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Local haemoparasites in introduced wetland passerines

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Abstract

When colonizing a new area, introduced species may lose their original haemoparasites. If the local parasites are unable to infect the novel introduced hosts, these may gain a fitness advantage over their local competitors. Alternatively, the introduced species may be susceptible to local parasites and enter the local transmission dynamics. We studied these two possibilities in communities of wetland passerines infected with haemosporidians (genera Haemoproteus and Plasmodium) in Portugal, southwest Europe. Four introduced and six native (resident and breeding migrant) passerine species were tested for haemosporidians in four reed beds. Our results suggest that the introduced species have lost their original haemoparasites upon colonization and entered the local transmission cycle. Two local Plasmodium lineages infected the exotic species: one of them (SGS1) was the most host generalist and prevalent lineage in the native species, so was expected to be present in the exotics at random. The other lineage (PADOM01) was rarer in the sampled community, but was present in native hosts that are phylogenetically close to the infected exotic species; therefore, the colonization of the exotic host by PADOM01 seems to be constrained by the parasite’s specialization and by phylogenetic factors. When phylogeny was controlled for, there were no significant differences in infection prevalence and number of lineages between exotics and natives.

Zusammenfassung

Lokale Blutparasiten bei neu zugezogenen Sperlingsvögeln in Feuchtgebieten

Neu eingebürgerte Arten verlieren möglicherweise ihre originalen Blutparasiten, wenn sie ein neues Gebiet besiedeln. Sind die örtlichen Parasiten nicht in der Lage, die neu zugezogenen Wirte zu infizieren, gewinnen diese womöglich einen Fitness-Vorteil gegenüber ihren ortsansässigen Konkurrenten. Andererseits sind die neuen Arten vielleicht aber auch empfänglich für die örtlichen Parasiten und geraten dann in die örtliche Übertragungs-Dynamik. Wir untersuchten diese beiden Alternativen bei Gruppen von Feuchtgebiets-Sperlingsvögeln in Portugal, Südwest-Europa, die mit Haemosporidien (Haemoproteus und Plasmodium) infiziert waren. In vier Schilfgürteln wurden vier neu angesiedelte sowie sechs lokale (ortsansässige und brütende Zugvögel) Sperlingsvogelarten auf Haemosporidien getestet. Unsere Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass die neu zugezogenen Arten nach der Besiedelung ihre ursprünglichen Blutparasiten verloren und in die örtlichen Übertragungs-Zyklen gerieten. Zwei lokale Plasmodium-Verwandtschaftslinien infizierten die neu angesiedelten Arten: eine davon (SGS1) war der größere Wirts-Generalist und in den ortsansässigen Arten am weitesten verbreitet; wir erwarteten, dass er in den neu angesiedelten Arten zufällig verteilt war. Die andere Linie, PADOM01, trat in der Testgruppe seltener auf, war aber in denjenigen ortsansässigen Wirten vorhanden, die den angesiedelten, infizierten Arten phylogenetisch nahe standen. Demnach scheint die Kolonisierung der angesiedelten Wirtsvögel durch PADOM01 durch die Spezialisierung des Parasiten sowie durch phylogenetische Faktoren eingeschränkt zu sein. Ein Test der Phylogenie zeigte zwischen angesiedelten und ortsansässigen Tieren keine signifikanten Unterschiede in der Verbreitung der Infektionen und der Anzahl der Verwandtschaftslinien.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (grant no. SFRH/BD/28930/2006 to R.V.) and by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (CGL2010-15734, to J.P-T.). The Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e Biodiversidade provided logistic support, permits for bird capture and help in the field work (by Vítor Encarnação, Paulo Encarnação, Nuno Grade and Paulo Tenreiro). The Pato Association also provided logistic support in Tornada. The authors would like to thank the help of Joana Morais in the lab and of several volunteers in the field work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Marine Research (IMAR/CMA), Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Apartado 3046, 3001-401, Coimbra, Portugal

    Rita Ventim, Luisa Mendes & Jaime A. Ramos

  2. Departamento de Zoología y Antropología Física, Facultad de Biología, Universidad Complutense, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Rita Ventim & Javier Pérez-Tris

  3. Associação PATO, Quinta do Paul, Rua do Paul 12, 2500–315, Tornada, Portugal

    Helder Cardoso

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  1. Rita Ventim
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  2. Luisa Mendes
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  4. Helder Cardoso
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  5. Javier Pérez-Tris
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Correspondence to Rita Ventim.

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Communicated by F. Bairlein.

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Ventim, R., Mendes, L., Ramos, J.A. et al. Local haemoparasites in introduced wetland passerines. J Ornithol 153, 1253–1259 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-012-0860-0

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