Coinfection rates of avian blood parasites increase with latitude in parapatric host species.

ABSTRACT: Animals are frequently coinfected with multiple parasites concurrently, and advances in our sampling of these complex intra-host parasite communities have revealed important ecological impacts on their hosts. However, the spatial distributions and environmental determinants of parasite coinfection remain infrequently studied. Here, we investigated the drivers of haemosporidian blood parasite coinfection in the Bicknell's thrush (Catharus bicknelli) and grey-cheeked thrush (Catharus minimus), parapatric sister species that occur across a broad latitudinal range in northern North America. Using 298 samples from across the distributions of these species, we found high overall infection (86%) and coinfection (41%) rates within host populations. Coinfection rates within population

SUBMITTER: Starkloff NC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10090641 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature