764
EFFECTS OF CHRONIC AVIAN MALARIA
(PLASMODIUM RELICTUM) INFECTION ON REPRODUCTIVE
SUCCESS OF HAWAII AMAKIHI (HEMIGNATHUS VIRENS)
A. M K,
1,2,6
D A. LP,
3
C T. A,
3
B L. W,
3
J K. L,
3
M E. R,
4
K G
1,5
1
Zoology Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA;
2
Consortium for Conservation Medicine, 460 West 34th Street, New York, New York 10001, USA;
3
U.S. Geological Survey–Biological Resources Discipline, Pacific Island Ecosystem Research Center, P.O. Box 218,
Hawai‛i National Park, Hawaii 96718, USA;
4
Pacific Cooperative Study Unit, University of Hawai‛i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA; and
5
Biomathematics Program, Statistics Department, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA
A.—We studied the effects of chronic avian malaria (Plasmodium relictum)
infections on the reproductive success of a native Hawaiian honeycreeper, Hawaii
Amakihi (Hemignathus virens). Chronic malaria infections in male and female par-
ents did not significantly reduce reproductive success as measured by clutch size,
hatching success, fledging mass, number of nestlings fledged, nesting success (daily
survival rate), and minimum fledgling survival. In fact, nesting success of pairs with
chronically infected males was significantly higher than those with uninfected males
(76% vs. 38%), and offspring that had at least one parent that had survived the acute
phase of malaria infection had a significantly greater chance of being resighted the
following year (25% vs. 10%). The reproduction and survival of infected birds were
sufficient for a per-capita population growth rate >1, which suggests that chronically
infected Hawaii Amakihi could support a growing population. Received 9 March
2005, accepted 30 September 2005.
Key words: disease, Drepanidini, evolution, fitness, fledgling survival, Hawaii
Amakihi, Hemignathus virens, Plasmodium relictum.
Efectos de las Infecciones Crónicas de Malaria Aviaria (Plasmodium relictum) en el Éxito
Reproductivo de Hemignathus virens
R.—Estudiamos los efectos de las infecciones crónicas de malaria aviaria
(Plasmodium relictum) en el éxito reproductivo de un mielero nativo de Hawai
(Hemignathus virens). Las infecciones crónicas de malaria en los padres de ambos
sexos no redujeron de modo significativo el éxito reproductivo medido como el
tamaño de la nidada, el éxito de eclosión, el peso de los volantones, el número de
pichones que dejaron el nido, el éxito de nidificación (tasa diaria de supervivencia)
ni la supervivencia mínima de los volantones. De hecho, el éxito de nidificación de
las parejas con machos infectados de modo crónico fue significativamente mayor
que el de aquellos con machos no infectados (76% vs. 38%), y los pichones que
tuvieron al menos un padre que había sobrevivido la fase pico de la infección de
6
E-mail: kilpatrick@conservationmedicine.org
The Auk 123(3):764–774, 2006
© The American Ornithologists’ Union, 2006.
Printed in USA.
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