Diversity of Haemosporidian Parasites in Mississippi Songbirds

Abstract

Haemosporidian parasites are extremely diverse in birds. The more bird hosts that are tested, the greater the diversity of haemosporidians that is found. Here, we conducted a survey of haemosporidians in the local populations (Oktibbeha County, MS) of common and abundant songbirds. We captured local songbirds with mist nets and collected blood samples from the brachial vein for screening and identification of haemosporidians. Parasite prevalence was 57%, and we detected 3 genera of haemosporidians. We documented 3 Haemoproteus lineages, with 1 novel lineage (3% different than any known lineage); 2 Leucocytozoon lineages were found, neither of which were novel; and 8 Plasmodium lineages were found, one of which was novel (5% different than any known lineage), and 1 of which that may be novel (3% different than any known lineage). We detected Leucocytozoon for the first time in Mississippi songbirds, indicating the importance of surveying for understanding putative haemosporidian range shifts.