Long-term trends of freshwater invertebrates as vectors for haemosporidian parasites
Project value: 90 000 €
Project funder: Lithuanian Research Council
Project duration: 24 months
Project timeline: 09 Nov 2022 - 31 Oct 2024
Principle investigator: Nathan Jay Baker
Supervisor: Vaidas Palinauskas
Brief outline:
This study is driven by a simple question: How do changes in biodiversity change biodiversity? Using long-term biomonitoring data and extensive statistical analyses, we aim to (1) understand how freshwater macroinvertebrate communities within Lithuania have changed over temporal and spatial scales and (2) identify their underlying environmental drivers. Then, using the same long-term data, dipteran communities will be isolated, with a focus on blood-sucking insects (Ceratopogonidae, Culicidae, and Simuliidae), and their changes through time explored. Next, using long-term vector, transmitted parasite, and habitat data supplemented with planned field collections of vectors in 2023 and 2024, we aim to (3) determine how changes in vector communities affect the diversity and prevalence of disease-causing haemosporidian parasites they transmit (Haemoproteus, Plasmodium, and Leucocytozoon), and (4) how habitat and microclimatic conditions impact vector-parasite relationships.
Project goals:
To understand the long-term trends of Lithuanian freshwater macroinvertebrate communities with a focus on blood-sucking dipterans and their associated environmental drivers.
To provide a “living” dataset of Lithuanian macroinvertebrate communities to be included in future large-scale meta-analyses.
To elucidate long-term changes in the prevalence of haemosporidian parasites under global change conditions and untangle the factors altering higher transmissions of vector-borne parasites. Understanding the mechanisms affecting the transmission success of vector-borne diseases is imperative for wildlife management and human health.
Keywords:
aquatic macroinvertebrates | community variability | long-term | spatial analysis | temporal analysis | anthropogenic drivers | trends | avian malaria | haemosporidian parasites | parasite | vectors | diptera | Lithuania | global change | boreal | multivariate analysis | biomonitoring | freshwater | temporal | niche modelling | Baltics | bird | Ceratopogonidae | Simuliidae | Culicidae | Haemoproteus | Plasmodium | Leucocytozoon
#biomonitoring #macroinvertebrates #communityecology #ecology #boreal #haemosporidian #malaria #avianmalaria #bird #disease #vector #parasite #diptera #simulidae #ceratopogoniidae #culicidae #river #lithuania #drivers #environment #science #baseline #anthropogenic #water #statistics #multivariate #aquatic #diversity #biodiversity #traits #biologicaltraits #nichemodleling #niche #redundancy #taxonomicdiversity #functionaldiversity #haemoproteus #plasmodium #leucocytozoon
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