SREL Reprint #3252

Blood parasites in nestlings of Wood Stork populations from three regions of the American continent

Cynthia Martins Villar1, Albert Lawrence Bryan Jr.2, Stacey Lyn Lance2, Erika Martins Braga3, Carlos Congrains1, and Silvia Nassif Del Lama1

1Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Rodovia Washington Luís, km 235,
13565-905, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
2Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, P.O. Drawer E, Aiken, South Carolina 29802
3Laboratório de Malária, Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas,
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Abstract: This study documents the prevalences and lineages of hemoparasites in wood stork nestlings from 3 regions of the American continent: southeastern United States (n = 90), northern Brazil (n = 74), and central-western Brazil (n = 125). Identification was based on PCR amplification of a mitochondrial small subunit ribosomal RNA gene. A fragment of the hemoparasite cytochrome B gene in infected individuals was utilized for Bayesian phylogenetic analysis. Four wood stork nestlings were infected by Haemoproteus, 1 from northern Brazil and 3 from the United States, and all shared the same haplotype. Morphological analysis confirmed the infection of the U.S. birds by Haemoproteus. Infection by Plasmodium was found in wood stork nestlings from northern (6) and central-western Brazil (14). Five Plasmodium lineages (MYCAMP1–2, and MYCAMP4–6) were found in the Brazilian centralwestern region and 3 Plasmodium lineages (MYCAMP2–3, and MYCAMP7) were found in the northern region. The most prevalent haplotype (MYCAMP2) differs from the others by 1 mutation, and the less prevalent haplotypes are derived from MYCAMP2. We did not find Plasmodium or Haemoproteus in nestlings younger than 15 and 30 days old, respectively. This is the first documentation of Plasmodium and Haemoproteus infection in wood storks in Brazilian breeding populations. Potential connectivity among wood stork populations was indirectly supported by the presence of identical Haemoproteus lineages in U.S. and northern Brazilian populations, and by the presence of identical Plasmodium haplotypes in the northern and central-western Brazilian populations.

SREL Reprint #3252

Villar, C. M., A. L. Bryan Jr., S. L. Lance, E. M. Braga, C. Congrains, and S. N. Del Lama. 2013. Blood parasites in nestlings of Wood Stork populations from three regions of the American continent. Journal of Parasitology 99(3):522-527.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).