RESUMEN
Satellite-based tracking of migratory waterfowl is an important tool for understanding the potential role of wild birds in the long-distance transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza. However, employing this technique on a continental scale is prohibitively expensive. This study explores the utility of stable isotope ratios in feathers in examining both the distances traveled by migratory birds and variation in migration behavior. We compared the satellite-derived movement data of 22 ducks from 8 species captured at wintering areas in Bangladesh, Turkey, and Hong Kong with deuterium ratios (δD) of these and other individuals captured at the same locations. We derived likely molting locations from the satellite tracking data and generated expected isotope ratios based on an interpolated map of δD in rainwater. Although δD was correlated with the distance between wintering and molting locations, surprisingly, measured δD values were not correlated with either expected values or latitudes of molting sites. However, population-level parameters derived from the satellite-tracking data, such as mean distance between wintering and molting locations and variation in migration distance, were reflected by means and variation of the stable isotope values. Our findings call into question the relevance of the rainfall isotope map for Asia for linking feather isotopes to molting locations, and underscore the need for extensive ground truthing in the form of feather-based isoscapes. Nevertheless, stable isotopes from feathers could inform disease models by characterizing the degree to which regional breeding populations interact at common wintering locations. Feather isotopes also could aid in surveying wintering locations to determine where high-resolution tracking techniques (e.g. satellite tracking) could most effectively be employed. Moreover, intrinsic markers such as stable isotopes offer the only means of inferring movement information from birds that have died as a result of infection. In the absence of feather based-isoscapes, we recommend a combination of isotope analysis and satellite-tracking as the best means of generating aggregate movement data for informing disease models.
RESUMEN
To assess West Nile virus (WNV) infection in wild resident and migratory birds, we tested 3887 samples from 1784 birds belonging to 119 identified species within 30 families collected during 2008-10 from 13 states in India. The serum samples were tested for WNV antibodies initially by a competition ELISA and subsequently by a micro-plaque reduction neutralization test (Micro-PRNT), whereas tracheal and cloacal swabs were subjected to real-time RT-PCR for the detection of the WNV RNA. Twenty six birds (2.46%) out of 1058 tested showed evidence of flavivirus antibodies by ELISA. End point neutralization antibody determinations for WNV and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) showed that of the 22 ELISA positive sera, WNV-specific neutralizing antibodies were detected in 17 samples representing nine species of wild birds (residents: Purple swamphen, Little cormorant, Little egret, Black ibis and Spot-billed duck; residents with winter influx: Common coot and Mallard; migratory birds: Ruff and Purple heron), and two samples were positive for both WNV and JEV antibodies. The WNV-specific antibodies were most commonly detected in Mallards and Common coots. WNV genomic RNA was not detected by real-time RT-PCR. The results in this study suggest that wild resident birds are infected occasionally and wild migratory birds rarely with WNV. Additionally, our study provides evidence of WNV infection in eastern and northern India for the first time.