Apparent absence of blood parasites in the patagonian seabird community: Is it related to the marine environment?

The geographic and specific distribution of avian Haematozoa is poorly unde rstood and much basic information is still needed. Studies of blood parasit es in avian communities are scarce despite of their potential for disentang ling the relative importance of host-specific and ecological factors shapin g blood parasite distributions. Here we present the first study of blood pa rasites in a breeding community of seabirds by scanning blood smears obtain ed from 560 birds belonging to 13 species breeding in patagonia, Argentina. Seven of these species have not been sampled previously for blood parasite s. No blood parasites were detected. The scarcity of vectors due to the mar ine environment and the dry conditions around the colonies is the most plau sible hypothesis for explaining the apparent absence of blood parasites in the Patagonian seabird community, although other hypotheses should be exami ned.