Meeting Abstract
There are many pathogens known to infect birds of prey, but many reports of the prevalence of such pathogens involve only birds displaying severe symptoms. Avipoxviruses are a diverse group of viruses that are known pathogens across avian taxa. Severe pox symptoms include lesions on featherless areas of the body and respiratory distress, but little is known about the asymptomatic prevalence of this virus in free-living bird populations. Aspergilllus is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that occurs naturally in grasses and can become concentrated in agricultural products such as hay bales. Aspergillosis is a known cause of death for birds of prey in otherwise stressful situations and in birds of prey hunting near barns and hay fields, but again, little is known about how often raptors are exposed to Aspergillus and to what extent the raptors develop adaptive immune responses against the pathogen. West Nile Virus has been studied in free-living bird populations to a much greater extent, and has also been implicated in many bird deaths, but many individual birds also tolerate West Nile Virus and become reservoirs for the pathogen. The purpose of this study was to determine the rate at which birds of prey in Central Illinois are exposed to these pathogens and subsequently produce IgY against the pathogens. Using indirect ELISAs, we found that antibody prevalence was far greater than the prevalence of symptoms for each pathogen. We also found species-specific differences in prevalence for different pathogens that largely reflect differences in habitats, behaviors, and overall niche occupancy of different species. Overall, our findings reveal important disease dynamics in understudied groups of birds.
