Prevalence and diversity of haemosporidians in a migratory high-elevation hummingbird in North America

Prevalence and diversity of haemosporidians in a migratory high-elevation hummingbird in North America

Hummingbirds (Trochilidae) are sensitive to environmental changes because of their extraordinary ecology, metabolism, and the highest red blood cell counts found in any vertebrate. These physiological attributes may render hummingbirds particularly susceptible to the effects of haemosporidian (blood...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Parasitology research (1987) Vol. 121; no. 2; pp. 769 - 773
Main Authors: Mackenzie, Adrienne M., Dudenhoeffer, Megan, Bangoura, Berit, Sehgal, Ravinder N. M., Tell, Lisa A., Godwin, Braden L., Ernest, Holly B.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-02-2022
Springer
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Animals
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Bird Diseases - epidemiology
Birds
Blood
Computer software industry
Cytochrome b
Environmental changes
Erythrocytes
Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid
Haemoproteus
Haemosporida - genetics
Health aspects
Hummingbirds
Immunology
Medical Microbiology
Medical research
Medicine, Experimental
Microbiology
Microscopy
Phylogeny
Physiological aspects
Plasmodium
Prevalence
Protozoan Infections, Animal - epidemiology
Protozoology - Short Communication
Selasphorus platycercus
South America
California
United States
Wyoming
North America
Colorado
Rocky Mountains
Haemosporidians
Avian
Broad-tailed hummingbird
Prevalence
North American
Haemoproteus
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Summary:Hummingbirds (Trochilidae) are sensitive to environmental changes because of their extraordinary ecology, metabolism, and the highest red blood cell counts found in any vertebrate. These physiological attributes may render hummingbirds particularly susceptible to the effects of haemosporidian (blood parasite) infections. Much of the research on haemosporidians in hummingbirds has been conducted in South America; less is known about haemosporidian diversity and prevalence in North America. We sought to determine the prevalence and diversity of haemosporidians in a high-elevation species, the Broad-tailed Hummingbird ( Selasphorus platycercus ). Blood samples ( N  = 314) from 25 sites in Colorado and Wyoming were screened for haemosporidians using microscopy ( n  = 311) and PCR ( n  = 301). Both microscopy and sequencing diagnostic techniques detected haemosporidians in the same 5 hummingbirds, with an overall prevalence of 1.59%. Positive samples were sequenced at the cytochrome b gene and identified Haemoproteus archilochus and two Haemoproteus sp. not previously detected in North America. No parasites of the genera Plasmodium or Leucocytozoon were detected. Our study provides the first report of the prevalence and diversity of haemosporidians in Broad-tailed Hummingbirds in the Rocky Mountains.
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ISSN:0932-0113
1432-1955
DOI:10.1007/s00436-021-07407-1