Assemblages of Plasmodium and Related Parasites in Birds with Different Migration Statuses

Migratory birds spend several months in their breeding grounds in sympatry with local resident birds and relatively shorter periods of time at stopover sites. During migration, parasites may be transmitted between migratory and resident birds. However, to what extent they share these parasites remains unclear. In this study, we compared the assemblages of haemosporidian parasites in migratory, resident, and passing birds, as well as the correlations between parasite assemblages and host phylogeny. Compared with passing birds, migratory birds were more likely to share parasites with resident birds. Shared lineages showed significantly higher prevalence rates than other lineages, indicating that common parasites are more likely to spill over from the current host to other birds. For shared lineages, the prevalence was significantly higher in resident birds than in migratory birds, suggesting that migratory birds pick up parasites at their breeding ground. Among the shared lineages, almost two-thirds presented no phylogenetic signal in their prevalence, indicating that parasite transmission among host species is weakly or not correlated with host phylogeny. Moreover, similarities between parasite assemblages are not correlated with either migration status or the phylogeny of hosts. Our results show that the prevalence, rather than host phylogeny, plays a central role in parasite transmission between migratory and resident birds in breeding grounds.

Automated summary

The study found that migratory birds are more likely to share parasites with resident birds at their breeding grounds, with shared parasites potentially more likely to spill over from the current host to other birds. Among the shared parasites, prevalence rates were significantly higher in resident birds than in migratory birds, and the similarity between parasite assemblages was not correlated with migration status or host phylogeny.