Haemosporidian prevalence and parasitaemia in the Black-throated sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata) in central-Mexican dryland habitats

Abstract

To date it is not well-understood how seasonality and human-induced habitat change may affect haemosporidian prevalence and parasitaemia in bird hosts in dryland habitats. We compared haemosporidian prevalence and parasitaemia between habitat types, including Yucca-dominated scrublands (closed habitat) and creosotebush scrublands (open habitat), and between seasons, including non-breeding (dry) and breeding (wet) in the Black-throated sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata) at semi-arid scrublands of Central Mexico. This bird species has different habitat preferences in comparison to other, previously studied species in the region; it shows higher abundances in open than in closed habitats and avoids urban areas. Overall haemosporidian prevalence was 22.1%. Prevalence and parasitaemia were higher for Haemoproteus sp. (Parahaemoproteus sp.) than Plasmodium. Variation in haemoparasitism was not associated with habitat type. This response differs from the previously recorded response in other bird species in the region for which haemoparasitism increases with increasing habitat degradation. Seasonality seems to be the most important driver of parasite infection for this sparrow as prevalence and parasitaemia were higher during the breeding than the non-breeding season. Two new lineages of Haemoproteus sp. that had not been reported before in any avian species were found through molecular diagnosis. A high diversity of haemosporidian lineages is shared among sites. More study is needed to understand the mechanisms that associate parasitaemia, prevalence, and specific environmental factors.

Effects of Ecological Gradients on Tropical Avian Hemoparasites

“…One recent study from northern South America, reported that diversity and prevalence of Plasmodium and Haemoproteus responded to host species and to host by climate interactions, but not to water availability (Pulgarín-R et al 2018). In contrast, in drier environments that are topographically less complex, recorded prevalence of Leucocytozoon is usually extremely low (e.g., Belo et al 2012;Reinoso-Pérez et al 2016;Ham-Dueñas et al 2017).…”

“…Therefore, in some dry landscapes such as in Arizona, absence of haemosporidians may result from very limited water availability (Deviche et al 2005). In other cases, such as in dry scrublands of central Mexico, where local inhabitants build water ponds for livestock management and where the density of these ponds is high, haemosporidian assemblages are species rich and both prevalence and parasitaemia decrease with increasing distance from such water sources, but again, the magnitude of response varies among bird and parasite species (Reinoso-Pérez et al 2016;Ham-Dueñas et al 2017). Moreover, in this region, the effect of distance from water ponds may be confounded with habitat degradation (see section 10.4.2 below).…”

“…These species are well adapted to open habitats (Pidgeon et al 2003(Pidgeon et al 2006Smallwood and Bird 2002). A recent study reported significant lower prevalence in Black-throated Sparrows at degraded scrublands adjacent to the villages in comparison to the relatively undisturbed scrublands (Ham-Dueñas et al 2017). Moreover, ecological stress, measured through the heterophyl/lymphocyte ratio (Ellis et al 2012), was lower in the open preferred habitat.…”

Avian haemosporidian infections in rufous-collared sparrows in an Andean dry forest: diversity and factors related to prevalence and parasitaemia

“…Although higher prevalence has been tied to reproduction of the host (e.g. Knowles et al, 2011;Ham-Dueñas et al, 2017), this scenario is not plausible given the apparently continuous reproduction of Z. capensis at the study site (Cadena-Ortiz, personal observation), which contrasts with reports of reproduction seasonality in two other nearby localities, but at higher elevation (Papallacta at 3300 m a.s.l. and Pintag at 2900 m a.s.l.…”

“…Haemoproteus sp. ZC1 infects Z. capensis in Peru (Jones et al ., 2013), other Emberizidae in México (Reinoso-Pérez et al ., 2016; Ham-Dueñas et al ., 2017), and Troglodytes aedon in Peru (Galen and Witt, 2014). This lineage shows considerable genetic distance from those of other Haemoproteus morphospecies (Fig.…”