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Haemoparasites of the pied flycatcher: inter-population variation in the prevalence and community composition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 November 2017

Anna Dubiec ,
Edyta Podmokła Open the ORCID record for Edyta Podmokła [Opens in a new window] ,
Iga Harnist  and
Tomasz D. Mazgajski
Anna Dubiec
Affiliation:
Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wilcza 64, 00-679 Warszawa, Poland
Edyta Podmokła*
Affiliation:
Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków, Poland
Iga Harnist
Affiliation:
Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wilcza 64, 00-679 Warszawa, Poland
Tomasz D. Mazgajski
Affiliation:
Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wilcza 64, 00-679 Warszawa, Poland
*
Author for correspondence: Edyta Podmokła, E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The prevalence and community composition of haemoparasites can substantially differ among avian host populations, which may lead to different selection pressures. Therefore, information about these parameters is crucial for understanding, e.g. the inter-population variation in host life history traits. Here, we molecularly screened a population of a long-distance migrant, the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca, from central Poland for the presence of three genera of blood parasites: Haemoproteus, Plasmodium and Trypanosoma. The infection rate in this population was the highest for haemosporidians (86·8%) and one of the highest for trypanosomes (39·7%) among the thus far screened breeding populations of this species. The haemosporidian community was composed of six Haemoproteus/Plasmodium lineages, and the trypanosome community – 4 species and a parasite assigned to genus level. Trypanosomes were dominated by T. culicavium, a recently described species, corroborating the prediction that insectivorous songbirds are vertebrate hosts of this parasite. Host sex and age did not explain variation in infection incidence except for the higher trypanosome infection rates in males. A comparison of the study population with three other breeding populations previously screened molecularly for haemosporidians showed some geographic differences. This study confirms the importance of examining local parasite communities across a host distribution range.

Keywords

Co-infectiondiversity indexhaemosporidiansphylogenetic relationshipstrypanosomeswildlife diseases
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 145 , Issue 7 , June 2018 , pp. 912 - 919
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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