TY - JOUR

T1 - The drivers of avian-haemosporidian prevalence in tropical lowland forests of New Guinea in three dimensions

AU - Vinagre-Izquierdo, Celia

AU - Bodawatta, Kasun H.

AU - Chmel, Kryštof

AU - Renelies-Hamilton, Justinn

AU - Paul, Luda

AU - Munclinger, Pavel

AU - Poulsen, Michael

AU - Jønsson, Knud A.

N1 - Funding Information: We thank the Carlsberg Foundation for a Distinguished Associate Professor Fellowship to K. A. J. (CF17‐0248), the Villum Foundation for a Young Investigator Grant to K.A.J. (project no. 15560), and The Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (GACR 19‐28126X and GAJU 037/2016/P) and The Darwin Initiative (DIR25S1\100123) grant to KC for funding this project. We also thank the New Guinea Binatang Research Centre for enabling us to conduct field work and Nick Bos for providing advice on statistics. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - Haemosporidians are among the most common parasites of birds and often negatively impact host fitness. A multitude of biotic and abiotic factors influence these associations, but the magnitude of these factors can differ by spatial scales (i.e., local, regional and global). Consequently, to better understand global and regional drivers of avian-haemosporidian associations, it is key to investigate these associations at smaller (local) spatial scales. Thus, here, we explore the effect of abiotic variables (e.g., temperature, forest structure, and anthropogenic disturbances) on haemosporidian prevalence and host–parasite networks on a horizontal spatial scale, comparing four fragmented forests and five localities within a continuous forest in Papua New Guinea. Additionally, we investigate if prevalence and host–parasite networks differ between the canopy and the understory (vertical stratification) in one forest patch. We found that the majority of Haemosporidian infections were caused by the genus Haemoproteus and that avian-haemosporidian networks were more specialized in continuous forests. At the community level, only forest greenness was negatively associated with Haemoproteus infections, while the effects of abiotic variables on parasite prevalence differed between bird species. Haemoproteus prevalence levels were significantly higher in the canopy, and an opposite trend was observed for Plasmodium. This implies that birds experience distinct parasite pressures depending on the stratum they inhabit, likely driven by vector community differences. These three-dimensional spatial analyses of avian-haemosporidians at horizontal and vertical scales suggest that the effect of abiotic variables on haemosporidian infections are species specific, so that factors influencing community-level infections are primarily driven by host community composition.

AB - Haemosporidians are among the most common parasites of birds and often negatively impact host fitness. A multitude of biotic and abiotic factors influence these associations, but the magnitude of these factors can differ by spatial scales (i.e., local, regional and global). Consequently, to better understand global and regional drivers of avian-haemosporidian associations, it is key to investigate these associations at smaller (local) spatial scales. Thus, here, we explore the effect of abiotic variables (e.g., temperature, forest structure, and anthropogenic disturbances) on haemosporidian prevalence and host–parasite networks on a horizontal spatial scale, comparing four fragmented forests and five localities within a continuous forest in Papua New Guinea. Additionally, we investigate if prevalence and host–parasite networks differ between the canopy and the understory (vertical stratification) in one forest patch. We found that the majority of Haemosporidian infections were caused by the genus Haemoproteus and that avian-haemosporidian networks were more specialized in continuous forests. At the community level, only forest greenness was negatively associated with Haemoproteus infections, while the effects of abiotic variables on parasite prevalence differed between bird species. Haemoproteus prevalence levels were significantly higher in the canopy, and an opposite trend was observed for Plasmodium. This implies that birds experience distinct parasite pressures depending on the stratum they inhabit, likely driven by vector community differences. These three-dimensional spatial analyses of avian-haemosporidians at horizontal and vertical scales suggest that the effect of abiotic variables on haemosporidian infections are species specific, so that factors influencing community-level infections are primarily driven by host community composition.

KW - forest cover

KW - Haemoproteus

KW - host–parasite networks

KW - Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)

KW - Plasmodium

KW - vertical stratification

U2 - 10.1002/ece3.8497

DO - 10.1002/ece3.8497

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 35222943

AN - SCOPUS:85125147383

VL - 12

JO - Ecology and Evolution

JF - Ecology and Evolution

SN - 2045-7758

IS - 2

M1 - e8497

ER -