Phenology underlies apparent urbanisation effects on avian malaria in juvenile songbirds
Urbanisation can modify species interactions, including those between parasites and their hosts. In birds, urbanisation can either increase or decrease avian malaria infection, depending on host species, parasite or study location. However, temporal coordination between parasites and hosts, which may impact infection outcomes, has not been studied in urban ecology. To fill this gap, we collected blood samples from wild blue tit nestlings (Cyanistes caeruleus) in urban and forest habitats to examine how their hatch dates affected the prevalence and intensity of malaria infection. To separate parasites and quantify parasite load, we newly developed a species-specific qPCR assay. We found that Leucocytozoon prevalence was strongly affected by urbanisation, but effects depended on study year. This was driven by hatch date: nestlings that hatched earlier in the spring had a lower probability of being infected, independent of habitat type. In the few heavily infected nestlings, intensity of infection was associated with low body weight, suggesting fitness effects of infection. These results highlight the importance of breeding early to avoid early-life infection with malaria parasites, and that apparent urbanisation effects on infection arose from phenological differences between urban and forest habitats. Underappreciated phenological changes may underline other ecological effects of urbanisation.