Identifying the ecological factors that shape parasite distributions remains a central goal in disease ecology. These factors include dispersal capability, environmental filters and geographic distance. Using 520 haemosporidian parasite genetic lineages recovered from 7,534 birds sampled across tropical and temperate South America, we tested (a) the latitudinal diversity gradient hypothesis and (b) the distance–decay relationship (decreasing proportion of shared species between communities with increasing geographic distance) for this host–parasite system. We then inferred the biogeographic processes influencing the diversity and distributions of this cosmopolitan group of parasites across South America. We found support for a latitudinal gradient in diversity for avian haemosporidian parasites, potentially mediated through higher avian host diversity towards the equator. Parasite similarity was correlated with climate similarity, geographic distance and host composition. Local diversification in Amazonian lineages followed by dispersal was the most frequent biogeographic events reconstructed for haemosporidian parasites. Combining macroecological patterns and biogeographic processes, our study reveals that haemosporidian parasites are capable of circumventing geographic barriers and dispersing across biomes, although constrained by environmental filtering. The contemporary diversity and distributions of haemosporidian parasites are mainly driven by historical (speciation) and ecological (dispersal) processes, whereas the parasite community assembly is largely governed by host composition and to a lesser extent by environmental conditions.

Forest fragmentation can affect various aspects of population dynamics, but few investigators have assessed possible effects on the behavior of a species. Loss of habitat may limit population recruitment and abundance, which may alter breeding dynamics in forest remnants. We examined the lekking behavior of White‐throated Manakins (Corapipo gutturalis) in a fragmented landscape to determine if forest fragmentation affected the spatial distribution of display courts and male behavior at courts. We captured and observed males at 19 courts located in 11 primary forests of different sizes in forest habitats of the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project area, an experimentally fragmented landscape located in the central Brazilian Amazon, and estimated their spatial distribution as the distance to the nearest court in the landscape. We quantified habitat loss using the proportion of forest cover surrounding courts and their distances to forest edges. No courts were detected in 1‐ha forest fragments, suggesting direct effects from habitat loss following fragmentation that affected connectivity and thus recruitment and persistence of courts in the smallest fragments. The spatial distribution of display courts in forests larger than 10 ha remained unaltered, compared to display courts in continuous forests, but adult males were less numerous on courts with a higher percentage of forest cover and they displayed less on courts closer to forest edges. The spatial distribution of courts also contributed to variation in male social behavior, with more juvenile males present and adult males displaying at lower rates at more isolated courts. Although White‐throated Manakins are locally common, the observed behavioral changes in response to habitat loss may affect their population dynamics. Our results show the importance of assessing behavioral changes in conservation programs and, in particular, of including biologically relevant measures of habitat loss in addressing its possible effects on species persistence in fragmented landscapes.

No abstract

In order to breed successfully, organisms exhibit multiple strategies to enhance mate attraction, such as elaborate physical ornamentation, behavioral courtship displays, and social interactions, leading to competition or cooperation among potential mates. Within lek mating systems, species evolve under strong sexual selection, which promotes the evolution of exaggerated sexual traits such as male courtship displays. The White‐throated manakin, Corapipo gutturalis, is a small Neotropical bird mating in leks where males display courtships to attract females. Their displays commonly take place on fallen logs on the forest floor, but there are descriptions of displays on higher forest stratum above the typical logs. In this study, we aimed at adding new behavioral information on the above‐log displays and to compare them to log displays in their potential to attract females. For this, we conducted focal observations on seven display courts in two reproductive seasons for 193 hr and recorded above‐log displays in four of the seven observed courts. Above‐log displays were always performed in groups of up to four males from multiple ages and, on only two occasions, these displays ended on the display log. We recorded the same elements previously described during above‐log displays for the species, besides the side‐to‐side slide that had not yet been registered for the species. Above‐log displays included more males than log displays. However, there was no significant difference in the frequency of females visits to above‐log displays or log displays and, likewise, the number of males engaging in the above‐log displays did not determine female visits either. Thus, we found no evidence that above‐log displays are more effective at attracting females than those on the log display. Since above‐log displays are always in the presence of multiple males, we suggest that it may represent male–male competition to define male individuals accessing the display logs.

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