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2017 ; 48
(4
): 519-528
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Infection reduces anti-predator behaviors in house finches
#MMPMID29242677
Adelman JS
; Mayer C
; Hawley DM
J Avian Biol
2017[Apr]; 48
(4
): 519-528
PMID29242677
show ga
Infectious diseases can cause host mortality through direct or indirect
mechanisms, including altered behavior. Diminished anti-predator behavior is
among the most-studied causes of indirect mortality during infection,
particularly for systems in which a parasite's life-cycle requires transmission
from prey to predator. Significantly less work has examined whether
directly-transmitted parasites and pathogens also reduce anti-predator behaviors.
Here we test whether the directly-transmitted bacterial pathogen, Mycoplasma
gallisepticum (MG), reduces responses to predation-related stimuli in house
finches (Haemorhous mexicanus). MG causes conjunctivitis and reduces survival
among free-living finches, but rarely causes mortality in captivity, suggesting a
role for indirect mechanisms. Wild-caught finches were individually housed in
captivity and exposed to the following treatments: 1) visual presence of a
stuffed, mounted predator (a Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)) or control
object (a vase or a stuffed, mounted mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos)), 2)
vocalizations of the same predator and non-predator, 3) approach of a researcher
to enclosures, and 4) simulated predator attack (capture by hand). MG infection
reduced anti-predator responses during visual exposure to a mounted predator and
simulated predator attack, even for birds without detectable visual obstruction
from conjunctivitis. However, MG infection did not significantly alter responses
during human approach or audio playback. These results are consistent with the
hypothesis that predation plays a role in MG-induced mortality in the wild, with
reduced locomotion, a common form of sickness behavior for many taxa, as a likely
mechanism. Our results therefore suggest that additional research on the role of
sickness behaviors in predation could prove illuminating.