Prevalence and genetic diversity of avian haemosporidian parasites in islands within a mega hydroelectric dam in the Brazilian Amazon.

The Brazilian Amazon supports an extremely diverse avifauna and serves as the diversification center for avian malaria parasites in South America. Construction of hydroelectric dams can drive biodiversity loss by creating islands incapable of sustaining the bird communities found in intact forest sites. Besides anthropogenic actions, the presence of parasites can also influence the dynamics and structure of bird communities.

Avian Malaria and Related Parasites from Resident and Migratory Birds in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, with Description of a New Species.

Determining the prevalence and local transmission dynamics of parasitic organisms are necessary to understand the ability of parasites to persist in host populations and disperse across regions, yet local transmission dynamics, diversity, and distribution of haemosporidian parasites remain poorly understood. We studied the prevalence, diversity, and distributions of avian haemosporidian parasites of the genera , , and among resident and migratory birds in Serra do Mar, Brazil. Using 399 blood samples from 66 Atlantic Forest bird species, we determined the prevalence and molecular diversity of these pathogens across avian host species and described a new species of .

Higher infection probability of haemosporidian parasites in Blue-black Grassquits (Volatinia jacarina) inhabiting native vegetation across Brazil.

Human induced changes on landscape can alter the biotic and abiotic factors that influence the transmission of vector-borne parasites. To examine how infection rates of vector-transmitted parasites respond to changes on natural landscapes, we captured 330 Blue-black Grassquits (Volatinia jacarina) in Brazilian biomes and assessed the prevalence and diversity of avian haemosporidian parasites (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) across avian host populations inhabiting environment under different disturbance and climatic conditions. Overall prevalence in Blue-black Grassquits was low (11%) and infection rates exhibited considerable spatial variation, ranging from zero to 39%.