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Prevalence of avian haemosporidian parasites is positively related to the abundance of host species at multiple sites within a region

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Abstract

Parasite prevalence is thought to be positively related to host population density owing to enhanced contagion. However, the relationship between prevalence and local abundance of multiple host species is underexplored. We surveyed birds and their haemosporidian parasites (genera Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) at multiple sites across eastern North America to test whether the prevalence of these parasites in a host species at a particular site is related to that host’s local abundance. Prevalence was positively related to host abundance within most sites, although the effect was stronger and more consistent for Plasmodium than for Haemoproteus. In contrast, prevalence was not related to variation in the abundance of most individual host species among sites across the region. These results suggest that parasite prevalence partly reflects the relative abundances of host species in local assemblages. However, three nonnative host species had low prevalence despite being relatively abundant at one site, as predicted by the enemy release hypothesis.

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Acknowledgments

Many people helped with collecting samples and permitting, for which we are grateful: B. Ryder, P. Marra, K. Tranquillo, P. Pyle, the Indiana MAPS teams, A. Burke, field biologist B. Keith and the Kalamazoo Valley Bird Observatory/Kalamazoo Nature Center, the Connecticut Audubon Society, S. Latta, W. Walstrom, D. Outlaw, E. Levenson, and K. Riley. P. Parker, I. Jiménez, S. Mangan, and an anonymous reviewer provided useful feedback on earlier versions of the manuscript. Our work would not have been possible without the help of numerous government and conservation agencies. We also thank the thousands of volunteers and organizers of the Breeding Bird Survey. Field and laboratory work was supported by the Harris World Ecology Center, the St. Louis Audubon Society, the Missouri Audubon Society, the Curators of the University of Missouri, the NSF Malaria Research Coordination Network, and a University of Missouri-St. Louis Dissertation Fellowship awarded to V.A.E.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Missouri—St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA

    Vincenzo A. Ellis, Matthew C. I. Medeiros, Elyse D. Coffey, Rebecca C. Dickerson, Camile Lugarini, Michael Joyce, Melanie R. Kunkel & Robert E. Ricklefs

  2. Departamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Vincenzo A. Ellis & Eloisa H. R. Sari

  3. Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Matthew C. I. Medeiros

  4. Department of Biology, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN, 38112, USA

    Michael D. Collins, Alix E. Matthews, Alison A. Hanson & Jackson R. Roberts

  5. College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Rebecca C. Dickerson & Melanie R. Kunkel

  6. Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Aves Silvestres, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil

    Camile Lugarini

  7. Department of Biology and Health Sciences, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA, 18766, USA

    Jeffrey A. Stratford

  8. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA

    Donata R. Henry

  9. Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois, Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, 61820, USA

    Loren Merrill

  10. Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University, State University, Jonesboro, AR, 72467, USA

    Alix E. Matthews

  11. Department of Geography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Alison A. Hanson

  12. School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA

    Jackson R. Roberts

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  1. Vincenzo A. Ellis
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Correspondence to Vincenzo A. Ellis.

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Ellis, V.A., Medeiros, M.C.I., Collins, M.D. et al. Prevalence of avian haemosporidian parasites is positively related to the abundance of host species at multiple sites within a region. Parasitol Res 116, 73–80 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-016-5263-3

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