Host phylogeny matters: Examining sources of variation in infection risk by blood parasites across a tropical montane bird community in India.
Pooja GuptaC K VishnudasV V RobinGuha DharmarajanPublished in: Parasites & vectors (2020)
Our study highlights that while host ecological traits promoting parasite exposure and host susceptibility are important determinants of infection risk, host phylogeny also contributes substantially to predicting patterns of haemosporidian infection risk in multi-host communities. Importantly, infection risk is driven by joint contributions of host ecology and host phylogeny and studying these effects together could increase our ability to better understand the drivers of infection risk and predict future disease threats.