Hemosporidije, krvni paraziti kod divljih ptica pevačica u Srbiji

Abstract

Diversity and prevalence of Haemosporidian blood microorganisms in wild birds are rather well studied across Western Europe from Sweden to Spain, while little has been known about the distribution and the ecology of avian blood parasites across the Balkan Peninsula. Contemporary data were published for Bulgaria but researches on avian malaria have never been conducted before in Serbia. The prevalence and intensity of avian haemosporidian infection were investigated by using and microscopy. To examine genetic diversity of cytochrome b lineages from blood parasites of genera Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon we used a nested PCR protocol. In total 150 passerine birds of 43 species and 15 families were examined for the resence of infection. Birds caught by mist were ringed and sampled for a small drop of blood during the breeding season in 2011, 2013 and 2016 at five different localities in the Republic of Serbia. Out of 150 birds, 58 were recognized as infected with haemosporidian species. The overall prevalence of haemosporidian was 38.6 %. We recorded one mixed infection. The most common parasite genus was Haemoproteus, recorded in 35 birds. We identified 32 lineages of haemosporidian parasites: 16 of Haemoproteus, 8 of Plasmodium and 8 of Leucocytozoon. Differences between juvenile and adult were found, but there was also a difference between males and females (32 males from eleven species were infected in regards to 10 females from seven species). The composition of parasites varied geographically.