Antarctica can be considered as a continent of extremes. It is so extreme that species like mosquitoes, which are found everywhere in the world, cannot survive in this bitter cold wilderness. However, there are some creatures that can persist in the Antarctic ecosystem. The most famous of these are the penguins. Penguins are a group of seabirds belonging to the family Spheniscidae, and there are many species within this family that share the same parasite: Parorchites zederi, a species of Cestoda, or tapeworm.
This parasite can mainly be found in Gentoo Penguins, Chinstrap Penguins, Adélie penguin and Emperor Penguins. The life cycle of the parasite involves multiple host animals, with krill being a known intermediate host. Since krill is an important part of the penguins’ diet, the parasite can use those crustaceans as a way of reaching their penguin hosts.
Macroscopic lesions on intestinal wall in penguins infected with Parorchites zederi, Antarctic Peninsula, 2006-2008. (a) Intestine of adult Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua) with irregular raised nodules. (b) Heavy infection of tapeworms. Photos from Figure 1 of Martin et al. (2016) |
Not only do these changes lead to a reduction of normal gut functions, but the afflicted penguin probably has to endure a lot of pain when they have to digest their food in an already damaged intestine. Moreover, bacteria responsible for diarrhoea often find a cosy home in some of the tapeworm-induced lesions. No surprise then that Parorchites zederi, along with other helminths, is responsible for about 6% loss of body mass in Antarctic penguins. Losing weight is very risky business in Antarctica where insulation against the cold temperatures is vital.
Nonetheless, this tapeworm is quite common among Antarctic penguins. In some colonies of Gentoo Penguins, parasite prevalence can even reach 100%. Given its ubiquity and the effect this parasite can have on penguin health, it is important to monitor their prevalence. Since infections with gastrointestinal parasites are closely related to foraging habits, changes in the host’s diet owing to climate change or anthropogenic impacts can lead to changes in parasite prevalence in Antarctic penguins.
In recent years there has been a decrease in sea ice cover, and because of this phenomenon, the amount of Antarctic krill has also decreased. Less krill means a lower prevalence of the tapeworms, but on the other hand it also means less food for the penguins. In this way, P. zederi can tell us more about how the Antarctic ecosystem is changing, while these penguins are faced with a constant challenge of feeding on krill and managing these problematic parasite infections.
References:
María A Martín, Juana M Ortiz, Juan Seva, Virginia Vidal, Francisco Valera, Jesús Benzal, José J Cuervo, Carlos de la Cruz, Josabel Belliure, Ana M Martínez, Julia I Díaz, Miguel Motas, Silvia Jerez, Verónica L D'Amico, Andrés Barbosa (2016) Mode of attachment and pathology caused by Parorchites zederi in three species of penguins: Pygoscelis papua, Pygoscelis adeliae, and Pygoscelis antarctica in Antarctica. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 52: 568-575.
S. Kleinertz, S. Christmann, L. M. R. Silva, J. Hirzmann, C. Hermosilla, A. Taubert (2014) Gastrointestinal parasite fauna of Emperor Penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) at the Atka Bay, Antarctica. Parasitology Research 113: 4133–4139.
Simeon L. Hill, Tony Phillips and Angus Atkinson (2013) Potential climate change effects on the habitat of Antarctic Krill in the Weddell quadrant of the Southern Ocean. PLoS One 8: e72246.
post written by Marie Defraigne
I think the implications that climate change has on the prevalence of this parasite is quite interesting... always are so many trade offs! Might be interesting to see if the warming effect could even decrease the need for increased insulation to begin with.
ReplyDeleteIt is super interesting that this helminth attaches to the intestine and causes digestive pain, thus causing the penguin to lose body fat which is important when you live in Antarctica! It’s also interesting that due to climate change, the population of krill as food has decreased, which means lower prevalence of parasite. However lower krill population meaning less food for the penguins also isn’t good, so the balance between becoming a host to a parasite versus having enough to eat is certainly an interesting balance to consider.
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