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Content with tag avian vectors .

Mosquitoes are attracted to Plasmodium-infected birds

Parasites can manipulate their hosts to increase their transmission success. Avian malaria parasites (Plasmodium) are thought to alter the cues such as host odour, used by host-seeking mosquitoes. Bird odour is affected by secretions from the uropygial gland and may play a role in modulating vector-host interactions. The hypothesis tested was that mosquitoes are more attracted to the uropygial secretions and/or whole-body odour (headspace) of Plasmodium-infected house sparrows (Passer...

Waterbirds can disperse whole plants inside their guts

It is well known that some plants and plant fragments can become attached to the feathers of ducks and other waterbirds and be transported short distances. An increasing diversity of plant seeds have also been shown to survive gut passage and to be able to disperse longer distances inside migratory birds. For the first time, this paper shows that entire flowering plants can be dispersed on the inside.