1
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Botulism in Wild Birds and Changes in Environmental Habitat: A Relationship to be Considered

      case-report

      Read this article at

      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Simple summary

          Human activities, even those aimed at improving a natural area, can interfere with wildlife and their environment, potentially leading to some changes. In this paper, a botulism outbreak which occurred in waterfowls in a nature reserve after a conservative action is reported. In particular, an artificial pond was created in order to improve the environment of waterfowls, but gray mullets (Mugil cephalus) settled in the pond and proliferated. Fish mortality was observed during summer, leading to an accumulation of decaying organic material, thus creating the optimal conditions for Clostridium botulin growth and toxin production. In the same period, the botulism outbreak with flaccid paralysis and sudden mortality rapidly occurred in waterfowls. The toxin mosaic type C/D was identified as responsible for the disease outbreak. The outbreak rapidly resolved after the removal of the fish carcasses, highlighting the importance of a correct management for any action in natural contexts. In conclusion, before considering any activity in wildlife habitats, it is important to assess first its possible impact on wildlife.

          Abstract

          Any human activity, even if aimed at the improvement of a natural area, can potentially affect wildlife, leading to possible short-term or long-term changes due to the human–wildlife interaction. In this study, a botulism outbreak which occurred in waterfowl in a nature reserve after a conservative environmental action is reported. More than 180 different species of wild birds, including seventy waterfowl species, live in the area. The wildlife reserve rangers built an artificial pond equipped with draining canals in the wetland in order to improve the environment of waterfowl species and to facilitate their supply of food. Then, presumably due to tidal rides, gray mullets ( Mugil cephalus) arrived from the sea and settled in the pond. The number of fishes gradually increased, and several fishes died with a peak of mortality in the summer of 2017, creating a great amount of decaying organic material and the optimal conditions for Clostridium botulinum growth and toxin production. A botulism outbreak then occurred rapidly and was characterised by flaccid paralysis and sudden mortality of the birds. Seven mallard ducks ( Anas platyrhynchos), 4 common teals ( Anas crecca), 1 garganey ( Anas querquedula), 2 wood sandpipers ( Tringa glareola), 1 little egret ( Egretta garzetta), 1 little grebe ( Tachybaptus ruficollis), and 4 Eurasian coots ( Fulica atra) were found dead. Interestingly, the toxin identified as responsible for the disease outbreak was the mosaic of type C and D toxins (C/D type). The prompt removal of the fish carcasses led to a rapid resolution of the outbreak of the disease, highlighting the relevance of a correct management for any action in environmental contexts. The conclusion is that any human activity in wildlife habitats should be carefully considered in order to assess the possible impacts and to quickly identify the possible risks of changes in wildlife population.

          Related collections

          Most cited references37

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: not found
          • Article: not found

          Feeding wildlife as a tourism attraction: a review of issues and impacts

            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: not found
            • Article: not found

            Supplementary feeding as an effective tool for improving breeding success in the Spanish imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti)

              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis in wild songbirds: the spread of a new contagious disease in a mobile host population.

              A new mycoplasmal conjunctivitis was first reported in wild house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) in early 1994. The causative agent was identified as Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG), a nonzoonotic pathogen of poultry that had not been associated with disease in wild songbirds. Since the initial observations of affected house finches in the mid-Atlantic region, the disease has become widespread and has been reported throughout the eastern United States and Canada. By late 1995, mycoplasmal conjunctivitis had spread to an additional species, the American goldfinch (Carduelis tristis). This new disease exemplifies the rapid spread of a pathogen following introduction into a mobile wildlife population and provides lessons that may apply to emerging human diseases.
                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Journal
                Animals (Basel)
                Animals (Basel)
                animals
                Animals : an Open Access Journal from MDPI
                MDPI
                2076-2615
                26 November 2019
                December 2019
                : 9
                : 12
                : 1034
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", s.p. Casamassima km 3, 70010 Valenzano BA, Italy; antonio.camarda@ 123456uniba.it (A.C.); roberto.lombardi.vet@ 123456gmail.com (R.L.); francescopaolo.donghia@ 123456uniba.it (F.D.); grazia.greco@ 123456uniba.it (G.G.)
                [2 ]Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 31100 Treviso, Italy; lbano@ 123456izsvenezie.it
                [3 ]Wildlife Nature Reserve “Torre Guaceto”, BR 72012 Carovigno, Italy; giacomomarzano@ 123456gmail.com
                Author notes
                [* ]Correspondence: elena.circella@ 123456uniba.it ; Tel./Fax: +39-080-467-9910
                Author information
                https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9625-2920
                https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5034-3704
                Article
                animals-09-01034
                10.3390/ani9121034
                6940729
                31779284
                c1b46609-3d75-4e46-8213-969ff8b53dcb
                © 2019 by the authors.

                Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

                History
                : 25 September 2019
                : 20 November 2019
                Categories
                Case Report

                wildlife conservation,human activities,nature reserve,botulism,wetland

                Comments

                Comment on this article

                scite_
                0
                0
                0
                0
                Smart Citations
                0
                0
                0
                0
                Citing PublicationsSupportingMentioningContrasting
                View Citations

                See how this article has been cited at scite.ai

                scite shows how a scientific paper has been cited by providing the context of the citation, a classification describing whether it supports, mentions, or contrasts the cited claim, and a label indicating in which section the citation was made.

                Similar content104

                Most referenced authors320