Sex and age, but not blood parasite infection nor habitat, affect the composition of the uropygial gland secretions in European blackbirds

Abstract

The uropygial gland of birds produces an oily secretion with different functions, mainly related to plumage protection. In addition, the volatile compounds of this secretion may act as chemical signals that provide information to conspecifics, but it is also possible that those compounds may further attract hematophagous insect vectors such as those responsible for avian malaria transmission. Individual characteristics such as sex and age are usually associated with variation in the composition of the uropygial secretion. Different studies have shown that mosquitoes are more attracted towards birds infected by avian malaria parasites. However, whether the individual infection status by these parasites may lead to differences in the composition of this secretion remains poorly known. We used gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) to characterise the chemical composition of the volatile lipophilic fraction of the uropygial gland secretions of wild European blackbirds and compare its composition in an urban and a forest locality according to their age, sex and infection status by blood parasites. We found differences in the composition of the secretion between age classes and also between sexes within adult birds. However, no differences were found in the chemical composition of the uropygial gland secretion of birds according to their infection status by blood-parasites and habitat type. These results suggest that haemosporidian infection does not alter the composition of the volatile fraction of uropygial gland secretions in infected birds.