RESUMO

Identifying the ecological factors that shape parasite distributions remains a central goal in disease ecology. These factors include dispersal capability, environmental filters and geographic distance. Using 520 haemosporidian parasite genetic lineages recovered from 7,534 birds sampled across tropical and temperate South America, we tested (a) the latitudinal diversity gradient hypothesis and (b) the distance-decay relationship (decreasing proportion of shared species between communities with increasing geographic distance) for this host-parasite system. We then inferred the biogeographic processes influencing the diversity and distributions of this cosmopolitan group of parasites across South America. We found support for a latitudinal gradient in diversity for avian haemosporidian parasites, potentially mediated through higher avian host diversity towards the equator. Parasite similarity was correlated with climate similarity, geographic distance and host composition. Local diversification in Amazonian lineages followed by dispersal was the most frequent biogeographic events reconstructed for haemosporidian parasites. Combining macroecological patterns and biogeographic processes, our study reveals that haemosporidian parasites are capable of circumventing geographic barriers and dispersing across biomes, although constrained by environmental filtering. The contemporary diversity and distributions of haemosporidian parasites are mainly driven by historical (speciation) and ecological (dispersal) processes, whereas the parasite community assembly is largely governed by host composition and to a lesser extent by environmental conditions.

Assuntos

RESUMO

We studied the altitudinal distribution of 426 bird species in the Serra dos Órgãos, a mountainous region in southeastern Brazil. Thirty-four localities were visited between 1991 and 2009. Our study revealed a decline in bird species richness with elevation, although a smaller number of species was recorded at lower altitudes (below 300 m) possibly due to local extinctions caused by the intense human occupation of the region. A less diverse avifauna was found above 2,000 m, with only one species (Caprimulgus longirostris) recorded exclusively in this altitudinal range. Most endemic species were found between 300 and 1,200 m, but the endemism was more significant at higher altitudes. Nearly half of the birds found above 1,400 m were endemic species. Most of the threatened species from the state of Rio de Janeiro recorded in our study were found below 1,200 m, but no significant difference was found between the proportions of threatened species among different altitudinal ranges. Species of seventeen genera have exhibited some replacement (sometimes with partial overlap) along altitudinal gradients.

RESUMO

We studied the altitudinal distribution of 426 bird species in the Serra dos Órgãos, a mountainous region in southeastern Brazil. Thirty-four localities were visited between 1991 and 2009. Our study revealed a decline in bird species richness with elevation, although a smaller number of species was recorded at lower altitudes (below 300 m) possibly due to local extinctions caused by the intense human occupation of the region. A less diverse avifauna was found above 2,000 m, with only one species (Caprimulgus longirostris) recorded exclusively in this altitudinal range. Most endemic species were found between 300 and 1,200 m, but the endemism was more significant at higher altitudes. Nearly half of the birds found above 1,400 m were endemic species. Most of the threatened species from the state of Rio de Janeiro recorded in our study were found below 1,200 m, but no significant difference was found between the proportions of threatened species among different altitudinal ranges. Species of seventeen genera have exhibited some replacement (sometimes with partial overlap) along altitudinal gradients.

RESUMO

We studied the altitudinal distribution of 426 bird species in the Serra dos Órgãos, a mountainous region in southeastern Brazil. Thirty-four localities were visited between 1991 and 2009. Our study revealed a decline in bird species richness with elevation, although a smaller number of species was recorded at lower altitudes (below 300 m) possibly due to local extinctions caused by the intense human occupation of the region. A less diverse avifauna was found above 2,000 m, with only one species (Caprimulgus longirostris) recorded exclusively in this altitudinal range. Most endemic species were found between 300 and 1,200 m, but the endemism was more significant at higher altitudes. Nearly half of the birds found above 1,400 m were endemic species. Most of the threatened species from the state of Rio de Janeiro recorded in our study were found below 1,200 m, but no significant difference was found between the proportions of threatened species among different altitudinal ranges. Species of seventeen genera have exhibited some replacement (sometimes with partial overlap) along altitudinal gradients.