O.), pp. 18–30. Ames: Iowa State University Press.Google Scholar
Scott, J. M., Kepler, C. B., Van Riper, C. III & Fefer, S. I. (1988). Conservation of Hawaii's vanishing avifauna. Bioscience 38, 238–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scott, J. M., Mountainspring, S., Ramsey, F. I. & Kepler, C. B. (1986). Forest bird communities of the Hawaiian Islands: their dynamics, ecology, and conservation. Studies in Avian Biology 9, 1–431.Google Scholar
Toft, C. A. (1991). Current theory of host–parasite interactions. In Bird-Parasite Interactions: Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (ed. Loye, J. E. & Zuk, M.), pp. 3–15. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Riper, C. III (1991). The impact of introduced vectors and avian malaria on insular passeriform bird populations in Hawaii. Bulletin of the Society for Vector Ecology 15, 59–83.Google Scholar
Van Riper, C. III, Atkinson, C. T. & Seed, T. M. (1994). Plasmodia of birds. In Parasitic Protozoa, vol. 7 (ed. Kreier, J. P.) pp. 73–140. New York: Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Riper, C. III, Van Riper, S. G., Goff, M. L. & Laird, M. (1986). The epizootiology and ecological significance of malaria in Hawaiian land birds. Ecological Monographs 56, 327–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warner, R. E. (1968). The role of introduced diseases in the extinction of the endemic Hawaiian avifauna. The Condor 70, 101–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wunderlich, F., Marinovski, P., Peter, W., Benten, M., Schmitt-Wrede, H.-P. & Mossmann, H. (1991). Testosterone and other gonadal factor(s) restrict the efficacy of genes controlling resistance to Plasmodium chabaudi malaria. Parasite Immunology 13, 357–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed