Evolutionary ecology, taxonomy, and systematics of avian malaria and related parasites

• Published in: Acta tropica Vol. 204; p. 105364
• Main Authors: Fecchio, Alan, Chagas, Carolina R.F., Bell, Jeffrey A., Kirchgatter, Karin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01-04-2020
• ISSN: 0001-706X; 1873-6254
• DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2020.105364

•Genetic data shows that haemosporidian diversity is higher than suggested by morphology.•Phylogenetic relationships between avian host species play a central role in parasite community assembly.•Recent ecological and environmental factors rather than historical factors may play a central role in vector specificity.•Further studies are necessary to determine whether haemosporidian prevalence is idiosyncratic across avian hosts.•Current anthropogenic changes in climate and landscape can alter the spread of avian malaria.
Haemosporidian parasites of the genera Plasmodium, Leucocytozoon, and Haemoproteus are one of the most prevalent and widely studied groups of parasites infecting birds. Plasmodium is the most well-known haemosporidian as the avian parasite Plasmodium relictum was the original transmission model for human malaria and was also responsible for catastrophic effects on native avifauna when introduced to Hawaii. The past two decades have seen a dramatic increase in research on avian haemosporidian parasites as a model system to understand evolutionary and ecological parasite-host relationships. Despite haemosporidians being one the best studied groups of avian parasites their specialization among avian hosts and variation in prevalence amongst regions and host taxa are not fully understood. In this review we focus on describing the current phylogenetic and morphological diversity of haemosporidian parasites, their specificity among avian and vector hosts, and identifying the determinants of haemosporidian prevalence among avian species. We also discuss how these parasites might spread across regions due to global climate change and the importance of avian migratory behavior in parasite dispersion and subsequent diversification.