2024-03-28T10:21:38Zhttp://digital.csic.es/dspace-oai/requestoai:digital.csic.es:10261/1782752021-12-27T16:39:45Zcom_10261_13com_10261_8col_10261_266
Host-parasite interaction explains variation in the prevalence of avian haemosporidians at the community level
García-Longoria, Luz
Marzal, Alfonso
Lope, Florentino de
Garamszegi, László Z.
Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España)
García-Longoria, Luz [0000-0002-2589-5379]
Parasites are a selective force that shape host community structure and dynamics, but host
communities can also influence parasitism. Understanding the dual nature from host-parasite
interactions can be facilitated by quantifying the variation in parasite prevalence among
host species and then comparing that variation to other ecological factors that are known to
also shape host communities. Avian haemosporidian parasites (e.g. Plasmodium and Haemoproteus)
are abundant and widespread representing an excellent model for the study of
host-parasite interactions. Several geographic and environmental factors have been suggested
to determine prevalence of avian haemosporidians in bird communities. However, it
remains unknown whether host and parasite traits, represented by phylogenetic distances
among species and degree of specialization in host-parasite relationships, can influence
infection status. The aims of this study were to analyze factors affecting infection status in a
bird community and to test whether the degree of parasite specialization on their hosts is
determined by host traits. Our statistical analyses suggest that infection status is mainly
determined by the interaction between host species and parasite lineages where tolerance
and/or susceptibility to parasites plays an essential role. Additionally, we found that although
some of the parasite lineages infected a low number of bird individuals, the species they
infected were distantly related and therefore the parasites themselves should not be considered
typical host specialists. Infection status was higher for generalist than for specialist parasites
in some, but not all, host species. These results suggest that detected prevalence in
a species mainly results from the interaction between host immune defences and parasite
exploitation strategies wherein the result of an association between particular parasite lineages
and particular host species is idiosyncratic
Peer reviewed
2019-03-21T12:44:58Z
2019-03-21T12:44:58Z
2019
artículo
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
PLoS ONE, 14(3): e0205624 (2019)
http://hdl.handle.net/10261/178275
10.1371/journal.pone.0205624
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003329
30840636
en
#PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MINECO/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2013-2016/CGL2015-64650-P
Publisher's version
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205624
Sí
open
Public Library of Science