Abstract

Eastern Purple Martins (Progne subis subis) have an unusually close relationship with humans, as they nest exclusively in man-made nest boxes. Current conservation policy directly promotes further interaction with this species by advocating regular replacement of nest materials during the nestling phase to reduce ectoparasite load and increase nestling fitness. We conducted the first test of the efficacy of this recommendation and found that it was partially effective in reducing parasite abundance, but had no effect on nestling fledging success, body mass, leukocyte count, or triglyceride or uric acid concentration. We found a small but significant increase in nestling hematocrit associated with nest material replacement, implying that parasites may induce nestling anemia. Contrary to our expectations, we also found elevated heterophil/lymphocyte ratios in nestlings with replacements, possibly indicating elevated physiological stress associated with nest replacements. Based on our results, we do not recommend nest material replacements to combat routine parasite infestations.

中文翻译：

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减少寄生虫的养护干预措施并不能提高紫色马丁斯的初生成功率或大多数状况指标

摘要

东部紫马丁（Progne subis subis）与人类之间的关系异常密切，因为它们只能在人造巢箱中筑巢。当前的保护政策通过倡导在雏鸟阶段定期更换鸟巢材料以减少外寄生物负荷并提高雏鸟的适应性，从而直接促进与该物种的进一步相互作用。我们对该建议的功效进行了首次测试，发现它在降低寄生虫丰度方面部分有效，但对雏鸟成雏成功，体重，白细胞计数或甘油三酸酯或尿酸浓度没有影响。我们发现与巢物质置换相关的雏鸟血细胞比容有小幅但显着的增加，这表明寄生虫可能诱发雏鸟贫血。与我们的预期相反，我们还发现有替代品的雏鸟中的嗜异性粒细胞/淋巴细胞比率升高，可能表明与巢替代有关的生理压力升高。根据我们的结果，我们不建议您使用巢料替代物来抵抗常规的寄生虫侵扰。