Remove/treat endoparasites and diseases

Overall effectiveness category Trade-off between benefit and harms
Number of studies: 5
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

48%
Certainty

51%
Harms

37%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Diseases such as such as trichomoniasis or bird pox can have severe impacts on bird populations in areas where they are not native and where birds do not have immunity, but native diseases can also be important limiting factors for populations.

Study locations

Key messages

Three studies from across the world investigating a range of taxa and parasites found that birds had higher productivity or survival if either chicks or adults were treated for endoparasites.
One small study from Spain found no effect of Staphylococcus aureus treatment on eagle survival, while a study from Mauritius found uncertain evidence as to whether trichomoniasis treatment increased survival of pink pigeons Nesoenas mayeri after fledging.
A randomised, replicated and controlled trial from the Netherlands found lower parasite burdens but also lower survival in Eurasian oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus chicks treated with anthelmintic drugs.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A small study in 1976-88 in the wetlands of the Doñana National Park, Spain (Ferrer & Hiraldo 1991) found that survival rates of Spanish imperial eagle Aquila adalberti chicks did not appear to be affected by treating them for Staphylococcus aureus infections (two of 19 untreated chicks died, probably from infections vs. none of the nine treated chicks died before fledging). The authors note that this may be due to the small sample size in the study. This study also discusses other interventions, in ‘Add perches to electricity pylons to reduce electrocution’, ‘Bury or isolate power lines’, ‘Use signs and access restrictions to reduce disturbance at nest sites’ and ‘Foster eggs or chicks with wild conspecifics’.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Ferrer M. & Hiraldo F. (1991) Evaluation of management techniques for the Spanish imperial eagle. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 19, 436-442.
A controlled cross-over experiment during 1996-2000 on two moors in northern England (Newborn & Foster 2002) found that red grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus in an area provided with quartz grit treated with anthelmintic drugs raised between 38% and 100% more chicks than grouse in a control area (treatment areas: 4.9-7.1 chicks/hen estimated from 36 radio-tagged birds and 4.9-6.7 chicks/hen estimated from 125 birds seen on counts using pointing dogs vs. control areas: 1.9-4.8 chick/hen from 36 tagged birds and 2.8-4.5 chicks/hen from 117 on dog counts) and had significantly lower levels of infection of the parasitic nematode Trichostrongylus tenuis (34% fewer worms over five years). This was despite the fact that the medicated areas did not have larger broods or higher hatching success (medicated areas: 9.6 eggs/clutch, 90% hatching success for 161 clutches; control areas: 9.4 eggs/clutches, 94% hatching rate for 153 clutches). Survival rates of adults did not vary between medicated and control areas.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Newborn D. & Foster R. (2002) Control of parasite burdens in wild red grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus through the indirect application of anthelmintics. Journal of Applied Ecology, 39, 909-914.
A randomised, replicated and controlled trial in 1996 on an island in the northern Netherlands (Van Oers et al. 2002) found that fledging success of Eurasian oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus broods was significantly lower when chicks were treated with anthelminthic drugs, compared to controls (18-20% success for treated broods vs. 29-38% for controls). This was despite there being no significant differences in clutch size or hatching success between groups and treated hatchlings having significantly lower incidence of gut parasites (41% of 17 treated chicks infected vs. 60% of 20 untreated chicks). The authors suggest that interference with chicks’ immune systems could have driven this pattern.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Van Oers K., Heg D. & Le Drean Quenec'hdu S. (2002) Anthelminthic treatment negatively affects chick survival in the Eurasian oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus. Ibis, 144, 509-517.
A controlled, replicated study from 1992-1999 on Ile aux Aigrettes, Mauritius (Swinnerton et al. 2005) found that pink pigeon Nesoenas mayeri (formerly Columba mayeri) chicks with suspected trichomoniasis Trichomonas gallinae had significantly higher survival if treated with carnidazole compared with untreated chicks showing symptoms (54% survival for 89 treated chicks vs. 0% survival for 19 untreated). Across both symptomatic and asymptomatic chicks, treated chicks had higher survival rates than untreated chicks (62% survival of 129 treated vs. 27% of 123 untreated). However, treatment did not affect subsequent juvenile survival up to 150 days old. Across sites on both the island and mainland Mauritius, survival of treated birds (both juveniles and adults) was significantly higher than untreated birds (74% survival of 19 treated birds vs. 25% survival for 24 untreated). Providing medicated water to all individuals on Ile aux Aigrettes did not reduce the incidence of trichononiasis in the subpopulation, with birds becoming re-infected after treatment stopped.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Swinnerton K.J., Greenwood A.G., Chapman R.E. & Jones C.G. (2005) The incidence of the parasitic disease trichomoniasis and its treatment in reintroduced and wild pink pigeons Columba mayeri. Ibis, 147, 772-782.
A randomised, replicated and controlled experiment in wetlands in Manitoba, Canada (Amundson & Arnold 2010) found that survival of 322 American coot Fulica americana chicks was higher in 2004, when they were treated with fenbendazole (an anthelmintic drug), compared to untreated chicks (51% survival to 40 days for treated chicks vs. 39% for untreated chicks). In 2005, survival of 340 chicks was again increased by treatment, but chicks with parents that were treated whilst incubating also had higher survival rates, despite there being no detectable change in parasite burden in adult birds (58% if both parents and chicks treated; 46% if only chicks treated; 45% if only parents treated vs. 33% if neither treated).
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Amundson C.L. & Arnold T.W. (2010) Anthelmintics increase survival of American coot (Fulica americana) chicks. The Auk, 127, 653-659.

Please cite as:

Williams, D.R., Child, M.F., Dicks, L.V., Ockendon, N., Pople, R.G., Showler, D.A., Walsh, J.C., zu Ermgassen, E.K.H.J. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Bird Conservation. Pages 137-281 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Bird Conservation

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Studies	Category
Remove/treat ectoparasites to increase survival or reproductive success Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	0	Synopsis Link
Alter artificial nest sites to discourage brood parasitism Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	1	Synopsis Link
Provide supplementary food to increase parental presence and so reduce brood parasitism Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	0	Synopsis Link