The northern Andes, with their steep elevational and climate gradients, are home to an exceptional diversity of flora and fauna, particularly rich in avian species that have adapted to divergent ecological conditions. With this diversity comes the opportunity for parasites to exploit a wide breadth of avian hosts. However, little research has focused on examining the patterns of prevalence and lineage diversity of avian parasites in the Andes. Here, we screened a total of 428 birds from 19 species (representing nine families) and identified 133 infections of avian haemosporidia (31%), including lineages of Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, and Leucocytozoon. We document a higher prevalence of haemosporidia at higher elevations and lower temperatures, as well as an overall high diversity of lineages in the northern Andes, including the first sequences of haemosporidians reported in hummingbirds (31 sequences found in 11 species within the family Trochilidae). Double infections were distinguished using PHASE, which enables the separation of distinct parasite lineages. Results suggest that the ecological heterogeneity of the northern Andes that has given rise to a rich diversity of avian hosts may also be particularly conducive to parasite diversification and specialization.

Avian haemosporidia are obligate blood parasites with an ample range of hosts worldwide. To understand how host communities may influence the diversity of parasites of the neotropics, the spatial genetic variation of avian Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, and Leucocytozoon was examined between areas of host endemism and along the elevational gradient in the tropical Andes. A total of 1686 accessions of the cytochrome b gene of avian haemosporidia were selected from 43 publications, that further provides additional information on 14.2% of bird species in the Neotropics. Haplotype groups were identified using a similarity-based clustering of sequences using a cut-off level ≥ 99.3% of sequence identity. Phylogenetic-based analyses were implemented to examine the spatial genetic structure of avian haemosporidia among areas of host endemism and the elevation gradient in the tropical Andes. The areas of avian endemism, including the tropical Andes, can explain the differential distribution of the haemosporidia cytochrome b gene variation. In the tropical Andes region, the total number of avian haemosporidia haplotypes follows a unimodal pattern that peaks at mid-elevation between 2000 and 2500 m above sea level. Furthermore, the haplotype assemblages of obligate blood parasites tend to overlap towards mid-elevation, where avian host diversity tends to be maximized. Spatial analyses revealed that richness and turnover in haemosporidia suggest an association with montane host diversity, according to elevation in the tropical Andes. In addition, the spatial distribution of haemosporidia diversity is closely associated with patterns of host assemblages over large geographical scale in the tropical Andes and areas of avian endemism nearby.

Wildlife mortality caused by domestic cats is evident where free-roaming house cats are present in the tropical Andes region, a phenomenon for which there is a lack of scientific reports. Our goal is to present plausible range estimates of the potential avoidable number of birds killed by domestic cats in Colombia. We calculated estimates of the number of birds killed as the product of the number of cats, the proportion of cats with at least some outdoor access, the proportion of cats that hunt wildlife, the annual predation probability, and adjustments for estimates of total prey killed by cats. We extracted such data not only from public records, but also from a citizen science study, for which we circulated a questionnaire to examine cat owners’ attitudes toward the impact of domestic cats on wildlife during the 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 lockdowns in Colombia. We estimated that three to 12 million birds are killed annually by domestic cats in urban and suburban areas. In addition, we estimated that cats kill eight to 29 million vertebrate fauna in the Andes of Colombia. The total kill estimate provides a first figure on the magnitude of the impact of an anthropogenic cause of wildlife mortality for Colombia. These estimates would be more rigorous if the unowned or feral cat population size in Colombia was better known. Because most pet cats in Colombia roam outdoors without supervision and their population is growing, they pose an increasing threat to wildlife. Intervention is urgent to mitigate bird mortality by domestic cats.

Plantains (Musa AAB) are important sources of food and income for millions of people in Colombia and other developing countries. Colombia is the largest producer of plantains (2) and the third largest exporter of bananas in the world. In 2001, plants of ‘Dominico-Hartón’ plantain showing mild chlorotic streak symptoms were observed in northwestern Colombia. Electron microscopy of symptomatic tissue extracts revealed the presence of filamentous virus-like particles approximately 800 nm long. Immunocapture reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction was performed to test for the presence of Banana mild mosaic virus (BanMMV) as described by J. E. Thomas (unpublished, Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Australia) and Sharman et al. (3). For polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the upstream primer No. 193 (5′-CAC TTA GGT TTG TGT GAT GT-3′) (designed in this study by using the computer Program DNAMAN Version 4.13) and the downstream primer Poty1 (5′-GGA TCC CGG GTT TTT TTT TTT TTT TTT V-3′) (1,3; J. E. Thomas, unpublished, Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Australia) were used. Amplification products of the expected size (approximately 900 bp) were obtained and sequenced after cloning in a pCR2.1 plasmid vector. Analyses of nucleic acid sequences using the international sequence databases and the BLAST program yielded nucleotide and amino acid sequence similarities of 80 to 83% and 90 to 92%, respectively, with an Australian isolate of BanMMV (GenBank Accession No. AF314662). The coat protein (CP) gene of the Colombian BanMMV isolate consists of 717 nucleotides. When the CP of the Colombian BanMMV isolates (GenBank Accession Nos. AY319331, AY319332, and AY319333) was compared with the CP of the Australian isolate, a highly variable region was observed in the N-terminus region. To our knowledge, this is the first report of BanMMV isolated from plantains in Colombia and the presence of molecular variability in the CP of BanMMV isolates. BanMMV has been found in Colombia associated with Banana streak virus and Cucumber mosaic virus in plantain. References: (1) A. Gibbs and A. Mackenzie. J. Virol.Methods 63:9, 1997 (2) N. S. Price. Infomusa 8(2):26, 1999. (3) M. Sharman et al. J. Virol. Methods 89:75, 2000.