Host Specificity and Distribution of Avian Blood Parasites

0089226。拟议的研究使用分子和遗传技术(DNA测序和基于聚合酶链式反应的RFLP分析)来表征血液寄生虫(疟原虫和血蛋白)在小安的列斯群岛岛屿上鸟类物种中的分布。与世隔绝的鸟类和其他动物种群很容易受到外来病原体的感染，这可能会影响种群规模和宿主的栖息地分布。事实上，夏威夷群岛一些特有鸟类的灭绝是由于疟疾和痘病毒的引入。外来寄主物种能在多大程度上影响本地物种以及当地社区的组成，部分取决于寄主转换的可能性。尽管医学文献中对某些疾病的宿主转换进行了研究，但尚未从社区的角度在广泛的区域，如加勒比海地区解决这一问题。该项目收集了来自37个物种的近2,000只鸟类的大量血液涂片和缓冲血液样本，并对每种鸟类宿主物种的岛屿种群进行了完整的系统发育评估。研究将以同时代的方式将宿主和寄生虫的社区关系和地理分布联系起来。实地考察工作将大大增加西印度群岛宿主个体的抽样，以确定寄生虫感染的季节性、栖息地和年度变化。实验室对寄生虫基因序列的测定将有助于准确描述安的列斯鸟类岛屿群落内宿主和寄生虫的共享情况。此外，它还将有助于了解区域寄生虫区系中的殖民和特有模式，以及量化宿主和寄生虫的系统发育模式之间的联系。这段历史可能揭示出关于野生动物物种中潜在的新兴疾病的概括性结论。

0089226. Ricklefs.The proposed research uses molecular and genetic techniques (DNA sequencing and PCR-based RFLP assays) to characterize the distribution of blood parasites (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) in species of birds on islands in the Lesser Antilles. Isolated island populations of birds and other animals are vulnerable to infection by introduced pathogens, which may influence population size and the habitat distribution of their hosts. Indeed, the extinction of a number of endemic species of birds in the Hawaiian Islands has been attributed to the introduction of malaria and pox viruses. The extent to which exotic host species can influence native species, and the composition of local communities, in part depends on the likelihood of host-switching. Although host-switching has been examined in the medical literature for some diseases, it has not been addressed from a community perspective across a broad region, such as the Caribbean. This project builds on massive collections of blood smears and buffered blood samples obtained from almost 2,000 birds representing 37 species, and the complete phylogenetic appraisals of island populations of each avian host species. Research will correlate community relationships and geographic distributions of both host and parasite in a contemporaneous fashion. Fieldwork will substantially increase the sampling of host individuals in the West Indies to determine seasonal, habitat, and annual variation in parasite infections. Laboratory determination of parasite gene sequences will allow an accurate description of host- and parasite-sharing within island communities of Antillean birds. In addition, it will facilitate an understanding of patterns of colonization and endemism in a regional parasite fauna, as well as a quantification of the association between phylogenetic patterns in hosts and parasites. This history may reveal generalizations about potential emerging diseases in wildlife species.