Prevalence and Diversity of Avian Haemosporidians May Vary with Anthropogenic Disturbance in Tropical Habitats in Myanmar

Abstract

Avian malaria and related haemosporidians (genera Haemoproteus, Plasmodium and Leucocytozoon) infect most clades of bird. Although these parasites are present in almost all continents, they have been irregularly studied across different geographical regions. Despite the high bird diversity in Asia, the diversity of avian haemosporidians in this region is largely unknown. Moreover, anthropogenic changes to habitats in tropical regions may have a profound impact on the overall composition of haemosporidian communities. Here we analyzed the diversity and host association of bird haemosporidians from areas with different degrees of anthropogenic disturbance in Myanmar, revealing an unexplored diversity of these parasites (27% of newly-discovered haemosporidian lineages, and 64% of new records of host–parasite assemblages) in these tropical environments. This newly discovered diversity will be valuable for detecting host range and transmission areas of haemosporidian parasites. We also found slightly higher haemosporidian prevalence and diversity in birds from paddy fields than in individuals from urban areas and hills, thus implying that human alteration of natural environments may affect the dynamics of vector-borne diseases. These outcomes provide valuable insights for biodiversity conservation management in threatened tropical ecosystems.

Risk of Infection, Local Prevalence and Seasonal Changes in an Avian Malaria Community Associated with Game Bird Releases

“…We found a quite high prevalence of avian malaria parasites in redlegged partridges in central Spain. The results presented here revealed malaria prevalences that are among the highest found in bird populations, particularly for Plasmodium [4,[65][66][67][68], including studies on species from comparable habitats in Spain [69]. We also found notable differences in the spatial and temporal distribution of parasites at a local scale.…”

Ecological Effects on the Dynamics of West Nile Virus and Avian Plasmodium: The Importance of Mosquito Communities and Landscape

“…The Lesser Antillean bullfinch ( Loxigilla noctis ), a common passerine endemic to the Caribbean, had greater Plasmodium prevalence in highly fragmented habitats, and forest fragmentation was found to be more important than forest loss in predicting greater parasite infection [ 106 ]. Additionally, birds from paddy fields (rural agricultural areas) tend to have higher haemosporidian prevalence than birds from more anthropized areas [ 107 ]. This disparity in results probably reflects the varying conditions that different habitats provide for mosquitoes to breed and indicates the effects that habitat fragmentation and/or transformation have on the abundance and composition of vector communities.…”

Avian haemosporidians (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) status in selected bird groups (Old world Flycatchers, Warblers, Babblers, and Thrushes) of India and their phylogenetic relationships with other lineages of the world

“…Plasmodium and Haemoproteus (Apicomplexa) are common and widely distributed vector-borne blood parasites, which occur in different bird species (1, 2). These haemosporidians ( Plasmodium and Haemoproteus ) may affect the avian host species by damaging their tissues (3, 4) during the stages of their life cycle (5, 4), by decreasing the survival rate (4, 6, 7, 8), lowering their reproductive success (4, 9, 10) and affecting their body conditions negatively (4, 11, 12). The haemosporidian infections have been reported to impart more severe effects on the avian populations in terms of reduction, extermination and even extinction of their populations (4, 13, 14).…”

“…These haemosporidians ( Plasmodium and Haemoproteus ) may affect the avian host species by damaging their tissues (3, 4) during the stages of their life cycle (5, 4), by decreasing the survival rate (4, 6, 7, 8), lowering their reproductive success (4, 9, 10) and affecting their body conditions negatively (4, 11, 12). The haemosporidian infections have been reported to impart more severe effects on the avian populations in terms of reduction, extermination and even extinction of their populations (4, 13, 14). Hence, considering the mega diversity status of India where more than thirteen percent of worlds avifauna is found (http://bnhsenvis.nic.in/files/Bird_Diversity_Popular_Lecture.pdf), it becomes much important to study the status of avian haemosporidians to ensure the proper conservation strategies of different host species in future.…”

“…Though many molecular studies have been carried out on the avian haemosporidians in the world (4), but there is record of only few such studies from India in which one is confined to a single bird species (15) and the second is particular to certain mountain ranges (16). While studying the avian haemosporidians at the genetic level, the lack of common genetic markers and information on the geographic distribution of parasite and host samples makes it exceedingly difficult to compare the data (17).…”