A study led by the University of Liverpool and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) has found that parasites affect flight ability of wild seabirds, which may make it harder for them to raise chicks.
The researchers studied a population of European shags on the Isle of May National Nature Reserve, Scotland and measured how parasites affect energy levels and behaviour of individual birds, something which hasn’t been done before in a wild population.
They used an endoscope to count individual worms in the birds’ stomachs and miniaturised electronic tags recorded the movement and energy of the birds.
They then calculated the total energy used on each day, and the energy used for flying, diving and resting.
Researchers found that the total energy used per day did not depend on the amount of parasites, but females with higher levels of parasites had more costly flight and spent less time flying each day, presumably to avoid using too much energy.
Read more at University of Liverpool
Image: This is a European shag. (Credit: Joe Turner)