Specificity of avian host and mosquito vector infections of avian Plasmodium in riparian southwest Fresno County

Avian malaria is a mosquito vector-borne disease caused by several species of the apicomplexan parasite Plasmodium. These parasites have been known to cause declines in bird populations, sometimes resulting in the extinction of bird species. It is imperative to understand host-vector-parasite interactions and how each influences the specificity of avian malaria parasites in both their avian hosts and mosquito vectors in a natural setting. Because of this, we are currently conducting a study at China Creek Park in Fresno County, California, where mosquitoes and birds are collected concurrently in collaboration with San Francisco State University. Upon finishing our field collection, we will report the diversity in community composition of the mosquito vector species and of the Plasmodium parasite strains in Fresno County. We hypothesize that multiple species of mosquitoes in Fresno County will transmit avian malaria parasites. We will provide an analysis of the phylogenetic relationships of Plasmodium parasites of Fresno County to other parts of the world along with mosquito blood meal analysis to determine Plasmodium-avian host associations. We hypothesize that Fresno County has multiple lineages of Plasmodium species of which some will be unique to the area and others that occur worldwide. This study will help us begin to elucidate how specificity of a parasite plays a role in transmission of avian malaria and can be used as a model to understand how malaria is transmitted in nature.

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