Authors
Tania Jenkins, Gavin H Thomas, Olof Hellgren, Ian PF Owens
Publication date
2012/3/1
Journal
Evolution
Volume
66
Issue
3
Pages
740-751
Publisher
Blackwell Publishing Inc
Description
Host traits, such as migratory behavior, could facilitate the dispersal of disease-causing parasites, potentially leading to the transfer of infections both across geographic areas and between host species. There is, however, little quantitative information on whether variation in such host attributes does indeed affect the evolutionary outcome of host–parasite associations. Here, we employ Leucocytozoon blood parasites of birds, a group of parasites closely related to avian malaria, to study host–parasite coevolution in relation to host behavior using a phylogenetic comparative approach. We reconstruct the molecular phylogenies of both the hosts and parasites and use cophylogenetic tools to assess whether each host–parasite association contributes significantly to the overall congruence between the two phylogenies. We find evidence for a significant fit between host and parasite phylogenies in this system, but …
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