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Co-infections of haemosporidian and trypanosome parasites in a North American songbird

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 September 2016

LETÍCIA SOARES ,
VINCENZO A. ELLIS  and
ROBERT E. RICKLEFS
LETÍCIA SOARES*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, R223 Research Building, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, 63121 MO, USA
VINCENZO A. ELLIS
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, R223 Research Building, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, 63121 MO, USA Departamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
ROBERT E. RICKLEFS
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, R223 Research Building, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, 63121 MO, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, R223 Research Building, One University Boulevard, St. Louis 63121 MO, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
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Summary

Hosts frequently harbour multiple parasite infections, yet patterns of parasite co-occurrence are poorly documented in nature. In this study, we asked whether two common avian blood parasites, one haemosporidian and one trypanosome, affect each other's occurrence in individuals of a single host species. We used molecular genotyping to survey protozoan parasites in the peripheral blood of yellow-breasted chats (Aves: Passeriformes [Parulidae]: Icteria virens) from the Ozarks of Southern Missouri. We also determined whether single and co-infections differently influence white blood cell and polychromatic erythrocyte counts, the latter being a measure of regenerative anaemia. We found a positive association between the haemosporidian and trypanosome parasites, such that infection by one increases the probability that an individual host is infected by the other. Adult individuals were more likely than juveniles to exhibit haemosporidian infection, but co-infections and single trypanosome infections were not age-related. We found evidence of pathogenicity of trypanosomes in that infected individuals exhibited similar levels of regenerative anaemia as birds infected with haemosporidian parasites of the genus Plasmodium. Counts of white blood cells did not differ with respect to infection status.

Keywords

ReticulocyteshaemoparasitesIcteria virensOzarks plateauwithin-host interactionsyellow-breasted chat
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 143 , Issue 14 , December 2016 , pp. 1930 - 1938
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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