New study finds that male pathology in songbirds drives avian epidemic dynamics

New findings by biological sciences researchers at the University of Arkansas indicate that males play an outsized role in both the infection rate and spread of the avian bacterial pathogen Mycoplasma gallisepticum, a common cause of conjunctivitis in songbirds, particularly those that use bird feeders. Indeed, experiments revealed that male canaries have shorter incubation periods, longer recovery periods and higher pathogen loads than females.