Between- and within-population drivers of haemosporidian prevalence and
diversity in American robins (Turdus migratorius)
Abstract
Avian haemosporidians are a diverse group of parasites that infect birds
worldwide and have been a major focus of research for decades. Yet, few
studies have identified the drivers of infection at the intraspecific
host level. We aimed to study the drivers of prevalence and diversity of
haemosporidian parasites infecting a common North American songbird
species, the American Robin (Turdus migratorius), which breeds across
most of the continent. We found little seasonal variation in
haemosporidian prevalence in robins, although prevalence of
Leucocytozoon increases with breeding latitude in this host species. We
also detected a significantly positive relationship between the robin
breeding latitude and coinfection with different haemosporidian parasite
lineages. Additionally, robins infected with Plasmodium had a
significantly better body condition than those of uninfected robins,
which could be due to migratory culling. When matched against known
haemosporidian lineages, our results suggest that robins harbor a higher
diversity of haemosporidian parasites than previously known. The results
of this study suggest that comparisons of common, widespread bird
species such as robins across their range could help unveil novel
aspects of the haemosporidian–host relationship and how such a
relationship may change under current and future rapid environmental
change.