High prevalence and narrow host range of haemosporidian parasites in Godlewski's bunting (Emberiza godlewskii) in northern China.

Abstract

Avian haemosporidian parasites are highly diverse, have a wide range of host specificity, and reveal diverse compatibility with regard to host range and geographical distribution. Therefore, understanding haemosporidian parasite diversity in different host species and different regions is crucial. A survey of the haemosporidian parasite in 186 Godlewski's buntings in Beijing was conducted to compare infection patterns between Godlewski's bunting, local passerines and the global avian host. High prevalence (88.7%) was found in the bunting and displayed annual stability during the research period. Most of the infections were caused by four dominant lineages, three of which were clustered with lineages of morphological species. In comparison with other lineages in local passerines, the dominant lineages were relative specialists. The findings suggest that the compatibility of dominant lineages in the bunting hosts may play important roles in high haemosporidian prevalence, and the narrow host range of the dominant lineages may be due to coevolution between the parasites and host species.