RT Journal Article
T1 Experimental Evidence That Blood Parasite Infection Affects Incubation Patterns in a Cavity-Nesting Songbird
A1 García-del Río, Marina
A1 Merino, Santiago
A1 Chércoles-Nieto, Julia
A1 Baldan, Davide
A1 Fuertes Recuero, Manuel
A1 Cantarero Carmona, Alejandro
AB Avian chronic hemoparasite infections occur commonly in wild birds, causing adverse effects on host fitness and breeding success. However, the potential impact of such infections on the incubation behavior has been scarcely experimentally studied. We reduced the infection of hemoparasites in wild-breeding female pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) through medication with primaquine to test the possible effects on incubation patterns compared with non-medicated control females. As predicted, medicated females significantly reduced their parasite infection compared to control females. This had a direct significant effect on the female behavior, as medicated females were able to have longer incubation sessions, while control females reduced the time devoted to each incubation session. In addition, females from both treatment groups spent less time incubating as incubation progressed, with control females showing a greater reduction. In contrast, the average length of recess sessions did not vary across treatmentgroups. Moreover, incubation sessions were more frequently interrupted when clutches were smaller. However, these changeshad no apparent effects on immediate fitness. To our knowledge, this is the first study showing changes in individual incubationpatterns in response to parasites in a wild-bird population, adding to previous studies showing that blood parasites have detrimentaleffects on bird reproductive success.
PB Wiley
YR 2025
FD 2025-10-01
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/128462
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/128462
LA eng
NO García-Del Río M, Merino S, Chércoles-Nieto J, Baldan D, Fuertes-Recuero M, Cantarero A. Experimental Evidence That Blood Parasite Infection Affects Incubation Patterns in a Cavity-Nesting Songbird. Integr Zool. 2025 Sep 9. doi: 10.1111/1749-4877.13041.
DS Docta Complutense
RD 26 feb 2026