Host life-history traits predict haemosporidian parasite prevalence in tanagers (Aves: Thraupidae)

Abstract

Vector-borne parasites are important ecological drivers influencing life-history evolution in birds by increasing host mortality or susceptibility to new diseases. Therefore, understanding why vulnerability to infection varies within a host clade is a crucial task for conservation biology and for understanding macroecological life-history patterns. Here, we studied the relationship of avian life-history traits and climate on the prevalence of Plasmodium and Parahaemoproteus parasites. We sampled 3569 individual birds belonging to 53 species of the family Thraupidae. Individuals were captured from 2007 to 2018 at 92 locations. We created 2 phylogenetic generalized least-squares models with Plasmodium and Parahaemoproteus prevalence as our response variables, and with the following predictor variables: climate PC1, climate PC2, body size, mixed-species flock participation, incubation period, migration, nest height, foraging height, forest cover, and diet. We found that Parahaemoproteus and Plasmodium prevalence was higher in species inhabiting open habitats. Tanager species with longer incubation periods had higher Parahaemoproteus prevalence as well, and we hypothesize that these longer incubation periods overlap with maximum vector abundances, resulting in a higher probability of infection among adult hosts during their incubation period and among chicks. Lastly, we found that Plasmodium prevalence was higher in species without migratory behaviour, with mixed-species flock participation, and with an omnivorous or animal-derived diet. We discuss the consequences of higher infection prevalence in relation to life-history traits in tanagers.

Assessing global drivers of parasite diversity: host diversity and body mass boost avian haemosporidian diversity

“…Since the phylogenetic relationships among hosts are a substantial factor driving haemosporidian assemblages (Lutz et al ., 2015 ; Aguiar de Souza Penha et al ., 2022 ; De La Torre et al ., 2022 ), we calculated host diversity using a metric that considers the phylogenetic distances among hosts. We can use Hill numbers to normalize diversities and compare diversity among regions in a more intuitive manner.…”

The impacts of host traits on parasite infection of montane birds in southwestern China

“…Indeed, a range of ecological and life-history traits related to vector exposure have been shown to be associated with parasite prevalence, including body size (Scheuerlein and Ricklefs, 2004), diet preferences (Wilson et al, 2020), foraging strata (Gupta et al, 2020), nest type (Rodriguez et al, 2021), and social tendencies (Gonzaĺez et al, 2014), among others. More specifically, larger species, omnivores, lower-strata foragers, and flocking species showed greater blood parasite prevalence than other species (Rodrıǵuez-Hernańdez et al, 2021;Penha et al, 2023).…”

Host phylogeny and seasonality shapes avian haemosporidian prevalence in a Brazilian biodiverse and dry forest: the Caatinga

“…For example, a negative effect of haemosporidian parasites on body condition was detected among passerine species (Palinauskas et al ., 2016; Schoenle et al ., 2017). Species functional traits, such as habitat selection, plumage colouration, nest type, migratory behaviour and flocking, have all been implied as predictors in the variation of haemosporidian prevalence (Gonzalez-Quevedo et al ., 2014; Ganser et al ., 2020; de La Torre and Campião, 2021; de Angeli Dutra et al ., 2021 b ; Aguiar de Souza Penha et al ., 2022). For instance, Haemoproteus prevalence reaches higher rates among avian species inhabiting mid-high and canopy strata and haemosporidian infections are more common among strictly migratory species (de La Torre and Campião, 2021; de Angeli Dutra et al ., 2021 b ).…”