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Co-infection with Leucocytozoon and Other Haemosporidian Parasites Increases with Latitude and Altitude in New World Bird Communities
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Co-infection with Leucocytozoon and Other Haemosporidian Parasites Increases with Latitude and Altitude in New World Bird Communities

Alan Fecchio, Jeffrey A Bell, Emily J Williams, Janice H Dispoto, Jason D Weckstein and Daniela de Angeli Dutra
Microbial ecology
22 Aug 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-023-02283-x
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-023-02283-xView
Published, Version of Record (VoR)CC BY V4.0,  Open

Abstract

Establishing how environmental gradients and host ecology drive spatial variation in infection rates and diversity of pathogenic organisms is one of the central goals in disease ecology. Here, we identified the predictors of concomitant infection and lineage richness of blood parasites in New Word bird communities. Our multi-level Bayesian models revealed that higher latitudes and elevations played a determinant role in increasing the probability of a bird being co-infected with Leucocytozoon and other haemosporidian parasites. The heterogeneity in both single and co-infection rates was similarly driven by host attributes and temperature, with higher probabilities of infection in heavier migratory host species and at cooler localities. Latitude, elevation, host body mass, migratory behavior, and climate were also predictors of Leucocytozoon lineage richness across the New World avian communities, with decreasing parasite richness at higher elevations, rainy and warmer localities, and in heavier and resident host species. Increased parasite richness was found farther from the equator, confirming a reverse Latitudinal Diversity Gradient pattern for this parasite group. The increased rates of Leucocytozoon co-infection and lineage richness with increased latitude are in opposition with the pervasive assumption that pathogen infection rates and diversity are higher in tropical host communities.

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13 Record Views
7 citations in Web of Science
6 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Ecology
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Microbiology
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