Location and timing of infection drives a sex-bias in <i>Haemoproteus</i> prevalence in a hole-nesting bird.

ABSTRACT: Sex biases in prevalence of disease are often attributed to intrinsic factors, such as physiological differences while a proximate role of extrinsic factors such as behavioural or ecological differences may be more difficult to establish. We combined large-scale screening for the presence and lineage identity of avian malaria (haemosporidian) parasites, in 1234 collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis) with life-history information from each bird to establish the location and timing of infection. We found an overall infection rate of 36.2% ± 0.03 (95% CI) with 25 distinct malaria lineages. Interestingly, first-year breeding males and females had similar infection prevalence while females accrued a significantly higher infection rate than males later in life. The sex difference in i

SUBMITTER: Jones W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11578888 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature