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Structure and organization of an avian haemosporidian assemblage in a Neotropical savanna in Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 September 2012

ALAN FECCHIO ,
MARCOS ROBALINHO LIMA ,
MARIA SVENSSON-COELHO ,
MIGUEL ÂNGELO MARINI  and
ROBERT E. RICKLEFS
ALAN FECCHIO*
Affiliation:
Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia Animal, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, 70919-970, Brazil
MARCOS ROBALINHO LIMA
Affiliation:
Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, 70910-900, Brazil
MARIA SVENSSON-COELHO
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Missouri – St Louis, One Univ. Boulevard, St Louis, MO 63121-4499, USA
MIGUEL ÂNGELO MARINI
Affiliation:
Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, 70910-900, Brazil
ROBERT E. RICKLEFS
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Missouri – St Louis, One Univ. Boulevard, St Louis, MO 63121-4499, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Departamento de Biologia, Laboratório de Evolução e Genética Animal, Manaus AM, 69077-000. Brazil. Tel: + 55 92 36474233. Fax: + 55 92 36474229. E-mail: alanfecchio@yahoo.com.br
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Summary

Studies on avian haemosporidia are on the rise, but we still lack a basic understanding of how ecological and evolutionary factors mold the distributions of haemosporidia among species in the same bird community. We studied the structure and organization of a local avian haemosporidian assemblage (genera Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) in the Cerrado biome of Central Brazil for 5 years. We obtained 790 blood samples from 54 bird species of which 166 (21%) were infected with haemosporidians based on molecular diagnostics. Partial sequences of the parasite cytochrome b gene revealed 18 differentiated avian haemosporidian lineages. We also analysed the relationship of life-history traits (i.e., nesting height, migration status, nest type, sociality, body mass, and embryo development period) of the 14 most abundant bird species with the prevalence of avian haemosporidia. It was found that host species that bred socially presented a higher prevalence of Haemoproteus (Parahaemoproteus) than bird species that bred in pairs. Thus, aspects of host behaviour could be responsible for differential exposure to vectors. The assemblage of avian haemosporidia studied here also confirms a pattern that is emerging in recent studies using molecular markers to identify avian haemosporidians, namely that many lineages are host generalists.

Keywords

avian malariablood parasiteCerradoHaemoproteusparasite diversityPlasmodium
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 140 , Issue 2 , February 2013 , pp. 181 - 192
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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