@misc{10481/75370,
year = {2022},
month = {5},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10481/75370},
abstract = {Wild birds are hosts of Culicoides from as early on as the nesting stage when constrained to
their nests. However, the environmental factors which determine the abundance and composition
of Culicoides species within each bird nest are still understudied. We sampled Culicoides
from Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nests found in 2 types of forests located in southern
Spain. Firstly, we monitored the abundance of Culicoides species in bird nests from a dry
Pyrenean oak deciduous forest and a humid mixed forest comprising Pyrenean and Holm
oaks throughout 2 consecutive years. During the 3rd year, we performed a cross-fostering
experiment between synchronous nests to differentiate the role of rearing environment conditions
from that of the genetically determined or maternally transmitted cues released by
nestlings from each forest. We found 147 female Culicoides from 5 different species in the
birds’ nests. The abundance of Culicoides was higher in the dry forest than in the humid forest.
Culicoides abundance, species richness and prevalence were greater when the nestlings
were hatched later in the season. The same pattern was observed in the cross-fostering experiment,
but we did not find evidence that nestling’s features determined by the forest of origin
had any effect on the Culicoides collected. These results support the notion that habitat type
has a strong influence on the Culicoides affecting birds in their nests, while some life history
traits of birds, such as the timing of reproduction, also influence Culicoides abundance and
species composition.},
organization = {National Plan of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competition
(CGL2014-55969-P and CGL2017-84938-P)},
organization = {Spanish Ministry of Science
and Innovation (PID2020-118205GB-I00)},
organization = {Andalusian government
(A.RNM.48.UGR20)},
organization = {FEDER funds from the European
Union},
organization = {Erasmus+ grants from the
European Union},
organization = {FPU predoctoral contract
from the Spanish Ministry of Education (FPU18/03034)},
organization = {Universidad de Granada},
publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
keywords = {Avian malaria},
keywords = {Avian nests},
keywords = {Biting midges},
keywords = {Blood-feeding insects},
keywords = {Haemoproteus},
keywords = {Host selection},
keywords = {Vectors},
title = {Habitat-dependent Culicoides species composition and abundance in blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nests},
doi = {10.1017/S003118202200066X},
author = {Garrido Bautista, Jorge and Martínez de la Puente, Josué and Comas, Mar and Moreno Rueda, Gregorio},
}