Abstract
We examined 71 fecal samples of European starling nestlings from Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, in the reproductive seasons of 2012 and 2013 to detect the presence of intestinal parasites and determine their prevalence. Total parasite prevalence was 26.8%. We found one coccidial species (Isospora sp.) with a prevalence of 25.35% and one cestode species with a prevalence of 1.4%. These values are lower than those reported for starlings from Europe and North America. Our results suggest that a reduction in the diversity of parasite species was likely to have occurred during the introduction process of this bird in Argentina, thus contributing to its invasive success.
Highlights
We examined 71 fecal samples of European starling nestlings from Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, in the reproductive seasons of 2012 and 2013 to detect the presence of intestinal parasites and determine their prevalence
The starling was first recorded in Argentina in 1987 (Pérez, 1988), probably introduced from North America (Navas, 2002)
The parasitological survey was conducted at the Wild Animal Breeding Station (Spanish abbreviation: ECAS; 34°50′N, 58°06′W), Berazategui, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Summary
We examined 71 fecal samples of European starling nestlings from Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, in the reproductive seasons of 2012 and 2013 to detect the presence of intestinal parasites and determine their prevalence. Starlings show a high prevalence of intestinal parasites in their native and introduced areas (Boyd, 1951; Hair and Forrester, 1970; Cooper and Crites, 1976; Bernard, 1987). The objective of this work is to identify the intestinal parasites and determine their prevalence in fecal samples of European starling nestlings in Argentina.
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