title: Prevalence of avian haemosporidian parasites is positively related to the abundance of host species at multiple sites within a region.
abstract: Parasite prevalence is thought to be positively related to host population density owing to enhanced contagion. However, the relationship between prevalence and local abundance of multiple host species is underexplored. We surveyed birds and their haemosporidian parasites (genera Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) at multiple sites across eastern North America to test whether the prevalence of these parasites in a host species at a particular site is related to that host's local abundance. Prevalence was positively related to host abundance within most sites, although the effect was stronger and more consistent for Plasmodium than for Haemoproteus. In contrast, prevalence was not related to variation in the abundance of most individual host species among sites across the region. These results suggest that parasite prevalence partly reflects the relative abundances of host species in local assemblages. However, three nonnative host species had low prevalence despite being relatively abundant at one site, as predicted by the enemy release hypothesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA. vincenzoaellis@gmail.com.|Departamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. vincenzoaellis@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Vincenzo A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA.|Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew C I
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Medeiros
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN, 38112, USA.
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eloisa H R
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Sari
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA.
authors.forename: Elyse D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Coffey
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA.|College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Dickerson
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA.|Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Aves Silvestres, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
authors.forename: Camile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lugarini
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Health Sciences, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA, 18766, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Stratford
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA.
authors.forename: Donata R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.affiliation: Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, 61820, USA.
authors.forename: Loren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Merrill
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN, 38112, USA.|Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University, State University, Jonesboro, AR, 72467, USA.
authors.forename: Alix E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN, 38112, USA.|Department of Geography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
authors.forename: Alison A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Hanson
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN, 38112, USA.|School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA.
authors.forename: Jackson R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Joyce
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA.|College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
authors.forename: Melanie R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Kunkel
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA.
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Ricklefs
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D001717:Birds / Q000469:parasitology; D016787:Haemosporida / Q000502:physiology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000502:physiology*; D009656:North America / Q000453:epidemiology; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000502:physiology; D011156:Population Density; D015995:Prevalence; D011529:Protozoan Infections, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Avian malaria; Enemy release hypothesis; Haemoproteus; Host abundance; Plasmodium