Detailed monitoring of a small but recovering population reveals sublethal effects of disease and unexpected interactions with supplemental feeding

Tollington, Simon and Greenwood, Andrew and Jones, Carl G. and Hoeck, Paquita and Chowrimootoo, Aurélie and Smith, Donal and Richards, Heather and Tatayah, Vikash and Groombridge, Jim J. (2015) Detailed monitoring of a small but recovering population reveals sublethal effects of disease and unexpected interactions with supplemental feeding. Journal of Animal Ecology, 84 (4). pp. 969-977. ISSN 0021-8790. (doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12348) (Full text available)

Abstract

Infectious diseases are widely recognized to have substantial impact on wildlife populations. These impacts are sometimes exacerbated in small endangered populations, and therefore, the success of conservation reintroductions to aid the recovery of such species can be seriously threatened by outbreaks of infectious disease. Intensive management strategies associated with conservation reintroductions can further compound these negative effects in such populations. Exploring the sublethal effects of disease outbreaks among natural populations is challenging and requires longitudinal, individual life-history data on patterns of reproductive success and other indicators of individual fitness. Long-term monitoring data concerning detailed reproductive information of the reintroduced Mauritius parakeet (Psittacula echo) population collected before, during and after a disease outbreak was investigated. Deleterious effects of an outbreak of beak and feather disease virus (BFDV) were revealed on hatch success, but these effects were remarkably short-lived and disproportionately associated with breeding pairs which took supplemental food. Individual BFDV infection status was not predicted by any genetic, environmental or conservation management factors and was not associated with any of our measures of immune function, perhaps suggesting immunological impairment. Experimental immunostimulation using the PHA (phytohaemagglutinin assay) challenge technique did, however, provoke a significant cellular immune response. We illustrate the resilience of this bottlenecked and once critically endangered, island-endemic species to an epidemic outbreak of BFDV and highlight the value of systematic monitoring in revealing inconspicuous but nonetheless substantial ecological interactions. Our study demonstrates that the emergence of such an infectious disease in a population ordinarily associated with increased susceptibility does not necessarily lead to deleterious impacts on population growth and that negative effects on reproductive fitness can be short-lived.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	Q Science > QH Natural history > QH75 Conservation (Biology) Q Science > QL Zoology
Divisions:	Faculties > Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation Faculties > Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation > DICE (Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology)
Depositing User:	Jim Groombridge
Date Deposited:	16 Mar 2015 15:48 UTC
Last Modified:	14 Mar 2017 12:09 UTC
Resource URI:	https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/47700 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)