Diversity of avian haemosporidian parasites in Brazil from large to small scale

• Autor(a) principal: Asmat Ullah Khan
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFMG
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/1843/35453
• topic: Haemosporida; Plasmodium; Haemoproteus; Temporal dynamic; Distribution; Neotropical; Parasitologia; Plasmodium; Haemosporida

Avian haemosporidian is a diverse group of protozoan parasites including Plasmodium and Haemoproteus that can infect birds and use a variety of Diptera vectors for their transmission. It has been known that host traits and annual seasonal cycles may influence infection rates of these parasites in bird communities. However, in the Neotropics such influence remains to be determined. We examined the effect of temporal dynamic and host traits on the prevalence and diversity of avian haemosporidian parasites in the Brazilian avifauna of the Caatinga biome. A total of 933 samples were molecularly screened for the presence of Plasmodium/Haemoproteus infections. We found high avian haemosporidian prevalence (51.3%; n=481/933) varying according to temporal dynamic with the highest prevalence (61%) observed in the beginning of dry season. Prevalence also varied among the 20 well-sampled host species within a range from 0 to 70%. The host functional traits (feeding behavior, flocking behavior, habitat use and nest type) were associated with infection rate for Haemoproteus (Haemoproteus), with high infection rates observed for granivorous, single species flock, forest habitat independent, and open cup nester birds. For Haemoproteus (Parahaemoproteus) and Plasmodium infection, none correlation with host functional traits was observed. After excluding the large sample size of Columbiformes (n=462/933), Plasmodium infection rate showed association with feeding behavior, nest type and migratory behavior. Subsequent to parasite screening and prevalence determination, sequencing PCR was performed to determine parasite lineage diversity. Parasite community was composed of 32 distinct lineages, including 7 new lineages, pointing to high haemosporidian diversity in the Caatinga biome when compared to other studies in seasonally dry ecosystems. Interestingly, our results suggest that avian host traits are important determinants of prevalence and diversity of avian haemosporidian parasite in Caatinga biome. We also analyzed the diversity and distribution of avian haemosporidian lineages on a broad scale across a diverse range of avian hosts in seven ecologically distinct habitats in Brazil. Plasmodium was the most common parasite group in Brazil, accounting for 67% of the recovered lineages and that pattern was observed in five out of the seven habitats evaluated here. However, H. (Haemoproteus) was the most common parasite among birds from the Caatinga biome while H. (Parahaemoproteus) was prevalent in Restinga habitat, Among the 69 well-sampled lineages (lineages detected at minimum of four times), 48 were habitat-generalist (36 Plasmodium, seven H. (Parahaemoproteus), and five H. (Haemoproteus), occurring in two or more host species or habitats. Plasmodium lineages showed a broader host and habitat range when compared to H. (Parahaemoproteus) and H. (Haemoproteus). Interestingly, we found 14 Plasmodium lineages that were host and habitat specialist. Our results suggest the existence of both host and habitat generalist and specialist lineages in the two main genera, Plasmodium and Haemoproteus, in Brazil. Further studies are required aiming to understand the factors influencing the way avian haemosporidian parasites colonize bird communities in the Neotropical region.