Structure and organization of an avian haemosporidian assemblage in a Neotropical savanna in Brazil
(2013) In Parasitology 140(02). p.181-192- Abstract
- Studies on avian haemosporidia are on the rise, but we still lack a basic understanding of how ecological and evolutionary factors mold the distributions of haemosporidia among species in the same bird community. We studied the structure and organization of a local avian haemosporidian assemblage (genera Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) in the Cerrado biome of Central Brazil for 5 years. We obtained 790 blood samples from 54 bird species of which 166 (21%) were infected with haemosporidians based on molecular diagnostics. Partial sequences of the parasite cytochrome b gene revealed 18 differentiated avian haemosporidian lineages. We also analysed the relationship of life-history traits (i.e., nesting height, migration status, nest type,... (More)
- Studies on avian haemosporidia are on the rise, but we still lack a basic understanding of how ecological and evolutionary factors mold the distributions of haemosporidia among species in the same bird community. We studied the structure and organization of a local avian haemosporidian assemblage (genera Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) in the Cerrado biome of Central Brazil for 5 years. We obtained 790 blood samples from 54 bird species of which 166 (21%) were infected with haemosporidians based on molecular diagnostics. Partial sequences of the parasite cytochrome b gene revealed 18 differentiated avian haemosporidian lineages. We also analysed the relationship of life-history traits (i.e., nesting height, migration status, nest type, sociality, body mass, and embryo development period) of the 14 most abundant bird species with
the prevalence of avian haemosporidia. It was found that host species that bred socially presented a higher prevalence of Haemoproteus (Parahaemoproteus) than bird species that bred in pairs. Thus, aspects of host behaviour could be responsible for differential exposure to vectors. The assemblage of avian haemosporidia studied here also confirms a pattern that is emerging in recent studies using molecular markers to identify avian haemosporidians, namely that many lineages are host generalists. (Less)
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https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/c9161402-12bb-487e-bbc0-4d7c416b1a32
- author
- Fecchio, Alan ; Lima, Marcos Robalinho LU ; Svensson-Coelho, Maria LU ; Marini, Miguel Ângelo and Ricklefs, Robert E
- publishing date
- 2013
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Parasitology
- volume
- 140
- issue
- 02
- pages
- 12 pages
- publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:84873375921
- ISSN
- 1469-8161
- DOI
- 10.1017/S0031182012001412
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- c9161402-12bb-487e-bbc0-4d7c416b1a32
- date added to LUP
- 2017-05-09 15:02:58
- date last changed
- 2022-03-01 21:44:07
@article{c9161402-12bb-487e-bbc0-4d7c416b1a32, abstract = {{Studies on avian haemosporidia are on the rise, but we still lack a basic understanding of how ecological and evolutionary factors mold the distributions of haemosporidia among species in the same bird community. We studied the structure and organization of a local avian haemosporidian assemblage (genera Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) in the Cerrado biome of Central Brazil for 5 years. We obtained 790 blood samples from 54 bird species of which 166 (21%) were infected with haemosporidians based on molecular diagnostics. Partial sequences of the parasite cytochrome b gene revealed 18 differentiated avian haemosporidian lineages. We also analysed the relationship of life-history traits (i.e., nesting height, migration status, nest type, sociality, body mass, and embryo development period) of the 14 most abundant bird species with<br/>the prevalence of avian haemosporidia. It was found that host species that bred socially presented a higher prevalence of Haemoproteus (Parahaemoproteus) than bird species that bred in pairs. Thus, aspects of host behaviour could be responsible for differential exposure to vectors. The assemblage of avian haemosporidia studied here also confirms a pattern that is emerging in recent studies using molecular markers to identify avian haemosporidians, namely that many lineages are host generalists.}}, author = {{Fecchio, Alan and Lima, Marcos Robalinho and Svensson-Coelho, Maria and Marini, Miguel Ângelo and Ricklefs, Robert E}}, issn = {{1469-8161}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{02}}, pages = {{181--192}}, publisher = {{Cambridge University Press}}, series = {{Parasitology}}, title = {{Structure and organization of an avian haemosporidian assemblage in a Neotropical savanna in Brazil}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0031182012001412}}, doi = {{10.1017/S0031182012001412}}, volume = {{140}}, year = {{2013}}, }