title: Local host specialization, host-switching, and dispersal shape the regional distributions of avian haemosporidian parasites.
abstract: The drivers of regional parasite distributions are poorly understood, especially in comparison with those of free-living species. For vector-transmitted parasites, in particular, distributions might be influenced by host-switching and by parasite dispersal with primary hosts and vectors. We surveyed haemosporidian blood parasites (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) of small land birds in eastern North America to characterize a regional parasite community. Distributions of parasite populations generally reflected distributions of their hosts across the region. However, when the interdependence between hosts and parasites was controlled statistically, local host assemblages were related to regional climatic gradients, but parasite assemblages were not. Moreover, because parasite assemblage similarity does not decrease with distance when controlling for host assemblages and climate, parasites evidently disperse readily within the distributions of their hosts. The degree of specialization on hosts varied in some parasite lineages over short periods and small geographic distances independently of the diversity of available hosts and potentially competing parasite lineages. Nonrandom spatial turnover was apparent in parasite lineages infecting one host species that was well-sampled within a single year across its range, plausibly reflecting localized adaptations of hosts and parasites. Overall, populations of avian hosts generally determine the geographic distributions of haemosporidian parasites. However, parasites are not dispersal-limited within their host distributions, and they may switch hosts readily.
authors: Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63121; Departamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil; vincenzoaellis@gmail.com ricklefs@umsl.edu.
authors: Vincenzo A
authors: VA
authors: Ellis
authors: Department of Biology, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN 38112;
authors: Michael D
authors: MD
authors: Collins
authors: Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63121;
authors: Matthew C I
authors: MC
authors: Medeiros
authors: Departamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil;
authors: Eloisa H R
authors: EH
authors: Sari
authors: Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63121;
authors: Elyse D
authors: ED
authors: Coffey
authors: Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63121; College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211;
authors: Rebecca C
authors: RC
authors: Dickerson
authors: Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63121; Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Aves Silvestres, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil;
authors: Camile
authors: C
authors: Lugarini
authors: Department of Biology and Health Sciences, Wilkes University, PA 18766;
authors: Jeffrey A
authors: JA
authors: Stratford
authors: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118;
authors: Donata R
authors: DR
authors: Henry
authors: Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61820;
authors: Loren
authors: L
authors: Merrill
authors: Department of Biology, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN 38112; Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University, State University, AR 72467;
authors: Alix E
authors: AE
authors: Matthews
authors: Department of Biology, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN 38112; Department of Geography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843;
authors: Alison A
authors: AA
authors: Hanson
authors: Department of Biology, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN 38112; School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849.
authors: Jackson R
authors: JR
authors: Roberts
authors: Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63121;
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Joyce
authors: Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63121; College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211;
authors: Melanie R
authors: MR
authors: Kunkel
authors: Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63121; vincenzoaellis@gmail.com ricklefs@umsl.edu.
authors: Robert E
authors: RE
authors: Ricklefs
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000469:parasitology; D001717:Birds / Q000469:parasitology*; D002980:Climate; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000235:genetics; D005843:Geography; D016787:Haemosporida / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D058507:Host Specificity; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D008954:Models, Biological; D010271:Parasites / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D011157:Population Dynamics; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D045303:Cytochromes b
keywords: Haemosporida; avian malaria; community assembly; emerging infectious disease; parasite communities