The helminth communities of migratory Nearctic shorebirds in coastal and inland wetlands in Patagonia, Argentina

CAPASSO, S.; DIAZ, J.I.; D' AMICO, V.

Paracas

Otro; VII Reunión del Grupo de Aves Playeras del Hemisferio Occidental; 2017

WHSG; CORNIDI

The presence of a parasite in a host is related to different ecological factors, such as the composition of the diet, its geographic distribution, the characteristics of the environment used by the host, the life cycle of theparasite, and co-evolutionary factors. Despite being an integral part of ecosystems, parasites generally only attract attention when they cause pathologies, illness, or economic damage, and are ignored in managementand conservation studies. Both continental and marine coastal wetlands are critical environments for migratory shorebird populations. They are characterized by high productivity, providing quality and optimal quantity of food at the time the birds make a stopover. It has been postulated that the migration of some species of shorebirds could be determined by an exchange between energy and immunological investments, where the pressure of parasites and pathogens are the selective force that drives migratory strategies. In this context, the study of the parasites and their life cycles can generate substantial information to understand the habitat use and the time thatthe populations invest in a specific environment, as well as to determine the differences in the feeding behavior of the bird hosts, and to know the general health of shorebirds. The objective of this work is to study and comparethe helminth communities of two species of neartic migratory shorebirds Calidris bairdii and Calidris fuscicollis in their non-breeding areas in the Argentine Patagonia and to evaluate what factors influence their structuring.