Marroquin-Flores Rosario A, Williamson Jessie L, Chavez Andrea N, Bauernfeind Selina M, Baumann Matthew J, Gadek Chauncey R, Johnson Andrew B, McCullough Jenna M, Witt Christopher C, Barrow Lisa N
Museum of Southwestern Biology and Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States of America.
Bureau of Land Management Rio Puerco Field Office, Rio Puerco, NM, United States of America.
PeerJ. 2017 Aug 17;5:e3700. doi: 10.7717/peerj.3700. eCollection 2017.
Avian malaria and related haemosporidian parasites (genera , , and ) affect bird demography, species range limits, and community structure, yet they remain unsurveyed in most bird communities and populations. We conducted a community-level survey of these vector-transmitted parasites in New Mexico, USA, to describe their diversity, abundance, and host associations. We focused on the breeding-bird community in the transition zone between piñon-juniper woodland and ponderosa pine forests (elevational range: 2,150-2,460 m). We screened 186 birds representing 49 species using both standard PCR and microscopy techniques to detect infections of all three avian haemosporidian genera. We detected infections in 68 out of 186 birds (36.6%), the highest proportion of which were infected with (20.9%), followed by (13.4%), then (8.0%). We sequenced mtDNA for 77 infections representing 43 haplotypes (25 , 12 , 6 ). When compared to all previously known haplotypes in the MalAvi and GenBank databases, 63% (27) of the haplotypes we recovered were novel. We found evidence for host specificity at the avian clade and species level, but this specificity was variable among parasite genera, in that and were each restricted to three avian groups (out of six), while occurred in all groups except non-passerines. We found striking variation in infection rate among host species, with nearly universal infection among vireos and no infection among nuthatches. Using rarefaction and extrapolation, we estimated the total avian haemosporidian diversity to be 70 haplotypes (95% CI [43-98]); thus, we may have already sampled ∼60% of the diversity of avian haemosporidians in New Mexico pine forests. It is possible that future studies will find higher diversity in microhabitats or host species that are under-sampled or unsampled in the present study. Fortunately, this study is fully extendable via voucher specimens, frozen tissues, blood smears, parasite images, and documentation provided in open-access databases (MalAvi, GenBank, and ARCTOS).
禽疟及相关血孢子虫寄生虫（属、属和属）会影响鸟类种群动态、物种分布范围以及群落结构，但在大多数鸟类群落和种群中，它们仍未得到充分调查。我们在美国新墨西哥州对这些通过媒介传播的寄生虫进行了一次群落层面的调查，以描述它们的多样性、丰度以及宿主关联。我们重点关注了矮松-杜松林地和黄松森林过渡带的繁殖鸟类群落（海拔范围：2150 - 2460米）。我们使用标准PCR和显微镜技术对代表49个物种的186只鸟类进行了筛查，以检测所有三种禽血孢子虫属的感染情况。我们在186只鸟类中的68只（36.6%）检测到了感染，其中感染属的比例最高（20.9%），其次是属（13.4%），然后是属（8.0%）。我们对代表43个单倍型（25个属、12个属、6个属）的77次感染进行了线粒体DNA测序。与MalAvi和GenBank数据库中所有先前已知的单倍型相比，我们获得的单倍型中有63%（27个）是新的。我们在鸟类进化枝和物种层面发现了宿主特异性的证据，但这种特异性在不同寄生虫属之间存在差异，其中属和属各自局限于六个鸟类群体中的三个，而属除了非雀形目鸟类外，在所有群体中都有出现。我们发现宿主物种之间的感染率存在显著差异，绿鹃类几乎普遍感染，而坚果雀类未检测到感染。通过稀疏化和外推法，我们估计禽血孢子虫的总多样性为70个单倍型（95%置信区间[43 - 98]）；因此，我们可能已经采样了新墨西哥州松林中禽血孢子虫多样性的约60%。未来的研究有可能在本研究中采样不足或未采样的微生境或宿主物种中发现更高的多样性。幸运的是，本研究可以通过凭证标本、冷冻组织、血涂片、寄生虫图像以及开放获取数据库（MalAvi、GenBank和ARCTOS）中提供的记录进行全面扩展。
