PCI Ecology

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Title *

Parasite intensity is driven by temperature in a wild birduse asterix (*) to get italics

Authors *

Adèle Mennerat, Anne Charmantier, Sylvie Hurtrez-Boussès, Philippe Perret, Marcel M LambrechtsPlease use the format "First name initials family name" as in "Marie S. Curie, Niels H. D. Bohr, Albert Einstein, John R. R. Tolkien, Donna T. Strickland"

Year *

2019

Picture *

Abstract *

<p>Increasing awareness that parasitism is an essential component of nearly all aspects of ecosystem functioning, as well as a driver of biodiversity, has led to rising interest in the consequences of climate change in terms of parasitism and disease spread. Yet empirical knowledge on the extent and ways in which climatic factors affect parasite prevalence and intensities remains scarce. In an 18-year, multi-site, correlative study we investigated the contributions of weather variables and other factors to spatio-temporal variation in infestation by blowfly parasitic larvae (*Protocalliphora* spp.) in nests of Corsican blue tits (*Cyanistes caeruleus*). We found that ambient temperature during the nestling stage is strongly and positively related to parasite load (number of parasites per chick), both across broods when controlling for year, and across years. In addition, annual mean parasite load also increased with minimal spring temperature, and decreased with increasing average temperature in the previous summer. There was no indication of a dependence of parasite dynamics on host dynamics in this system, likely due in part to the wide host range of blowflies that do not solely rely on blue tit hosts. This suggests a major effect of temperature during the blowfly life cycle, with potential implications for blowfly - host interactions across their geographical range as climate keeps warming up. Finally, given that ambient temperature increases throughout the breeding season and that blowflies negatively affect survival and recruitment of blue tits, these results also mean that parasites, along with caterpillar availability, can drive selection for breeding date in this system.</p>

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https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2576394You should fill this box only if you chose 'All or part of the results presented in this preprint are based on data'. URL must start with http:// or https://

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Keywords (optional)

host-parasite, weather, climate, Diptera, Protocalliphora azurea, Protocalliphora falcozi, ectoparasite, blowfly, passerine bird, Cyanistes caeruleus

Methods that require specific expertise (optional)

NonePlease indicate the methods that may require specialised expertise during the peer review process (use a comma to separate various required expertises).

Thematic fields *

Climate change, Evolutionary ecology, Host-parasite interactions, Parasitology, Zoology

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e.g. John Doe john@doe.com

No need for them to be recommenders of PCIEcology. Please do not suggest reviewers for whom there might be a conflict of interest. Reviewers are not allowed to review preprints written by close colleagues (with whom they have published in the last four years, with whom they have received joint funding in the last four years, or with whom they are currently writing a manuscript, or submitting a grant proposal), or by family members, friends, or anyone for whom bias might affect the nature of the review - see the code of conduct

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Submission date

2018-05-17 14:37:14

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Jan Hrcek

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