---
_id: '468'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Invasive alien parasites and pathogens are a growing threat to biodiversity
worldwide, which can contribute to the extinction of endemic species. On the Galápagos
Islands, the invasive parasitic fly Philornis downsi poses a major threat to the
endemic avifauna. Here, we investigated the influence of this parasite on the
breeding success of two Darwin's finch species, the warbler finch (Certhidea olivacea)
and the sympatric small tree finch (Camarhynchus parvulus), on Santa Cruz Island
in 2010 and 2012. While the population of the small tree finch appeared to be
stable, the warbler finch has experienced a dramatic decline in population size
on Santa Cruz Island since 1997. We aimed to identify whether warbler finches
are particularly vulnerable during different stages of the breeding cycle. Contrary
to our prediction, breeding success was lower in the small tree finch than in
the warbler finch. In both species P. downsi had a strong negative impact on breeding
success and our data suggest that heavy rain events also lowered the fledging
success. On the one hand parents might be less efficient in compensating their
chicks' energy loss due to parasitism as they might be less efficient in foraging
on days of heavy rain. On the other hand, intense rainfalls might lead to increased
humidity and more rapid cooling of the nests. In the case of the warbler finch
we found that the control of invasive plant species with herbicides had a significant
additive negative impact on the breeding success. It is very likely that the availability
of insects (i.e. food abundance) is lower in such controlled areas, as herbicide
usage led to the removal of the entire understory. Predation seems to be a minor
factor in brood loss.
acknowledgement: The study was funded by the University of Vienna (Focus of Excellence
grant), the Galápagos Conservation Trust, and the Ethologische Gesellschaft e.V.
article_number: '0107518'
article_processing_charge: No
author:
- first_name: Arno
full_name: Cimadom, Arno
last_name: Cimadom
- first_name: Angel
full_name: Ulloa, Angel
last_name: Ulloa
- first_name: Patrick
full_name: Meidl, Patrick
id: 4709BCE6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Meidl
- first_name: Markus
full_name: Zöttl, Markus
last_name: Zöttl
- first_name: Elisabet
full_name: Zöttl, Elisabet
last_name: Zöttl
- first_name: Birgit
full_name: Fessl, Birgit
last_name: Fessl
- first_name: Erwin
full_name: Nemeth, Erwin
last_name: Nemeth
- first_name: Michael
full_name: Dvorak, Michael
last_name: Dvorak
- first_name: Francesca
full_name: Cunninghame, Francesca
last_name: Cunninghame
- first_name: Sabine
full_name: Tebbich, Sabine
last_name: Tebbich
citation:
ama: Cimadom A, Ulloa A, Meidl P, et al. Invasive parasites habitat change and heavy
rainfall reduce breeding success in Darwin’s finches. PLoS One. 2014;9(9).
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0107518
apa: Cimadom, A., Ulloa, A., Meidl, P., Zöttl, M., Zöttl, E., Fessl, B., … Tebbich,
S. (2014). Invasive parasites habitat change and heavy rainfall reduce breeding
success in Darwin’s finches. PLoS One. Public Library of Science. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107518
chicago: Cimadom, Arno, Angel Ulloa, Patrick Meidl, Markus Zöttl, Elisabet Zöttl,
Birgit Fessl, Erwin Nemeth, Michael Dvorak, Francesca Cunninghame, and Sabine
Tebbich. “Invasive Parasites Habitat Change and Heavy Rainfall Reduce Breeding
Success in Darwin’s Finches.” PLoS One. Public Library of Science, 2014.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107518.
ieee: A. Cimadom et al., “Invasive parasites habitat change and heavy rainfall
reduce breeding success in Darwin’s finches,” PLoS One, vol. 9, no. 9.
Public Library of Science, 2014.
ista: Cimadom A, Ulloa A, Meidl P, Zöttl M, Zöttl E, Fessl B, Nemeth E, Dvorak M,
Cunninghame F, Tebbich S. 2014. Invasive parasites habitat change and heavy rainfall
reduce breeding success in Darwin’s finches. PLoS One. 9(9), 0107518.
mla: Cimadom, Arno, et al. “Invasive Parasites Habitat Change and Heavy Rainfall
Reduce Breeding Success in Darwin’s Finches.” PLoS One, vol. 9, no. 9,
0107518, Public Library of Science, 2014, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0107518.
short: A. Cimadom, A. Ulloa, P. Meidl, M. Zöttl, E. Zöttl, B. Fessl, E. Nemeth,
M. Dvorak, F. Cunninghame, S. Tebbich, PLoS One 9 (2014).
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:46:38Z
date_published: 2014-09-23T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2025-09-29T13:19:35Z
day: '23'
ddc:
- '576'
department:
- _id: CampIT
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0107518
external_id:
isi:
- '000342351800025'
file:
- access_level: open_access
checksum: b24e7518ccd41effed0d7d9e2498f67f
content_type: application/pdf
creator: system
date_created: 2018-12-12T10:14:48Z
date_updated: 2020-07-14T12:46:34Z
file_id: '5103'
file_name: IST-2018-954-v1+1_2014_Meidl_Invasive_parasites.PDF
file_size: 489387
relation: main_file
file_date_updated: 2020-07-14T12:46:34Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: ' 9'
isi: 1
issue: '9'
language:
- iso: eng
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
month: '09'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
publication: PLoS One
publication_status: published
publisher: Public Library of Science
publist_id: '7352'
pubrep_id: '954'
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Invasive parasites habitat change and heavy rainfall reduce breeding success
in Darwin's finches
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 317138e5-6ab7-11ef-aa6d-ffef3953e345
volume: 9
year: '2014'
...