04307nas a2200337 4500008004100000245015700041210006900198300001000267490000700277520322600284653002603510653001703536653001803553653001403571653001503585653001303600100002703613700001903640700002403659700002003683700002703703700002103730700002103751700003003772700002203802700002703824700001903851700002903870700002703899856004303926 2019 eng d00aMigratory birds as vehicles for parasite dispersal? Infection by avian haemosporidians over the year and throughout the range of a long-distance migrant0 aMigratory birds as vehicles for parasite dispersal Infection by  a83-960 v463 a

Aim

The role of migratory birds in the spread of parasites is poorly known, in part because migratory strategies and behaviours potentially affecting transmission are not easy to study. We investigated the dynamics of infection by blood parasites through the annual cycle of a long‐distance Nearctic–Neotropical migratory songbird to examine the role of this species in dispersing parasites between continents.

Location

The Americas.

Taxon

Grey‐cheeked Thrush (Catharus minimus, Aves, Passeriformes, Turdidae), Birds.

Methods

We used molecular and microscopy screening of haemosporidian parasites (Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, and Leucocytozoon) to examine the prevalence, distribution, and diversity of lineages through the annual cycle (breeding, migration, and wintering) of the grey‐cheeked thrush in North and Central America, Santa Marta mountains, the Andes, and the Amazon. We aimed to identify transmission areas, to examine the degree of sharing of haemosporidian lineages with resident birds in various areas and to assess the potential role of immunologically naïve juvenile individuals in parasite transmission.

Results

Prevalence and lineage diversity of haemosporidians varied significantly over time, being higher during breeding and fall and spring migration, and declining during wintering. Grey‐cheeked thrush shared few parasite lineages with tropical resident birds and slightly more lineages with other migratory and resident boreal species. We detected gametocytes in blood during spring migration stopover, but these were of lineages not found in resident tropical birds, indicating relapses of parasites transmitted elsewhere. Transmission likely occurs mostly on the breeding grounds, where juveniles and adults carried lineages restricted to closely related species of thrushes and other species of boreal birds.

Main conclusions

Long‐distance migratory songbirds are likely not important dispersers of blood parasites because there are ecological and evolutionary barriers to the interchange of parasites across vastly separated areas. Further work with thorough spatial and temporal sampling across other species, and considering the role of vectors, is necessary to understand the ecological and evolutionary factors explaining the distribution of parasites over broad scales.

10aGrey‐cheeked thrush10aHaemoproteus10aLeucocytozoon10aMigration10aPlasmodium10astopover1 aPulgarín-R, Paulo, C.1 aGómez, Camila1 aBayly, Nicholas, J.1 aBensch, Staffan1 aFitzGerald, Alyssa, M.1 aStarkloff, Naima1 aKirchman, J., J.1 aGonzález-Prieto, Ana, M.1 aHobson, Keith, A.1 aUngvari-Martin, Judith1 aSkeen, Heather1 aCastaño, María, Isabel1 aCadena, Carlos, Daniel uhttp://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/jbi.13453