Abstract
BackgroundAvian haemosporidia are obligate blood parasites with an ample range of hosts worldwide. To understand how host communities may influence the diversity of parasites of the neotropics, the spatial genetic variation of avian Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, and Leucocytozoon was examined between areas of host endemism and along the elevational gradient in the tropical Andes.MethodsA total of 1686 accessions of the cytochrome b gene of avian haemosporidia were selected from 43 publications, that further provides additional information on 14.2% of bird species in the Neotropics. Haplotype groups were identified using a similarity-based clustering of sequences using a cut-off level ≥ 99.3% of sequence identity. Phylogenetic-based analyses were implemented to examine the spatial genetic structure of avian haemosporidia among areas of host endemism and the elevation gradient in the tropical Andes.ResultsThe areas of avian endemism, including the tropical Andes, can explain the differential distribution of the haemosporidia cytochrome b gene variation. In the tropical Andes region, the total number of avian haemosporidia haplotypes follows a unimodal pattern that peaks at mid-elevation between 2000 and 2500 m above sea level. Furthermore, the haplotype assemblages of obligate blood parasites tend to overlap towards mid-elevation, where avian host diversity tends to be maximized.ConclusionsSpatial analyses revealed that richness and turnover in haemosporidia suggest an association with montane host diversity, according to elevation in the tropical Andes. In addition, the spatial distribution of haemosporidia diversity is closely associated with patterns of host assemblages over large geographical scale in the tropical Andes and areas of avian endemism nearby.
Highlights
Avian haemosporidia are obligate blood parasites with an ample range of hosts worldwide
Dataset To perform a spatial analysis of avian haemosporidia genetic diversity, a dataset was compiled by searching on the Web of Science and Google Scholar terms such as: “avian malaria, Andes, Leucocytozoon, Haemoproteus, Plasmodium” and the names of the countries in South America
13% corresponded to the genera Leucocytozoon and the remaining 87% to the haplotypes of the genera Haemoproteus and Plasmodium, as summarized in Additional file 4
Summary
Avian haemosporidia are obligate blood parasites with an ample range of hosts worldwide. To under‐ stand how host communities may influence the diversity of parasites of the neotropics, the spatial genetic variation of avian Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, and Leucocytozoon was examined between areas of host endemism and along the elevational gradient in the tropical Andes. Avian haemosporidia, such as the genera Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon (phylum Apicomplexa) are obligate blood parasites found in most bird species worldwide [1], transmitted by dipteran vectors [2]. Very few studies have used a more regional approach to examine the prevalence of avian haemosporidia, but this has been made on specific avian hosts [13, 14]
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