Ecology and Evolution of Avian Malaria: Implications of Land Use Changes and Climate Change on Disease Dynamics

Malaria is the deadliest of all mosquito-borne diseases. Thousands of malaria parasite species exploit squamate reptiles, birds, and mammals as vertebrate hosts as well as dipteran vectors. Among these, avian malaria and related parasites have revealed an extensive genetic diversity as well as phenotypic diversity with varying virulence, host range, distribution−offering an amenable experimental system which has played a key role in understanding the ecology and evolution of human malaria parasites. Since its discovery in 1885, avian malaria contributed a great deal to the success of the U.S. antimalarial program during World War II. From modelling the links between climate change and health from a conservation and public health perspectives, avian malaria offered new opportunities and a relatively tractable system which were otherwise diluted by socio-economic, vector control and infra-structural changes in the human malaria context. In this review, I highlight the importance of avian malaria research in understanding the influence of climate change, land use and deforestation on disease dynamics, and how this helps to understand the ecology and evolution of the disease both from human and wildlife perspectives.