title: Haemosporidian blood parasite diversity and prevalence in the semi-collared flycatcher (Ficedula semitorquata) from the eastern Balkans.
abstract: We present the first survey on prevalence and diversity of haemosporidian parasites of the genera Plasmodium and Haemoproteus in a poorly studied migratory passerine, the semi-collared flycatcher (Ficedula semitorquata). In total, 110 individuals were sampled during two breeding seasons in Eastern Bulgaria. We collected both blood samples for PCR identification and blood films for microscopic identification of haemosporidians. We found six distinctive parasite cyt b lineages present in the blood of the semi-collared flycatcher (three Haemoproteus and three Plasmodium). Two of the lineages, i.e. pWW3 of Plasmodium sp. and hCCF2 of Haemoproteus sp., are recorded for the first time in the family Muscicapidae. The overall prevalence ranged between 12.2 and 15.9% and we did not find co-infections. We hypothesize that the low prevalence of haemosporidians in this species might be linked to its small population size and relatively restricted geographical range.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Street, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria. Electronic address: straho.peev@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Strahil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Peev
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Street, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Pavel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zehtindjiev
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Street, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Mihaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ilieva
authors.affiliation: Grötlingbo Smiss 516, SE-62338 Havdhem, Sweden.
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Träff
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, tř. 17. listopadu 50, CZ-77146, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Martins
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Briedis
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, tř. 17. listopadu 50, CZ-77146, Czech Republic; Museum of Natural History, nám. Republiky 5, CZ-77173 Olomouc, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Adamík
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D063368:Balkan Peninsula / Q000453:epidemiology; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000097:blood; D016787:Haemosporida / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011528:Protozoan Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D020308:Songbirds / Q000469:parasitology*
chemical_list: D045303:Cytochromes b
keywords: Avian malaria; Haemoproteus; PCR; Plasmodium; Semi-collared flycatcher