Vol. 78 2026

ARTICLES

New Data on Possible Abortive Development of Haemoproteus lanii in a Phylogenetically Distant Passerine Host Species

Daliborka Stanković1,*, Marko Raković1 & Nayden Chakarov2

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*1University of Belgrade-Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia; E-mail: daliborka@imsi.bg.ac.rs, markorakovic@imsi.bg.ac.rs
2Department of Animal Behaviour, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany; E-mail: nayden.chakarov@uni-bielefeld.de

https://doi.org/10.71424/azb78.1.002811

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Abstract

The combination of high parasite diversity and favourable environmental conditions may facilitate the emergence of novel host-pathogen associations. When parasites reach new hosts, they can establish a new host-parasite association, but they often fail to develop transmissible stages, such as blood infection stages in haemosporidian parasites, resulting in an abortive infection. To elucidate how the shared environment of avian communities may facilitate novel host-parasite interactions, we investigated the haemosporidian parasites of the Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio) and the Barred Warbler (Curruca nisoria), two avian species that inhabit a similar ecological niche and breed in close proximity, forming a nesting association. We observed high parasite prevalence in both species and detected three cytochrome b (cyt b) lineages in the Red-backed Shrike and six, including one new Haemoproteus lineage (h_SYNIS5), in the Barred Warbler. A potential case of an abortive development of a specialised haemosporidian parasite, Haemoproteus lanii (lineage h_RBS2), typically found in the Red-backed Shrike, was identified in a phylogenetically distant host, the Barred Warbler. Furthermore, the lineages l_RS4 and p_SYCON02, belonging to the genera Leucocytozoon and Plasmodium, respectively, were detected for the first time in the Barred Warbler. Further studies are needed to assess the potential for cross-species transmission with other potential hosts in the same area and to better understand the ecological dynamics of these host-parasite associations.

Key words

avian communities, Barred Warbler, haemosporidian infection, host-parasite associations, Red-backed Shrike

How to Cite
Stanković D., Raković M. & Chakarov N. 2026. New Data on Possible Abortive Development of Haemoproteus lanii in a Phylogenetically Distant Passerine Host Species. Acta zoologica bulgarica 78.

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