Seasonal dynamics of haemosporidian (Apicomplexa, Haemosporida) parasites in house sparrows Passer domesticus at four European sites: comparison between lineages and the importance of screening methods

Neto, Júlio M.; Mellinger, Samantha; Hałupka, Lucyna; Marzal, Alfonso; Zehtindjiev, Pavel; Westerdahl, Helena

doi:10.1016/j.ijpara.2020.03.008

Cited by 19 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…While the prevalence of haemosporidian parasites is known to vary seasonally (Huang et al 2020, Neto et al 2020, seasonal variation in haemosporidian prevalence is unlikely to explain the association we observed between infection rates and host age, or the lack of an association between infection rates and implant treatment, because Julian date of blood sample collection was not associated with implant treatment or host age.…”

Section: Testosterone Implants and Haemosporidian Infectionsmentioning

confidence: 61%

The probability of being infected with haemosporidian parasites increases with host age but is not affected by experimental testosterone elevation in a wild songbird

Slowinski

Geissler

Gerlach

et al. 2021

Journal of Avian Biology

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In vertebrates, disease susceptibility often varies with age. Older individuals may be more susceptible than younger individuals due to senescent declines in immune function. Alternatively, disease susceptibility may decrease with age if older individuals are more likely to have had prior exposures to parasites and acquired adaptive immune responses that allowed them to resist future infections. Disease susceptibility can also vary with reproductive state, and reproductive hormones have been shown to increase infection susceptibility. Here we investigated how age and experimentally elevated levels of the reproductive hormone testosterone affected haemosporidian infections in free-living adult male dark-eyed juncos Junco hyemalis. Samples were collected before and at least one year after experimental treatment with either a testosterone implant or empty control implant. The probability of being infected with haemosporidians in the Plasmodium/Haemoproteus group increased with host age but was unaffected by experimental testosterone elevation. Our longitudinal sampling design allowed us to determine that the increase in infections with host age was driven by variation within individuals, such that an individual's probability of being infected increased with age. This suggests that haemosporidian susceptibility increases with host age, and/or that haemosporidian-infected juncos sustain long-term chronic infections that are rarely completely cleared, and that the probability of being infected is higher in older juncos because they have experienced higher cumulative exposure risk.

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Section: Testosterone Implants and Haemosporidian Infectionsmentioning

confidence: 61%

The probability of being infected with haemosporidian parasites increases with host age but is not affected by experimental testosterone elevation in a wild songbird

Slowinski

Geissler

Gerlach

et al. 2021

Journal of Avian Biology

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“…The general seasonal pattern seems to be that the prevalence of avian malaria parasites increases during the breeding season in temperate wild bird populations, reaching maximal values during summer and then declining through autumn [84,86], a pattern corroborated by the P. relictum data [85]. However, recent work with house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in Spain reported a double peak pattern of Plasmodium prevalence in spring and autumn [87]. Overall, the most likely explanation for the seasonal pattern we found in partridges is that parasites belonging to Group B (that included generalist lineages) correspond with the parasites harbored by farm-reared partridges that were released into the wild in autumn.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

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

et al. 2021

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Anthropogenic activities, such as the translocation or introduction of animals, may cause a parallel movement of exotic parasites harboured by displaced animals. Although introduction and/or relocation of animals for hunting purposes is an increasingly common management technique, the effects of gamebird release as a major vehicle for the introduction of parasites into new geographic regions have rarely been reported. We examined the prevalence and distribution of avian malaria parasites infecting resident avian hosts (red-legged partridge Alectoris rufa) at a local scale, with a particular emphasis on the effects of releasing farm-reared birds for hunting on the spatial and temporal structure of the parasite community. We collected blood samples from adult partridges from two game estates with partridge releases and two sites without releases over two periods (spring and autumn). We tested the probability of infection and differences in the parasite community in relation to the management model (releases vs. non releases) and sampling period, comparing autumn (when farm-reared birds are released) and spring (after hunting season, when mostly wild birds can be found in the population). We found a high prevalence (54%) of Plasmodium spp., and substantial differences in the spatial and temporal distribution of parasite lineages among the populations studied. Some parasite lineages occurred at high frequencies in game estates without introduction of farm-reared partridges, while other lineages were more abundant in game estates with releases than in those without releases. Overall, the prevalence of avian malaria was similar between spring and autumn at non-release sites, whereas in sites with releases, it was higher in autumn than in spring—probably due to artificial restocking with infected farm-reared birds at the onset of the hunting season. In short, humans may be an important agent driving the alteration of the spatial structure of local parasite fauna via the introduction of exotic parasites by gamebird release, which could cause avian malaria outbreaks with severe repercussions for native avifauna.

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“…There is no data so far concerning preferences of RBC age classes by H. passeris , but a preliminary working hypothesis could be that gametocytes from H. passeris can infect also immature RBCs. Previous studies have shown that immature RBCs can be more metabolically active cells than mature RBCs [ 7 ], which could lead to a longer life span of the H. passeris gametocyte. Such a mechanism would explain why H. passeris may gain an advantage from P. relictum , i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…malaria parasites (genus Plasmodium ) and related parasites of the genus Haemoproteus . A single bird species can often be the host of ten different avian haemosporidian species [ 7 , 8 ] and avian malaria can have severe fitness consequences for infected individuals [ 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Haemoproteus passeris withdraw from the blood during the autumn and winter when it remains in internal organs, and thus cannot be detected by regular screening of blood samples and is considered a chronic and life-long infection. The prevalence of P. relictum in Spain is known to be highest in late spring and early autumn [ 7 ], and subsequently the two parasites H. passeris and P. relictum mainly have opportunity to interact in the bird blood during the summer months.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reciprocal positive effects on parasitemia between coinfecting haemosporidian parasites in house sparrows

et al. 2022

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Background Hosts are often simultaneously infected with several parasite species. These co-infections can lead to within-host interactions of parasites, including mutualism and competition, which may affect both virulence and transmission. Birds are frequently co-infected with different haemosporidian parasites, but very little is known about if and how these parasites interact in natural host populations and what consequences there are for the infected hosts. We therefore set out to study Plasmodium and Haemoproteus parasites in house sparrows Passer domesticus with naturally acquired infections using a protocol where the parasitemia (infection intensity) is quantified by qPCR separately for the two parasites. We analysed infection status (presence/absence of the parasite) and parasitemia of parasites in the blood of both adult and juvenile house sparrows repeatedly over the season. Results Haemoproteus passeris and Plasmodium relictum were the two dominating parasite species, found in 99% of the analyzed Sanger sequences. All birds were infected with both Plasmodium and Haemoproteus parasites during the study period. Seasonality explained infection status for both parasites in the adults: H. passeris was completely absent in the winter while P. relictum was present all year round. Among adults infected with H. passeris there was a positive effect of P. relictum parasitemia on H. passeris parasitemia and likewise among adults infected with P. relictum there was a positive effect of H. passeris parasitemia on P. relictum parasitemia. No such associations on parasitemia were seen in juvenile house sparrows. Conclusions The reciprocal positive relationships in parasitemia between P. relictum and H. passeris in adult house sparrows suggests either mutualistic interactions between these frequently occurring parasites or that there is variation in immune responses among house sparrow individuals, hence some individuals suppress the parasitemia of both parasites whereas other individuals suppress neither. Our detailed screening of haemosporidian parasites over the season shows that co-infections are very frequent in both juvenile and adult house sparrows, and since co-infections often have stronger negative effects on host fitness than the single infection, it is imperative to use screening systems with the ability to detect multiple parasites in ecological studies of host-parasite interactions.

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Seasonal dynamics of haemosporidian (Apicomplexa, Haemosporida) parasites in house sparrows Passer domesticus at four European sites: comparison between lineages and the importance of screening methods

Cited by 19 publications

References 49 publications

The probability of being infected with haemosporidian parasites increases with host age but is not affected by experimental testosterone elevation in a wild songbird

The probability of being infected with haemosporidian parasites increases with host age but is not affected by experimental testosterone elevation in a wild songbird

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

Reciprocal positive effects on parasitemia between coinfecting haemosporidian parasites in house sparrows

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