Table 1. Infection patterns in nest boxes which contained a BFDV-positive parent or nestling.
In all nests in which we detected infected birds, only one bird per nest was BFDV-positive. White background indicates nests with BFDV-positive nest swabs; grey background indicates nests with BFDV-negative nest swabs. All nestlings were tested twice, at approximately one and four weeks of age. P. elegans and P. elegans nestlings stay in the nest for approximately five weeks from hatching to fledging (Higgins, 1999). BFDV-positive samples are marked as, BFDV-negative samples are marked as. Some sample types could not be tested for some of the birds (NT stands for not tested). HA titre shows levels of BFDV antigen excretion detected in feathers (only females could be tested). Age of infected nestling shows at what age approximately the BFDV-positive sample was taken.
| Nest box | Species | BFDV statusnest swab | HA titre BFDV+♀parent(log2) | BFDV status♀parent | BFDV status♂parent | BFDV status nestlings | Age of infected nestling | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| blood | cloaca | blood | cloaca | blood | |||||
| 1 | P. elegans | + | 3 | + | + | – | + | – | |
| 2 | P. elegans | + | 6 | + | + | – | NT | – | |
| 3 | P. elegans | + | 6 | + | – | – | – | – | |
| 4 | P. elegans | + | 1 | + | NT | – | – | – | |
| 5 | – | <1 | + | + | – | – | – | ||
| 6 | P. eximius | – | 2 | + | NT | NT | NT | – | |
| 7 | P. elegans | – | – | – | – | – | + | 4 weeks | |
| 8 | P. elegans | – | – | – | – | – | + | 4 weeks | |
| 9 | P. elegans | – | – | – | – | – | + | 4 weeks | |
| 10 | P. eximius | – | – | – | NT | NT | + | 4 weeks | |
| 11 | P. eximius | – | – | NT | NT | NT | + | 1.5 weeks | |