Avian malaria causes spectacular fall of London's sparrows: report – Xinhua

LONDON, July 17 (Xinhua) – London's house sparrows have dropped 71 percent since 1995, and new research concludes that avian malaria may be behind.

Nearly 75% of domestic sparrows in London carry avian malaria, more than any other bird population in northern Europe, revealed a scientific study released on Wednesday.

The sudden decline of iconic sparrows led a team from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the University of Liverpool, as well as than charities dedicated to wildlife. Parasitic infections have been implicated.

The researchers, who collected data from sites across London, focused on a single breeding colony and spaced at least four kilometers apart to ensure that birds of different groups did not reproduce. not. On average, 74% of sparrows carried avian malaria, a strain that affects only birds, although in some colonies this figure reaches 100%.

"The populations of house sparrows have declined in many European cities since the 1980s." This new study suggests that bird malaria could be implicated in the loss of house sparrows in London. Infection could affect birds Perhaps the warmer temperatures increase the number of mosquitoes, or the parasite has become more virulent. "said Dr. Will Peach of the RSPB.

"Parasitic infections are known to cause the decline of wildlife elsewhere and our study indicates that this could occur with the house sparrow in London," said former ZSL Institute of Zoology researcher Daria Dadam. who now works for the BTO.

According to a spokesman for the ZSL, avian malaria is most often caused by a parasite called Plasmodium relictum. "In the same way as human malaria, it is transmitted only by mosquitoes, which transmit the parasite to healthy birds when they feed."

Professor Andrew Cunningham, Deputy Scientific Director at ZSL, also found that the intensity of infection was significantly higher among young birds in declining populations and that fewer sparrows were being monitored in groups surviving from year to year.