Journal article
Climate variation influences host specificity in avian malaria parasites
Ecology letters, v 22(3), pp 547-557
Mar 2019
PMID: 30637890
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Parasites with low host specificity (e.g. infecting a large diversity of host species) are of special interest in disease ecology, as they are likely more capable of circumventing ecological or evolutionary barriers to infect new hosts than are specialist parasites. Yet for many parasites, host specificity is not fixed and can vary in response to environmental conditions. Using data on host associations for avian malaria parasites (Apicomplexa: Haemosporida), we develop a hierarchical model that quantifies this environmental dependency by partitioning host specificity variation into region‐ and parasite‐level effects. Parasites were generally phylogenetic host specialists, infecting phylogenetically clustered subsets of available avian hosts. However, the magnitude of this specialisation varied biogeographically, with parasites exhibiting higher host specificity in regions with more pronounced rainfall seasonality and wetter dry seasons. Recognising the environmental dependency of parasite specialisation can provide useful leverage for improving predictions of infection risk in response to global climate change.
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Details
- Title
- Climate variation influences host specificity in avian malaria parasites
- Creators
- Alan Fecchio - Federal University of BahiaKonstans Wells - Swansea UniversityJeffrey A. Bell - University of North DakotaVasyl V. Tkach - University of North DakotaHolly L. Lutz - University of ChicagoJason D. Weckstein - Drexel UniversitySonya M. Clegg - Edward Grey Institute of Field OrnithologyNicholas J. Clark - University of QueenslandPeter Thrall
- Publication Details
- Ecology letters, v 22(3), pp 547-557
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Number of pages
- 11
- Grant note
- US National Science Foundation (DEB‐1503804; DEB‐1120734) National Geographic Society Committee for Research and Exploration Grant (9383‐13) Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science (BEES); Ornithology
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000457829800013
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85060022165
- Other Identifier
- 991019168024104721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Ecology