scholarly journals First Case of Mycoplasma Gallisepticum Infection in the Western Range of The House Finch (Carpodacus Mexicanus)

The Auk ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 528-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renee A. Duckworth ◽  
Alexander V. Badyaev ◽  
Kristy L. Farmer ◽  
Geoffrey E. Hill ◽  
Sharon R. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Mycoplasma Gallisepticum ◽  
Western Montana ◽  
Carpodacus Mexicanus ◽  
Close Monitoring ◽  
House Finch ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
House Finches ◽  
First Case ◽  
Evolution Of Resistance ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract We report the first case of mycoplasmosis in the western range of the House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus). This disease originated in the eastern United States and has been previously documented only in eastern introduced House Finch populations where it reached epizootic proportions causing extensive and widespread mortality. Documentation of this dis-ease in western Montana suggests that previously disjunct eastern and western populations of House Finches are now mixing in the northern part of their range. More importantly, as native House Finches are highly susceptible to this novel pathogen, western populations may now be at risk of high mortality, similar to that experienced by non-native eastern populations. Close monitoring of this disease in the western part of the House Finch range will provide important insight into the dynamics of the emerging disease and evolution of resistance to the pathogen.

scholarly journals Dynamics of Conjunctivitis and Mycoplasma Gallisepticum Infections in House Finches

The Auk ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry K. Hartup ◽  
Jean M. Bickal ◽  
Andre A. Dhondt ◽  
David H. Ley ◽  
George V. Kollias
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Annual Variation ◽  
Seasonal Fluctuation ◽  
Host Density ◽  
Mycoplasma Gallisepticum ◽  
Disease Prevalence ◽  
Significant Decline ◽  
Carpodacus Mexicanus ◽  
House Finch ◽  
House Finches

Abstract Conjunctivitis, an infectious disease caused by Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG), has produced a significant decline in eastern House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) of North America. In this paper, we present findings from two complementary studies designed to clarify annual and seasonal trends of MG infections in House Finches from the northeastern United States. The first was a field study of House Finches common to urban and residential habitat from Mercer County, New Jersey. We documented conjunctivitis in 11% (188/1,651) of the birds examined. Conjunctivitis prevalence in House Finches ranged from 0 to 43% per month, and exhibited marked seasonal fluctuation (elevations during fall and winter months and lower disease prevalence during the breeding season). There was excellent intermethod agreement on disease prevalence when measured by either presence of physical signs (conjunctivitis) or MG infection (kappa = 0.75). During the peak of the breeding season (April through June), conjunctivitis was present in a greater proportion of males lacking a cloacal protuberance than males with a cloacal protuberance (P < 0.01), but was similar between breeding and nonbreeding females. The second study, a volunteer survey, revealed the proportion of northeastern U.S. monitoring sites with at least one diseased House Finch each month ranged from a peak of 59% (August 1995) to a minimum of 12% (July 1999). Subsequent to the epidemic peak of disease in 1995, a series of recurring cycles occurred, with elevations in those proportions noted in late fall and winter and minima during the breeding season. Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis now appears endemic among House Finches of that region and demonstrates dynamics consistent with annual variation in host density.

scholarly journals Attenuated Phenotype of a Recent House Finch-Associated Mycoplasma gallisepticum Isolate in Domestic Poultry

2017 ◽  
Vol 85 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Pflaum ◽  
E. R. Tulman ◽  
J. Beaudet ◽  
X. Liao ◽  
K. V. Dhondt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory Tract ◽  
Mycoplasma Gallisepticum ◽  
Respiratory Pathogen ◽  
House Finch ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
House Finches ◽  
Domestic Poultry ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Difference

ABSTRACT Mycoplasma gallisepticum, known primarily as a respiratory pathogen of domestic poultry, has emerged since 1994 as a significant pathogen of the house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) causing severe conjunctivitis and mortality. House finch-associated M. gallisepticum (HFMG) spread rapidly and increased in virulence for the finch host in the eastern United States. In the current study, we assessed virulence in domestic poultry with two temporally distant, and yet geographically consistent, HFMG isolates which differ in virulence for house finches—Virginia 1994 (VA1994), the index isolate of the epidemic, and Virginia 2013 (VA2013), a recent isolate of increased house finch virulence. Here we report a significant difference between VA1994 and VA2013 in their levels of virulence for chickens; notably, this difference correlated inversely to the difference in their levels of virulence for house finches. VA1994, while moderately virulent in house finches, displayed significant virulence in the chicken respiratory tract. VA2013, while highly virulent in the house finch, was significantly attenuated in chickens relative to VA1994, displaying less-severe pathological lesions in, and reduced bacterial recovery from, the respiratory tract. Overall, these data indicate that a recent isolate of HFMG is greatly attenuated in the chicken host relative to the index isolate, notably demonstrating a virulence phenotype in chickens inversely related to that in the finch host.

FIRST CASE OF MYCOPLASMA GALLISEPTICUM INFECTION IN THE WESTERN RANGE OF THE HOUSE FINCH (CARPODACUS MEXICANUS)

The Auk ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renee A. Duckworth ◽  
Alexander V. Badyaev ◽  
Kristy L. Farmer ◽  
Geoffrey E. Hill ◽  
Sharon R. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Mycoplasma Gallisepticum ◽  
Carpodacus Mexicanus ◽  
House Finch ◽  
First Case

First Case of Mycoplasma gallisepticum Infection in the Western Range of the House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)

The Auk ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 528-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renee A. Duckworth ◽  
Alexander V. Badyaev ◽  
Geoffrey E. Hill ◽  
Sharon R. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Mycoplasma Gallisepticum ◽  
Carpodacus Mexicanus ◽  
House Finch ◽  
First Case

Mycoplasma gallisepticum Isolated from House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) with Conjunctivitis

1996 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 480 ◽  
Author(s):  
David H. Ley ◽  
J. Edward Berkhoff ◽  
Judith M. McLaren
Keyword(s):  
Mycoplasma Gallisepticum ◽  
Carpodacus Mexicanus ◽  
House Finches

Field Investigation of Mycoplasma gallisepticum Infections in House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) from Maryland and Georgia

1996 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 335 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Luttrell ◽  
J. R. Fischer ◽  
D. E. Stallknecht ◽  
S. H. Kleven
Keyword(s):  
Mycoplasma Gallisepticum ◽  
Field Investigation ◽  
Carpodacus Mexicanus ◽  
House Finches

scholarly journals Effects of Coccidial and Mycoplasmal Infections on Carotenoid-Based Plumage Pigmentation in Male House Finches

The Auk ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 952-963 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Brawner ◽  
Geoffrey E. Hill ◽  
Christine A. Sundermann
Keyword(s):  
Mycoplasma Gallisepticum ◽  
Plumage Coloration ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Carpodacus Mexicanus ◽  
Carotenoid Pigments ◽  
Secondary Sexual Traits ◽  
House Finches ◽  
Proximate Factors ◽  
Sexual Traits ◽  
Male House

AbstractCarotenoid pigments produce the ornamental red, orange, and yellow integumentary coloration of many species of animals. Among individuals of a population, the hue and saturation of carotenoid-based ornaments can be extremely variable, and studies of fish and birds have shown that females generally prefer males that display the most saturated and reddest coloration. Consequently, there has been a great deal of interest in determining the proximate factors that affect individual expression of carotenoid-based pigmentation. Parasites might affect production of ornamental coloration, and the Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis proposes that parasitized males will show decreased expression of the secondary sexual traits preferred by females. We found that captive male House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) experimentally infected with Isospora spp. (coccidians) and/or Mycoplasma gallisepticum produced carotenoid-based plumage coloration that was significantly less red and less saturated than that of noninfected males. These observations validate a necessary condition of the Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis, but heritable resistance to the pathogens we examined remains to be demonstrated.

Age, sex, and season affect the risk of mycoplasmal conjunctivitis in a southeastern house finch population

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (5) ◽  
pp. 755-763 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Altizer ◽  
Andrew K Davis ◽  
Katherine C Cook ◽  
John J Cherry
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Host Susceptibility ◽  
Eye Disease ◽  
Carpodacus Mexicanus ◽  
House Finch ◽  
House Finches ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
Severe Infections

House finches (Carpodacus mexicanus (Muller, 1776)) in eastern North America have been affected by annual epidemics of an eye disease caused by the bacterium Mycoplasma gallisepticum since 1994. To identify factors associated with seasonal changes in prevalence and variation in host susceptibility, we monitored mycoplasmal conjunctivitis among wild house finches in a region of high prevalence in southeastern North America. We captured 888 birds between August 2001 and December 2003 and observed seasonal outbreaks characterized by rapid increases in prevalence from August to October each year. During periods of high prevalence, infection probability was significantly higher among juveniles than adults, and the severity of conjunctivitis among juvenile females was greater than for any other host category. We found no evidence linking moulting status to elevated infection risk among adult birds. Finally, house finches with conjunctivitis were in poorer condition than birds with no clinical signs of infection, particularly among those with severe infections. Results from this study are consistent with recent reports of seasonal and regional variation in mycoplasmal conjunctivitis and suggest that annual changes in host reproduction, behaviour, and age structure might be important determinants of the timing and magnitude of local epidemics.

Electrically Elicited Vocalization From the Brain of the House Finch (Carpodacus Mexicanus)

Behaviour ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 60 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 75-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Epro
Keyword(s):  
Local Anesthetic ◽  
Carpodacus Mexicanus ◽  
House Finch ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
House Finches ◽  
Call Type ◽  
Anatomical Localization ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
The Brain

AbstractVocalizations were electrically elicited from the brains of thirty-eight male and female house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) using acute procedures and local anesthetic. Nine types of call notes were produced including notes which sounded like song elements, but complete normal song was never evoked. Vocalizations could be electrically elicited from all parts of the brain except the cerebellum, but the widest variety of calls and the points yielding vocalizations at the lowest threshold were located in the midbrain around the nucleus mesencephalicus lateralis pars dorsalis. Precise anatomical localization of call type was not found and all calls were elicited from both males and females.

scholarly journals Genetic diversity predicts pathogen resistance and cell-mediated immunocompetence in house finches

2005 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 326-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana M Hawley ◽  
Keila V Sydenstricker ◽  
George V Kollias ◽  
André A Dhondt
Keyword(s):  
Immune Responses ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Bacterial Pathogen ◽  
Mycoplasma Gallisepticum ◽  
Pathogen Resistance ◽  
Carpodacus Mexicanus ◽  
House Finches ◽  
Pathogen Challenge ◽  
Outbred Populations ◽  
The Relationship

Evidence is accumulating that genetic variation within individual hosts can influence their susceptibility to pathogens. However, there have been few opportunities to experimentally test this relationship, particularly within outbred populations of non-domestic vertebrates. We performed a standardized pathogen challenge in house finches ( Carpodacus mexicanus ) to test whether multilocus heterozygosity across 12 microsatellite loci predicts resistance to a recently emerged strain of the bacterial pathogen, Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG). We simultaneously tested whether the relationship between heterozygosity and pathogen susceptibility is mediated by differences in cell-mediated or humoral immunocompetence. We inoculated 40 house finches with MG under identical conditions and assayed both humoral and cell-mediated components of the immune response. Heterozygous house finches developed less severe disease when infected with MG, and they mounted stronger cell-mediated immune responses to phytohaemagglutinin. Differences in cell-mediated immunocompetence may, therefore, partly explain why more heterozygous house finches show greater resistance to MG. Overall, our results underscore the importance of multilocus heterozygosity for individual pathogen resistance and immunity.

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