Haemosporidian infection in passerine birds from Lower Saxony

Wiersch, S. C.; Lubjuhn, Thomas; Maier, Wolfgang; Kampen, Helge

doi:10.1007/s10336-006-0094-0

Cited by 18 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Although overall infection prevalences obtained in this study were comparable to previous studies on blue tits [17] and warblers ( Acrocephalus schoenobaenus ) [18], they were still notably higher than prevalences recorded in other passerines [11,15,20] and other areas. Analyses of environmental factors responsible for vector distribution and host susceptibility are needed to better understand haemosporidian distribution and abundance.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…The low prevalences with comparatively high lineage diversity found at intermediate altitude (especially in the case of Leucocytozoon infection) may be a result of stronger selective pressures imposed by exposure to a greater number of different parasites, which in turn, could result in adaptations that help evade or cope with actual infection [11]. The results indicate that this structure in parasite distribution for the three most abundant lineages (SGS1, SW2 and PARUS4) remains constant over time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Altitudinal variation in haemosporidian parasite distribution in great tit populations

et al. 2013

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BackgroundOne of the major issues concerning disease ecology and conservation is knowledge of the factors that influence the distribution of parasites and consequently disease outbreaks. This study aimed to investigate avian haemosporidian composition and the distribution of these parasites in three altitudinally separated great tit (Parus major) populations in western Switzerland over a three-year period. The objectives were to determine the lineage diversity of parasites occuring across the study populations and to investigate whether altitudinal gradients govern the distribution of haemosporidian parasites by lineage.MethodsIn this study molecular approaches (PCR and sequencing) were used to detect avian blood parasites (Plasmodium sp., Haemoproteus sp. and Leucocytozoon sp.) in populations of adult great tits caught on their nests during three consecutive breeding seasons.ResultsHigh levels of parasite prevalence (88-96%) were found across all of the study populations with no significant altitude effect. Altitude did, however, govern the distribution of parasites belonging to different genera, with Plasmodium parasites being more prevalent at lower altitudes, Leucocytozoon parasites more at high altitude and Haemoproteus parasite prevalence increasing with altitude. A total of 27 haemosporidian parasite lineages were recorded across all study sites, with diversity showing a positive correlation to altitude. Parasites belonging to lineage SGS1 (P. relictum) and PARUS4 and PARUS19 (Leucocytozoon sp.) dominated lower altitudes. SW2 (P. polare) was the second most prevalent lineage of parasite detected overall and these parasites were responsible for 68% of infections at intermediate altitude, but were only documented at this one study site.ConclusionsAvian haemosporidian parasites are not homogeneously distributed across host populations, but differ by altitude. This difference is most probably brought about by environmental factors influencing vector prevalence and distribution. The high occurrence of co-infection by different genera of parasites might have pronounced effects on host fitness and should consequently be investigated more rigorously.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Altitudinal variation in haemosporidian parasite distribution in great tit populations

et al. 2013

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“…This contrary scenario presented by the malarial parasite community from southeast Brazil could be explained by differences of vector populations, Culicidae mosquitoes for Plasmodium and biting midges (Culicoides) and louse-flies (Psedolynchia, Microlynchia and Ornithomyia) for Haemoproteus [2], because the distribution of malaria vectors can be affected by vegetation type, rainfall patterns, mean temperatures, elevation, and geomorphology [37]. Sequencing the mtDNA cyt-b marker revealed a greater number of lineages compared to other regional surveys conducted in South America, Europe and Africa [26,36,[38][39][40]; however, the population had similar diversity compared to those from Australo-Papuan region and India [10,41]. The high lineage richness discovered in this study could be associated with the diverse population of host species in southeast Brazil because parasites were found in 132 different bird species.…”

Section: Diversity and Distribution Of Parasite Lineagesmentioning

confidence: 93%

Exploring the Diversity and Distribution of Neotropical Avian Malaria Parasites – A Molecular Survey from Southeast Brazil

et al. 2013

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Southeast Brazil is a neotropical region composed of a mosaic of different tropical habitats and mountain chains, which allowed for the formation of bird-rich communities with distinct ecological niches. Although this region has the potential to harbor a remarkable variety of avian parasites, there is a lack of information about the diversity of malarial parasites. We used molecular approaches to characterize the lineage diversity of Plasmodium and Haemoproteus in bird communities from three different habitats in southeast Brazil based on the prevalence, richness and composition of lineages. We observed an overall prevalence of 35.3%, with a local prevalence ranging from 17.2% to 54.8%. Moreover, no significant association between prevalence and habitat type could be verified (p>0.05). We identified 89 Plasmodium and 22 Haemoproteus lineages, with 86% of them described for the first time here, including an unusual infection of a non-columbiform host by a Haemoproteus (Haemoproteus) parasite. The composition analyses of the parasite communities showed that the lineage composition from Brazilian savannah and tropical dry forest was similar, but it was different from the lineage composition of Atlantic rainforest, reflecting the greater likeness of the former habitats with respect to seasonality and forest density. No significant effects of habitat type on lineage richness were observed based on GLM analyses. We also found that sites whose samples had a greater diversity of bird species showed a greater diversity of parasite lineages, providing evidence that areas with high bird richness also have high parasite richness. Our findings point to the importance of the neotropical region (southeast Brazil) as a major reservoir of new haemosporidian lineages.

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“…We also obtained data from multiple sources that screened blood of captured adult birds of any sex that breed in Europe for haemoparasite prevalence (Bennett et al 1982;Haberkorn 1984;Merino et al 1997;Valkiūnas et al 1999;Krone et al 2001;Shurulinkov and Golemansky 2003;Mendes et al 2005;Palinauskas et al 2005;Wiersch et al 2007;Ishak et al 2008;Krone et al 2008;). This compiled dataset included 150 bird species that had at least one individual sampled, while the maximum within-species sample size was 370 (CV 0 176.8 %).…”

Section: Estimates Of Research Effortmentioning

confidence: 99%

Untested assumptions about within-species sample size and missing data in interspecific studies

Garamszegi

Møller

2012

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Phylogenetic comparative studies rely on speciesspecific data that often contain missing values and/or differ in sample size among species. These phenomena may violate statistical assumptions about the non-random variance component in sampling effort. A major reason why this assumption is often not fulfilled is because the probability of being sampled (i.e., being captured or observed) may depend on species-specific characteristics. Here, we test this assumption by using information on within-species sample sizes and missing data from five independent comparative datasets of European birds. First, we show that the two estimates of data availability (missing values and withinspecies sample size) are positively correlated and are associated with research effort in general (the number of papers published). Second, we demonstrate biologically meaningful relationships between data availability and phenotypic traits. For example, population size, risk-taking, and habitat specialization independently predicted within-species sample size. The key determinants of missing data were population size and distribution range. However, data availability was not structured by phylogenetic relationships. These results indicate that the accuracy of sampling is repeatable and distributed non-randomly among species, as several species-specific attributes determined the probability of observation. Therefore, data availability seems to be a speciesspecific trait that can be shaped by ecology, life history, and behavior. Such relationships raise issues about non-random sampling, which requires attention in comparative studies.

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Haemosporidian infection in passerine birds from Lower Saxony

Cited by 18 publications

References 32 publications

Altitudinal variation in haemosporidian parasite distribution in great tit populations

Altitudinal variation in haemosporidian parasite distribution in great tit populations

Exploring the Diversity and Distribution of Neotropical Avian Malaria Parasites – A Molecular Survey from Southeast Brazil

Untested assumptions about within-species sample size and missing data in interspecific studies

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