Monitoring of inter-annual incidence rates and within-colony spatial heterogeneity in exposure to tick-borne infectious agents in a long-lived seabird

Seabirds in arctic colonies can be exposed to infectious agents that can be transmitted by vectors, such as ticks, or by direct contacts among individuals. Earlier studies have shown that the exposure to specific infectious agents can vary in space at a hierarchy of scales, but factors affecting the circulation of these agents and their negative effects on hosts are not well identified, despite their importance for the understanding the emergence of diseases in wild populations. The aim of the project is to further study on the long term the dynamics of immunity against tick-borne infectious agents and its spatial variability within a colony of seabirds exposed to parasitism by the tick Ixodes uriae. More specifically, the aim of the project is to monitor inter-annual incidence rates and within-colony spatial heterogeneity in seroprevalence estimated by repeated determination of serology status in Black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) in parallel to acquiring data on the demography of the species (annual survival). In order to enable meaningful comparisons, 220 adult individuals of the study species will be sampled/resampled and individually colour-ringed over the 2 year course of the study. Care to adhere to the demands for replacement, reduction and improvements was taken for the design of the study and will be for its implementation. The manipulations will only lead to a low degree of distress to individuals. The study has implications for the understanding of factors affecting the circulation of tick-borne infectious agents at high latitudes, notably in the context of climate change, with potential implications for health and seabird conservation.