Abstract

Haemosporidian parasites of the genera Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, and Leucocytozoon are among the best studied parasites of Neotropical birds. Here, we describe variation in haemosporidian prevalence (i.e. the proportion of infected individuals in a sampled population) in Neotropical birds. We review correlates of haemosporidian prevalence (including several avian life-history traits, climate, and season) and the population and evolutionary consequences of infection for Neotropical birds. We find that prevalence varies among avian taxonomic families, genera, and even among species within the same genus, suggesting that prevalence reflects multiple factors, some of which (e.g., avian incubation period) are associated with avian family-level variation in prevalence while others (e.g., avian abundance) are associated with variation in prevalence among closely related host species. We find few correlates of prevalence that have been consistently demonstrated across studies. Prevalence in populations of many Neotropical birds has been estimated by microscopic examination of blood smears, which affords limited opportunity for comparison with data generated by molecular methods. However, at one site in the Brazilian Cerrado for which we have data, prevalence determined by microscopy does not correlate with prevalence determined by molecular methods for Plasmodium, but the 2 data types are positively correlated for Haemoproteus. Haemosporidians have been hypothesized to play a role in avian sexual selection, and we find the prevalence of Haemoproteus to be lower in polygynous species than in socially monogamous species in the Neotropics, confirming a pattern shown previously among Nearctic birds.

中文翻译：

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新热带鸟类的血孢寄生虫：感染的原因和后果

摘要

属的Haemosporidian寄生虫疟原虫，Haemoproteus，和住白细胞是新热带鸟类研究最好的寄生虫之一。在这里，我们描述了新热带鸟类中血友病患病率（即抽样人群中感染个体的比例）的变化。我们审查了血友病患病率（包括几种鸟类的生活史特征，气候和季节）与感染人群以及新热带鸟类感染的进化相关性。我们发现，在禽类分类科，属，甚至同一属的物种之间，患病率各不相同，这表明患病率反映了多种因素，其中一些因素（例如，鸟类潜伏期）与禽类的患病率水平相关，而另一些因素（例如禽类的丰度）与紧密相关的宿主物种之间的流行率变化有关。我们发现很少有相关性在所有研究中得到一致证明。通过显微镜检查血液涂片可估计许多新热带鸟类种群中的患病率，这为与分子方法产生的数据进行比较提供了有限的机会。但是，在我们有数据的巴西塞拉多一个地点，通过显微镜确定的患病率与通过分子方法确定的患病率并不相关。疟原虫，但2种数据类型与变形杆菌呈正相关。据推测，血孢子虫在鸟类的性选择中起作用，并且我们发现新生殖系中多生种的血友病患病率比社会一夫一妻制的患病率低，证实了以前在近北鸟类中表现出的模式。