Host community heterogeneity and the expression of host specificity in avian haemosporidia in the Western Cape, South Africa

Similar patterns of parasite prevalence in animal communities may be driven by a range of different mechanisms. The influences of host heterogeneity and host–parasite interactions in host community assemblages are poorly understood. We sampled birds at 27 wetlands in South Africa to compare four hyp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Parasitology 2018-12, Vol.145 (14), p.1876-1883
Main Authors: Jones, Sharon M., Cumming, Graeme S., Peters, Jeffrey L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Bird Diseases - parasitology
Birds
Birds - parasitology
Communities
Field study
Haemoproteus
Haemosporida - pathogenicity
Heterogeneity
Host Specificity
Host-Parasite Interactions
Hypotheses
Infections
Leucocytozoon
Mitochondrial DNA
Parasites
Plasmodium
Plasmodium - pathogenicity
Polymerase chain reaction
Protozoan Infections, Animal - parasitology
South Africa
Taxonomy
Trends
Wetlands
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Summary:Similar patterns of parasite prevalence in animal communities may be driven by a range of different mechanisms. The influences of host heterogeneity and host–parasite interactions in host community assemblages are poorly understood. We sampled birds at 27 wetlands in South Africa to compare four hypotheses explaining how host community heterogeneity influences host specificity in avian haemosporidia communities: the host-neutral hypothesis, the super-spreader hypothesis, the host specialist hypothesis and the heterogeneity hypothesis. A total of 289 birds (29%) were infected with Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and/or Leucocytozoon lineages. Leucocytozoon was the most diverse and generalist parasite genus, and Plasmodium the most conservative. The host-neutral and host specialist hypotheses received the most support in explaining prevalence by lineage (Leucocytozoon) and genus (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus), respectively. We observed that haemosporidian prevalence was potentially amplified or reduced with variation in host and/or parasitic taxonomic levels of analysis. Our results show that Leucocytozoon host abundance and diversity was influential to parasite prevalence at varying taxonomic levels, particularly within heterogeneous host communities. Furthermore, we note that prevalent mechanisms of infection can potentially act as distinct roots for shaping communities of avian haemosporidia.
ISSN:0031-1820
1469-8161
DOI:10.1017/S0031182018000665