Increased Endoparasite Infection in Late-Arriving Individuals of a Trans-Saharan Passerine Migrant Bird

Earlier migration in males than in females is the commonest pattern in migrating passerines and is positively related to size dimorphism and dichromatism. The early arrival of males is a costly trait that may confer reproductive advantages in terms of better territories and/or mates. Given the physiological cost of migration, early migrants are those in best condition and accordingly the prevalence, load, and/or diversity of parasites is expected to increase in both sexes for late migrants. To test this hypothesis, we sampled 187 trans-Saharan migrant garden warblers Sylvia borin and 64 resident serins Serinus serinus (as a control for potential circannual patterns in parasite load) during spring migration in Spain. We assessed the prevalence of blood parasites (Haemoproteus, Plasmodium, and Leucocytozoon) and the prevalence and load of intestinal parasites (mainly coccidians and spirurids). The relationship between parasite (prevalence, load, and richness) and the timing of passage through a stopover area was tested using generalized linear models. Protandry occurs in the monomorphic garden warbler and males migrated on average 5.5 days before females. Intestinal parasite richness increased with the date of migration. The timing of migration was unrelated to the presence or load of the other parasite groups analyzed. Our results support the idea that the timing of migration is a condition-dependent trait and suggests that multiple intestinal parasite infestations could delay migration in birds. Even in monomorphic species parasites may play a role in sexual selection by delaying the arrival of the most infected individuals at breeding grounds, thereby further increasing the benefits of mating with early-arriving individuals.