Avian community composition affects ornithophilic mosquito and avian malaria turnover across an interfluvial system in southern Amazonia

Abstract

Determining the roles of host ecology and geography on the distribution of parasites is an important aim in disease ecology. However, this is extremely challenging for vector transmitted pathogens due to complex host-vector-parasite interactions. Here, we assess community turnover of birds, ornithophilic mosquitoes and Plasmodium parasites at different dimensions of diversity (taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic). We test if rivers can act as a geographic barrier to bird, mosquito and Plasmodium communities, and analyze the relationship among community turnover of these biological groups. We compiled two published datasets on bird, mosquito and Plasmodium communities collected in seven localities across the Tapajós river in southern Amazonia. We calculated the community turnover of bird, mosquito and Plasmodium communities, and identified the effect of river margin on community composition by comparing observed values with null models. Mantel tests were used to examine the different turnover dimensions within this host-vector-parasite system. Bird communities on the same riverbank were more similar, whereas bird phylogenetic turnover between riverbanks was more dissimilar than expected by chance. Neither mosquito nor Plasmodium turnover showed significant turnover between riverbank margins. We found a positive correlation between bird community turnover, both taxonomic and functional, and mosquito community turnover. Bird community taxonomic turnover was also positively related to Plasmodium community phylogenetic turnover. Our results suggest that geographic barriers created by the Tapajós river affect bird community assembly but do not constrain mosquito and Plasmodium distributions. Additionally, bird communities may play a key-role in the community dynamics of mosquito vectors and Plasmodium parasites.

Prevalence and richness of malaria and malaria-like parasites in wild birds from different biomes in South America

“…Dissimilarity between parasite communities can be driven by a turnover on host composition ( de La Torre et al, 2021 ), which may occur because of host specialization and, consequently, cophylogenetic congruence. Avian haemosporidians seem to have coevolved and diversified following their hosts phylogeny ( Pacheco et al, 2018 ; de Angeli Dutra et al, 2022 ).…”

Blood parasites (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) infecting birds in the Brazilian Amazon

“…In recent years, in Brazil and its different biomes, including the Amazon, there has been an increase in studies involving birds and haemosporidians (Anjos et al, 2021;De La Torre et al, 2021;Fecchio et al, 2007;Fecchio et al, 2017;Fecchio et al, 2018;Fecchio et al, 2019;Fecchio, de Faria et al, 2021;Fecchio, Lima et al, 2021;Fecchio et al, 2022;Ferreira-Junior et al, 2017;Ferreira-Junior et al, 2018;Ribeiro et al, 2004;Roos et al, 2015;Sebaio et al, 2012). However, the focus of these studies, although very important, has been on the parasite-host relationships, the life cycles, the vectors and the consequences of these relationships between birds and haemosporidians.…”

Haemosporidian taxonomic composition, network centrality and partner fidelity between resident and migratory avian hosts

“…This region is also characterized by great vector abundance and considerable haemosporidian prevalence (Braga et al 2011;Santiago-Alarcon et al 2012). Furthermore, avian community composition seems to impact parasite composition as well, with avian community turnover driving both haemosporidian and ornithophilic mosquito turnover across the Amazon region (De La Torre et al 2021). All those features together make South America an ideal region to investigate ecological and evolutionary dynamics of avian haemosporidian interaction.…”