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Résumé :
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Haemosporidian parasites can alter host immune and physiological condition, yet their hematological effects may depend on habitat disturbance and seasonality. We investigated how haemosporidian infection relates to hematological parameters of common understory birds across a land use gradient in tropical montane cloud forests of central Veracruz, Mexico. During 2013–2014, we sampled six abundant passerines across five land use types (conserved forest, peri-urban forest, urban forest, shade coffee plantation, and cattle field). Infections were assessed by microscopy and PCR, and hematological parameters (differential leukocyte proportions, H/L ratio, total leukocytes, thrombocytes, and polychromatophils) were analyzed with generalized linear mixed models using total haemosporidian abundance (parasites per 10,000 erythrocytes) as the primary infection predictor; genus-specific analyses (Plasmodium vs Haemoproteus) were used as secondary complements where sample sizes allowed. Overall infection prevalence was 61%, and infection rate varied among host taxa and habitats. Total parasite abundance was frequently higher in disturbed habitats, particularly for Plasmodium, whereas Haemoproteus sometimes peaked in conserved or shade coffee plantations, indicating genus and host-specific patterns. Several hematological parameters varied across land use types and seasons, with both baseline habitat effects and context-dependent associations with parasite abundance. Sex-specific associations with parasite infection occurred for selected parameters (including eosinophils, polychromatophils, and thrombocytes), and the migratory Wilson’s Warbler showed habitat dependent responses. These results show that land use, seasonality, and host traits jointly shape hematological responses to haemosporidian infection in a disturbed cloud forest landscape, with outcomes contingent on parasite genus and host identity.
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