浙江省杭州湾与漩门湾湿地迁徙水鸟肠道寄生虫多样性调查OA

Avian parasites carried by birds present a notable ecological risk and monitoring the species of bird parasites is very important for conserving bird populations and safeguarding ecosystem integrity.Utilizing high-throughput sequencing,this study analyzed the parasite diversity within the intestinal contents of four migratory waterbird species—the Whimbrel(Numenius phaeopus),Common Redshank(Tringa totanus),Green Sandpiper(Tringa ochropus),and Greater Painted Snipe(Rostratula benghalensis)—along with the Black-crowned Night Heron(Nycticorax nycticorax)from the wetlands of Hangzhou Bay and Xuanmen Bay in Zhejiang Province,aiming to elucidate the impacts of habitat and dietary variations on parasite community structures.The results showed that:1)the main parasitic genera were Heterakis,Eimeria,Hymenolepis,Isospora,and Contracaecum,of which Eimeria was a widespread taxon(with a detection rate of 80%and a relative abundance of 0.73%-46.15%).Hymenolepis and Isospora were found only in Rostratula benghalensis(with relative abundances of 28.21%and 13.19%,respectively),and Contracaecum was found only in Nycticorax nycticorax(with a relative abundance of 10.62%);2)there were significant differences in both α and β diversity of intestinal contents among birds of different species and diets(P＜0.05),as reflected by the fact that Tringa ochropus had significantly lower diversity of intestinal contents than the other species(P＜0.05),while omnivorous Rostratula benghalensis had significantly higher diversity than the other species(P＜0.05).This suggests that diet affects intestinal content richness,while midway habitat differences do not have a significant effect.This study revealed the phenomenon that the composition of intestinal parasite communities of migratory waterbirds in the wetland environments of Hangzhou Bay and Xuanmen Bay was related to host habitat specialization and dietary breadth,which was reflected in the low parasite diversity of Tringa ochropus due to their narrow activity range and dietary specialization,while omnivorous Rostratula benghalensis increased the risk of parasite exposure through multi-trophic level resource utilization.The results provide an ecological basis for health monitoring and zoonotic disease prevention and control in migratory pathways of migratory birds.