serval:BIB_2FEF176D421D
Testing Local Adaptation in a Natural Great Tit-Malaria System: An Experimental Approach.
10.1371/journal.pone.0141391
000364430700027
26555892
Jenkins
T.
author
Delhaye
J.
author
Christe
P.
author
article
2015
Plos One
1932-6203
1932-6203
journal
10
11
e0141391
Finding out whether Plasmodium spp. are coevolving with their vertebrate hosts is of both theoretical and applied interest and can influence our understanding of the effects and dynamics of malaria infection. In this study, we tested for local adaptation as a signature of coevolution between malaria blood parasites, Plasmodium spp. and its host, the great tit, Parus major. We conducted a reciprocal transplant experiment of birds in the field, where we exposed birds from two populations to Plasmodium parasites. This experimental set-up also provided a unique opportunity to study the natural history of malaria infection in the wild and to assess the effects of primary malaria infection on juvenile birds. We present three main findings: i) there was no support for local adaptation; ii) there was a male-biased infection rate; iii) infection occurred towards the end of the summer and differed between sites. There were also site-specific effects of malaria infection on the hosts. Taken together, we present one of the few experimental studies of parasite-host local adaptation in a natural malaria system, and our results shed light on the effects of avian malaria infection in the wild.
Adaptation, Physiological
Animals
Anopheles/parasitology
Disease Susceptibility
Erythrocytes/parasitology
Female
Haemosporida/isolation & purification
Host-Parasite Interactions/physiology
Insect Vectors/parasitology
Insecticides
Malaria, Avian/parasitology
Malaria, Avian/transmission
Male
Models, Biological
Parasitemia/parasitology
Parasitemia/veterinary
Plasmodium/isolation & purification
Plasmodium/physiology
Sex Factors
Songbirds/blood
Songbirds/growth & development
Species Specificity
Time Factors
eng
60_published
true
peer-reviewed
Publication types: Journal Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Publication Status: epublish
University of Lausanne
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