Haemoparasites of the pied flycatcher: inter-population variation in the prevalence and community composition

Abstract

The prevalence and community composition of haemoparasites can substantially differ among avian host populations, which may lead to different selection pressures. Therefore, information about these parameters is crucial for understanding, e.g. the inter-population variation in host life history traits. Here, we molecularly screened a population of a long-distance migrant, the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca, from central Poland for the presence of three genera of blood parasites: Haemoproteus, Plasmodium and Trypanosoma. The infection rate in this population was the highest for haemosporidians (86·8%) and one of the highest for trypanosomes (39·7%) among the thus far screened breeding populations of this species. The haemosporidian community was composed of six Haemoproteus/Plasmodium lineages, and the trypanosome community - 4 species and a parasite assigned to genus level. Trypanosomes were dominated by T. culicavium, a recently described species, corroborating the prediction that insectivorous songbirds are vertebrate hosts of this parasite. Host sex and age did not explain variation in infection incidence except for the higher trypanosome infection rates in males. A comparison of the study population with three other breeding populations previously screened molecularly for haemosporidians showed some geographic differences. This study confirms the importance of examining local parasite communities across a host distribution range.

Blood parasites in Passeriformes in central Germany: prevalence and lineage diversity of Haemosporida (Haemoproteus,PlasmodiumandLeucocytozoon) in six common songbirds

“…It is possible that the infection with this lineage was transmitted outside Germany, as pied flycatchers, wintering in Africa, are the only long-distance migratory bird species in our study and infection with the PFC1 lineage might be vectored from dipteran vectors in Africa. However, the distribution of vectors on wintering and breeding grounds, especially for Haemoproteus , is poorly understood (Dubiec et al, 2017) and transmission of PFC1 lineage possibly also occurs in Europe (Jones, 2017).…”

Interspecific transfer of parasites following a range‐shift in Ficedula flycatchers

“…hPFC1 appears to be a specialist of pied flycatchers and was found in low levels in the Swedish collared flycatcher population in our study (3.4%). It is interesting to note that the lineage is abundant in a population of pied flycatchers in the Central European contact zone in Poland (Dubiec, Podmokła, Harnist, & Mazgajski, ) and is absent in the Polish collared flycatchers in our study. However, it is possible that we have failed to detect this lineage in our relatively small sample size ( n = 67) of collared flycatchers from Poland.…”

“…hPHSIB1 appears to have a broader host range; also being present in 15 other passerine species. It is important to note that two of our populations of collared flycatchers (Czechia and Poland) lie in the historical contact zone between pied and collared flycatchers and while these populations are not directly sympatric with pied flycatchers, it is possible that they can be found in nearby woodlands (Dubiec et al, ).…”

High Blood Parasite Infection Rate and Low Fitness Suggest That Forest Water Bodies Comprise Ecological Traps for Pied Flycatchers

“…Although some flycatchers were infected already before their arrival to their breeding grounds [71][72][73], this study showed that Haemoproteus prevalence, Haemoproteus para-sitemia, Plasmodium prevalence, and Plasmodium parasitemia significantly increased during the breeding season. This shows that Haemoproteus and Plasmodium parasites mostly infected the breeding Pied Flycatchers during the current reproductive season.…”