The Magellanic Penguin Spheniscus magellanicus is one of the main seabird predators in the western South Atlantic. This species presents an opportunist feeding behaviour and its diet, as well as its parasite fauna, varies geographically depending on available prey and intermediate hosts. Despite thousands of Magellanic Penguins being found dead every year in southern Brazil, little attention has been given to their parasite–host interactions in this area. In this context, the aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between Magellanic Penguin diets and gastrointestinal helminth fauna at different age classes and body conditions in southern Brazil. To this end, the gastrointestinal tracts of 63 Magellanic Penguins found dead in 2013 and 2014 were examined. All individuals were parasitized by at least one species and only one penguin did not contain any food remains. A total of 138,209 helminths comprising eight species were found. Moreover, 12 prey species were recorded, including six fish and six cephalopod taxa. The helminth component community composition of juvenile penguins was similar to that of adults but the structure differed according to penguin age class. Cephalopod and crustacean prey species were significantly more frequent in juveniles compared to adults. Adults preyed mainly upon fishes. It was evident that lean individuals, both juveniles and adults, are more intensely infected in southern Brazil. Therefore, the high abundance of helminth parasites and the consumption of less energy-efficient prey cannot be ruled out as contributory factors to the high mortality of this species, mainly lean juveniles, in this area.

中文翻译：

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麦哲伦企鹅（Spheniscus magellanicus）在向北前往巴西海岸的漫长旅程中的寄主-寄生虫关系

麦哲伦企鹅 Spheniscus magellanicus 是南大西洋西部的主要海鸟捕食者之一。该物种表现出机会主义的摄食行为，其饮食以及寄生动物群在地理上有所不同，具体取决于可用的猎物和中间宿主。尽管每年在巴西南部发现数以千计的麦哲伦企鹅死亡，但很少有人关注它们在该地区的寄生虫与宿主之间的相互作用。在这种情况下，本研究的目的是评估麦哲伦企鹅饮食与巴西南部不同年龄段和身体状况的胃肠道蠕虫动物群之间的关系。为此，对 2013 年和 2014 年发现的 63 只麦哲伦企鹅的胃肠道进行了检查。所有个体都被至少一种物种寄生，只有一只企鹅没有任何食物残骸。共发现了 138,209 种蠕虫，包括 8 个物种。此外，还记录了 12 种猎物，包括 6 种鱼和 6 种头足类动物。幼企鹅的蠕虫成分群落组成与成年企鹅相似，但结构因企鹅年龄等级而异。与成年人相比，头足类和甲壳类猎物在幼鱼中的频率明显更高。成鱼主要捕食鱼类。很明显，在巴西南部，瘦人，无论是青少年还是成年人，都受到更严重的感染。因此，不能排除蠕虫寄生虫的高丰度和能源效率较低的猎物的消耗是该物种高死亡率的促成因素，