Avian malaria and invasion success: Contrasting infection patterns in two introduced Eurasian sparrows in North America (<i>Passer domesticus</i> and <i>Passer montanus</i>).

ABSTRACT: Biological invasions present a unique context to investigate how parasites influence host establishment and spread. We compared whether the more invasive house sparrow (Passer domesticus, HOSP) showed lower haemosporidian (Plasmodium) infection probability, predicted relative parasitemia, and lineage diversity than the less invasive Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus, ETSP), based on previous research that showed species differences in immune responses and pathogen prevalence that may influence invasion success. We sampled 306 sparrows across eight sites in Missouri and Illinois (2019-2022), assessing Plasmodium prevalence, relative parasitemia (via qPCR), and lineage diversity. Contrary to expectations, the more invasive HOSPs had higher Plasmodium p

SUBMITTER: Trigueros AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12857189 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature