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Avian Malaria: Investigating the Haemosporidian Parasite Diversity of Bornean Birds in Sabah, Malaysia / PADRAIC MCDONNELL

Swansea University Author: PADRAIC MCDONNELL

  • E-Thesis under embargo until: 17th December 2030

Abstract

Avian Haemosporidia are an apicomplexan order of intraerythrocytic vector-borne parasites, capable of infecting a diverse range of birds, worldwide. Primarily belonging to three genera: Haemoproteus, Leucocytozoon, and Plasmodium, avian Haemosporidia are transmitted via various haemotophagous dipter...

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Published: Swansea University 2025
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Master of Research
Degree name: MRes
Supervisor: Uren Webster, T. M., and Wells, K. L.
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71346
first_indexed 2026-01-29T15:38:15Z
last_indexed 2026-01-30T06:53:12Z
id cronfa71346
recordtype RisThesis
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spelling 2026-01-29T16:05:17.3649799 v2 71346 2026-01-29 Avian Malaria: Investigating the Haemosporidian Parasite Diversity of Bornean Birds in Sabah, Malaysia 11defa0d27979d440836a99f0567a50d PADRAIC MCDONNELL PADRAIC MCDONNELL true false 2026-01-29 Avian Haemosporidia are an apicomplexan order of intraerythrocytic vector-borne parasites, capable of infecting a diverse range of birds, worldwide. Primarily belonging to three genera: Haemoproteus, Leucocytozoon, and Plasmodium, avian Haemosporidia are transmitted via various haemotophagous dipteran vectors. The island of Borneo, with its steep elevational gradients and vast area of tropical rainforest, harbours an exceptional diversity of avian taxa, providing an ideal environment for the study of avian host-parasite dynamics. However, despite extensive global research over the last few decades, avian Haemosporidia in Borneo remain poorly characterised.Here, we present a preliminary study, investigating the diversity and prevalence of Haemosporidia within Bornean domesticated chicken and wild bird populations. We sampled the blood of 493 wild birds and 124 domesticated chickens across the Malaysian state of Sabah (2019-2023). Using molecular diagnostics (nested PCR and qPCR), we tested each blood-sample for haemosporidian infection presence and quantitative parasitaemia. Then, targeting genus-specific cytochrome b regions, we sequenced and phylogenetically analysed all applicable haemosporidian lineages.Most sampled birds were infected with Haemosporidia (72.9%; 95%CI: 69.3-76.3%), a high infection prevalence relative to previous surveys within the region. We identified 53 distinct undocumented lineages: Haemoproteus (16), Leucocytozoon (14), and Plasmodium (23). The chickens exhibited significantly greater total haemosporidian infection prevalence and parasitaemia concentration than wild birds. Significant results between the chicken and wild bird populations may arise due to biological and ecological differences regarding host-specific haemosporidian lineage-permissiveness and proximity to vector-suitable habitat. Rarefaction analysis indicates considerable under-representative sampling of potential haemosporidian lineages within the wild avian population – due to the substantial avian diversity across Borneo, requiring further investigation to fully characterise. Our results suggest that Borneo exhibits a rich assemblage and abundance of diverse Haemosporidia, rendering it a potential global hotspot. However, much of this diversity remains undetected, underlining the need for further studies across Borneo. E-Thesis Swansea University Avian Malaria, Haemosporidia, Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, Leucocytozoon, Borneo, Sabah, Malaysia 17 12 2025 2025-12-17 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Uren Webster, T. M., and Wells, K. L. Master of Research MRes 2026-01-29T16:05:17.3649799 2026-01-29T15:18:19.8110064 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences PADRAIC MCDONNELL 1 Under embargo Under embargo 2026-01-29T15:37:16.9612863 Output 2541415 application/pdf E-Thesis true 2030-12-17T00:00:00.0000000 Copyright: the author Pádraic Alan Howard McDonnell, 2025. Distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 License (CC BY-NC 4.0). true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
title Avian Malaria: Investigating the Haemosporidian Parasite Diversity of Bornean Birds in Sabah, Malaysia
spellingShingle Avian Malaria: Investigating the Haemosporidian Parasite Diversity of Bornean Birds in Sabah, Malaysia
PADRAIC MCDONNELL
title_short Avian Malaria: Investigating the Haemosporidian Parasite Diversity of Bornean Birds in Sabah, Malaysia
title_full Avian Malaria: Investigating the Haemosporidian Parasite Diversity of Bornean Birds in Sabah, Malaysia
title_fullStr Avian Malaria: Investigating the Haemosporidian Parasite Diversity of Bornean Birds in Sabah, Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Avian Malaria: Investigating the Haemosporidian Parasite Diversity of Bornean Birds in Sabah, Malaysia
title_sort Avian Malaria: Investigating the Haemosporidian Parasite Diversity of Bornean Birds in Sabah, Malaysia
author_id_str_mv 11defa0d27979d440836a99f0567a50d
author_id_fullname_str_mv 11defa0d27979d440836a99f0567a50d_***_PADRAIC MCDONNELL
author PADRAIC MCDONNELL
author2 PADRAIC MCDONNELL
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publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
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description Avian Haemosporidia are an apicomplexan order of intraerythrocytic vector-borne parasites, capable of infecting a diverse range of birds, worldwide. Primarily belonging to three genera: Haemoproteus, Leucocytozoon, and Plasmodium, avian Haemosporidia are transmitted via various haemotophagous dipteran vectors. The island of Borneo, with its steep elevational gradients and vast area of tropical rainforest, harbours an exceptional diversity of avian taxa, providing an ideal environment for the study of avian host-parasite dynamics. However, despite extensive global research over the last few decades, avian Haemosporidia in Borneo remain poorly characterised.Here, we present a preliminary study, investigating the diversity and prevalence of Haemosporidia within Bornean domesticated chicken and wild bird populations. We sampled the blood of 493 wild birds and 124 domesticated chickens across the Malaysian state of Sabah (2019-2023). Using molecular diagnostics (nested PCR and qPCR), we tested each blood-sample for haemosporidian infection presence and quantitative parasitaemia. Then, targeting genus-specific cytochrome b regions, we sequenced and phylogenetically analysed all applicable haemosporidian lineages.Most sampled birds were infected with Haemosporidia (72.9%; 95%CI: 69.3-76.3%), a high infection prevalence relative to previous surveys within the region. We identified 53 distinct undocumented lineages: Haemoproteus (16), Leucocytozoon (14), and Plasmodium (23). The chickens exhibited significantly greater total haemosporidian infection prevalence and parasitaemia concentration than wild birds. Significant results between the chicken and wild bird populations may arise due to biological and ecological differences regarding host-specific haemosporidian lineage-permissiveness and proximity to vector-suitable habitat. Rarefaction analysis indicates considerable under-representative sampling of potential haemosporidian lineages within the wild avian population – due to the substantial avian diversity across Borneo, requiring further investigation to fully characterise. Our results suggest that Borneo exhibits a rich assemblage and abundance of diverse Haemosporidia, rendering it a potential global hotspot. However, much of this diversity remains undetected, underlining the need for further studies across Borneo.
published_date 2025-12-17T05:35:06Z
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