Instituto de Biología Subtropical

Malaria in Latin America is largely caused by Plasmodium vivax, but the closely related monkey parasite Plasmodium simium has recently been observed in humans, thus raising new public health concerns. By screening 719 monkey samples from five Latin America countries, we identified 23 Plasmodium-positives. However, only four samples yielded sufficient mitochondrial DNA sequencing data to allow reliable species identification, and their inclusion in genome-wide population analyses. Using whole-genome variation data from these samples together with whole genome variations of 19 P. simium and 405 P. vivax isolates, we investigated their evolutionary history and population genetics. P. vivax, typically restricted to humans, was identified in three Colombian and one Brazilian monkeys, suggesting possible host niche expansion. Genetic analyses reveal recent genetic exchanges between both species and indicate that P. simium originated from a host jump approximately one to two centuries ago. Also other alternatives are possible, this host shift may have followed P. vivax migration from Central/North America to Brazil. Genome-wide scans revealed signals of positive selection in P. simium genes implicated in interactions with primate hosts, including PvRBP2a and PvRBP1b, as well as genes involved in interactions with mosquito vectors, such as PvCMRP1, PvPAT, and Pvs47. These findings shed light on P. simium evolutionary history. They also underscore the zoonotic risks, and the need to include monkeys in malaria prevention measures while ensuring human-wildlife coexistence.

Under the current global biodiversity crisis, there is a need for automated and noninvasive monitoring techniques that can gather large amounts of data cost-effectively at various ecological scales, from local to large spatial scales. These data can then be analyzed to inform stakeholders and decision-makers. One such technique is passive acoustic monitoring, which is commonly coupled with automatic identification of animal species based on their sound. Automated sound analyses usually require the training of sound detection and identification algorithms. These algorithms are based on annotated acoustic datasets which mark the occurrence of sounds of species inside sound recordings. However, compiling large annotated acoustic datasets is time-consuming and requires experts, and therefore, they normally cover reduced spatial, temporal, and taxonomic scales. This data paper presents WABAD, the World Annotated Bird Acoustic Dataset for passive acoustic monitoring. WABAD is designed to provide the public, the research community, and conservation managers with a novel and globally representative annotated acoustic dataset. This database includes 5047 min of audio files annotated to species-level by local experts with the start and end time and the upper and lower frequencies of each identified bird vocalization in the recordings. The database has a wide taxonomic and spatial coverage, including information on 91,931 vocalizations from 1192 bird species recorded at 72 recording sites in 29 recording locations (mainly countries) and distributed across 13 biomes. WABAD can be used, for example, for developing and/or validating automatic species detection algorithms, answering ecological questions, such as assessing geographical variations on bird vocalizations, or comparing acoustic diversity indices with species-based diversity indices. The dataset is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license that permits redistribution and reuse on the condition that the original work is properly credited.

High pathogenicity avian influenza virus H5N1 subtype (H5N1 HPAIV), clade 2.3.4.4b, is expanding its host and geographical range, and invaded Antarctica in 2023. Although mortality in Antarctic wildlife from H5N1 HPAIV has been suspected, mainly based on virological analysis of swabs collected from dead animals, it has not been unequivocally diagnosed. Here we show that H5N1 HPAIV caused high mortality in a breeding colony of skuas at one of ten sites in Antarctica we visited in March 2024. By combined virological, bacteriological and pathological analyses, we found that H5N1 HPAIV caused multi-organ necrosis and rapid death in skuas, but not in other species examined. Taken together with recent data, skuas in Antarctica are at risk of continued mortality from H5N1 HPAIV infection, threatening their already small populations. Conversely, because of their wide distribution and ecological relevance, skuas may play a substantial role in the spread of the virus across Antarctica. Transdisciplinary surveillance is needed in coming years to monitor the impact of this poultry-origin disease on Antarctica’s unique wildlife.

Polyploidization is associated with lineage-specific changes that promote divergence and speciation. Knowledge about the establishment of neopolyploids is fragmentary. We use an open-source multi-agent software to build a scalable easy-to-use command center for analysing complex diploid-polyploid interactions. The workspace is a multilayered environment whose eco-variables fluctuate between generations. Reproductive syndromes, recombinant/clonal inheritance and complex traits (adaptivity, niche breadth, dispersal) are used to elicit fitness values and monitor population spatial dynamics. Neopolyploidization was recurrent, polytopic and heterogeneous in time. Increasing rates of unreduced gametes accelerated the establishment of neopolyploids but removed the role of triploids. Under standard rates and heterogeneous environment, model-based evidence shows that (1) a large proportion of polyploidization events are unsuccessful, (2) parental traits and local conditions prime a loss of diploid fitness that benefited eco-geographic structured polyploid success, (3) self-fertility and apomixis improve the rate of polyploidization, and shorten the time required for demographic establishment, and (4) ecological niche shifts promote cytotype coexistence, but niche expansion favors establishment and foster cytotype displacement. The modelling framework offers opportunities for in-depth lineage-specific analyses of the spatiotemporal dynamics and evolutionary differentiation in diploid-polyploid systems.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-025-29286-7.

The mechanical loads from muscle contraction and gravity affect the biomechanical properties of long-bone limbs, varying according to the functional demands of each limb. In anurans, both limbs are used for locomotion, but the hindlimbs generate higher energy for jumping or swimming, and the forelimbs serve additional purposes (e.g., landing, amplexus, feeding, etc). This study examines the bone architecture of the forelimb bones (humerus and radioulna) and the hindlimb bones (femur, tibiafibula, tibiale, and fibulare) of 24 anuran species with different habitat uses within a phylogenetic context. Also, because of functional divergence among limbs, we investigate possible divergence in morphological integration among long bones depending on habitat use. Across all species, forelimb bones show significantly higher bone biomechanical properties values than hindlimbs, with aquatic and semiaquatic species exhibiting the most resistant bones to bending and fracture. The femur and tibiafibula of aquatic, semiaquatic, and terrestrial species showed similar and higher values, while arboreal species had the lowest values. The tibiale and fibulare bones show a unique stratified pattern across habitats, and in most species, these bones have higher values than the femur and tibiafibula. Although morphological integration varies across habitats-with terrestrial species showing the highest and aquatic and arboreal species the lowest, reflecting differences in limb specialization-the tibiale and fibulare uniquely exhibit significant covariation across all species. While phylogenetic factors may contribute to the observed variability, ecological factors play a crucial role in shaping bone geometry, highlighting the evolutionary adaptations of long bone resistance across ecological niches.