BOOK REVIEW Edited by Charles van Riper III [email protected]

Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 43(2), 2007, pp. 322–324 # Wildlife Disease Association 2007 The following reviews express the opinions of the individual author(s) regarding the value of the book’s content for Journal of Wildlife Diseases readers. The reviews are subjective assessments and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, nor do they establish any official policy of the Wildlife Disease Association.

Avian Parasites and Other Hae- bert Ricklefs, and their coworkers propose that mosporidia. By Gediminas Valkiunas, CRC there is even a vast cryptic diversity of the Press, 2000 NW Corporate Blvd., Boca Raton, parasites, perhaps thousands of reproductively Florida, 33431 USA. 2005. 932 pp. ISBN 0- isolated species. A growing body of literature 415-30097-5. US $179.95 (hardback). uses this diversity of avian parasites for important studies on host range, opportunity and frequency of host switching, and commu- Review by Jos. J. nity ecology of blood parasites (Fallon et al., 2006). The diversity of avian malaria parasites is an In 1826 a sailing ship visiting the Hawaiian intriguing and useful system for study by Islands put ashore a party to recharge the specialists, but pity any wildlife disease re- crew’s water casks. This was the first of two searcher, zoo veterinarian, or ornithologist apparently minor events that spun into an who must identify blood parasites in the order ecological catastrophe. When flushing the Haemosporidia. Checklists of species orga- casks, the visitors inoculated the islands with nized by Gordon Bennett (Bennett et al., the mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus. A cen- 1982) have long been a good starting resource, tury later a , either brought by humans to but are now seriously out of date. ‘‘improve’’ the environment, or a natural Anyone interested in wildlife diseases migrant, arrived infected with the malaria should, therefore, welcome publication of parasite relictum. The result has Avian Malaria Parasites and Other Haemo- been the devastation of the native Hawaiian sporidia by Gediminas Valkiunas. This is an avifauna, with numbers of species driven to updated English edition of his 1997 mono- extinction, and many others greatly reduced in graph published in Russian by the Vilnius range (Scott et al., 1986). University Institute of Ecology. Professor The history of these events was unraveled Valkiunas has produced a magisterial work, through elegant detective work by R. E. one of both broad and deep scholarship. He Warner (Warner, 1968) and Charles van Riper has digested an enormous world literature in III and colleagues (van Riper III et al., 1986), many languages to summarize just about followed by a recent monumental team effort everything known about bird parasites in the led by Robert Fleischer, Carter Atkinson, and order Haemosporidia (primarily the genera Jon Beadell. The recent evidence (Beadell et Plasmodium, , and Leucocyto- al., 2006) indicates that a large number of P. zoon). The author graciously gifted our labo- relictum genotypes occur worldwide. Many ratory with a copy of the earlier Russian strains must have come to the islands, yet only version, which was avidly studied (albeit one (GRW4) was deadly for the local . slowly) by graduate and undergraduate stu- This single genotype is also implicated in the dents. Copies of the English edition are now in destruction of the endemic bird community of our laboratory, festooned with tags for quick Bermuda. (GRW4 should be renamed the reference. That will be the likely fate of copies ‘‘Shiva’’ strain for the Hindu god of destruc- in laboratories worldwide—to be marked up, tion, who was also blamed in the ancient Vedic highlighted, and stained with microscope medical texts for human malaria.) immersion oil. The Hawaiian bird malaria story is well The monograph opens with 231 pages of known to readers of Journal of Wildlife clear summaries on life cycle, structure, Diseases; indeed, Hawaiian avian malaria pathology, geographic and host distribution, could stand as the poster parasite for the immunity, ecology, evolution, and laboratory dangers of emerging infectious diseases of and field techniques. Professor Valkiunas has wildlife, especially for isolated complex island strong opinions on every issue, but also communities. But P. relictum is but one of presents counterviews, with many references. hundreds of described species of avian hae- No student will be misled, and those of us with matozoan parasites, and Staffan Bensch, Ro- sometimes contrary opinions will be informed

322 BOOK REVIEW 323 rather than slighted. These 231 pages can gent taxon. The subgenus Haemamoeba in- stand as one of the finest summaries of the cludes P. relictum, and was found to be a well- biology of malaria parasites available for supported clade. Researchers can, therefore, perusal by students and even specialists. Of confidently begin identification of parasites course, the meat of any monograph must be with the distinctive Haemamoeba morphol- the species accounts, and these consume ogy by going directly to that section of the approximately 600 pages. Many taxonomic monograph. decisions were made (the lumping vs. splitting We can conclude that claims of the demise conflict), but full information is provided to of morphology for study of avian malaria alert readers to any controversy. The author parasites are greatly exaggerated. Indeed, any casts an especially cautious eye on species conflicts between taxa defined by morphology erected based only on host record. Excellent and results of molecular studies are them- drawings of all species are presented, usually selves intriguing. Why should morphologic with multiple images to show the variation traits converge in different systematic clades, seen on stained blood smears. and why should other closely related species Students and researchers in wildlife disease diverge in morphology? Thus, this monograph will, of course, be most interested in using the deserves to be close at hand in any molecular monograph for species identification. The laboratory. good news is that the book is easy to use, with Avian Malaria Parasites and Other Hae- clear descriptions linked to the drawings. The mosporidia is an expensive volume, but worth bad news is the parasites refuse to cooperate every penny. It is well constructed and clearly by evolving clear morphological distinctions printed. Oddly, the only picture of a bird, among species. Many species are very similar which is shown on the cover, is a cormorant. under the microscope, and the author often Perhaps this is a visual joke because cormor- reminds readers to study the variation among ants are among the very few taxa of birds that the cells seen in a blood smear, and to use are not exploited by haemosporidians! Only a process of elimination when comparing three pages of photographs of the parasites are similar species. The effort would be valu- included, but photographs are often less useful able. Like Darwin with his barnacles, any in identification of malaria parasites than fine researcher will grow to appreciate the impor- drawings. Professor Valkiunas opens his vol- tance of within-species variation vs. among- ume by modestly offering it as a continuation species differences. Identification with confi- of the scholarship of the luminaries of dence is revealed to be difficult, but not parasitology. In fact, this is a work that is impossible. a new landmark in systematic parasitology and Avian Malaria Parasites was originally deserves to take a place as an equal next to published just at the advent of molecular Garnham’s classic work on malaria parasites sequencing methods in the study of the parasites’ diversity. In the English edition, (Garnham, 1966). For generations to come it Professor Valkiunas does not take us into those will be a standard reference for any student of results. What is the relationship between malaria parasites and anyone remotely in- morphological species and recent results from terested in avian health. In the future, as molecular studies, and will Avian Malaria avian malaria parasites are transported over Parasites have much of a shelf life when the the globe, the malaria parasites are likely to molecular data increase in volume and sophis- cause more problems for isolated bird com- tication? munities, and wildlife disease researchers My colleague Ellen Martinsen (2006, 2007) should then turn first to Avian Malaria has organized studies resulting in the first Parasites and Other Haemosporidia. marriage of morphologic and molecular iden- tifications of species of all three genera, as well LITERATURE CITED as a study of the subgenera of Plasmodium (using the Valkiunas volume as a confident BEADELL, J. S., F. ISHTIAQ,R.COVAS,M.MELO,B. guide to identification). The result is a mixed H. WARREN,C.T.ATKINSON,S.BENSCH,B.R. bag, with diagnoses based on morphology GRAVES,Y.V.JHALA,M.A.PEIRCE,A.R. sometimes supported, other times not. For RAHMANI,D.M.FONSECA, AND R. C. FLEISCHER. example, Plasmodium juxtanucleare, a nasty 2006. Global phylogeographic limits of Hawaii’s parasite of in Southeast Asia, to the avian malaria. Proceedings of the Royal Society novice is not particularly striking in morphol- of London B 273: 2935–2944. ogy, but was placed into a new subgenus BENNETT, G. F., M. WHITEWAY, AND C. WOOD- () by Valkiunas. The molecular WORTH-LYNAS. 1982. A host–parasite catalogue of phylogeny demonstrates it is indeed a diver- the avian haematozoa. Memorial University of 324 JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE DISEASES, VOL. 43, NO. 2, APRIL 2007

Newfoundland Press, St. John’s, Newfoundland, analysis of two mitochondrial genes. Parasitology Canada. Occasional Paper in Biology 5. 134: 483–490. GARNHAM, P. C. C. 1966. Malaria parasites and other SCOTT, J. M., S. MOUNTAINSPRING, F.L.RAMSEY, AND haemosporidia. Blackwell Scientific Publishers, C. B. KEPLER. 1986. Forest bird communities of Oxford, UK, 1,114 pp. the Hawaiian Islands: Their dynamics, ecology, FALLON, S. M., E. BERMINGHAM, AND R. E. and conservation. Studies in Avian Biology 9. RICKLEFS. 2005. Host specialization and geo- VAN RIPER, C., III, S. G. VAN RIPER,M.L.GOFF, graphic localization of avian malaria parasites: A AND M. LAIRD. 1986. Epizootiology and ecolo- regional analysis in the Lesser Antilles. American gical significance of malaria in Hawaiian land Naturalist 165: 466–480. birds. Ecological Monographs 56: 327–344. MARTINSEN, E. S., I. PAPERNA, AND J. J. SCHALL. WARNER, R. E. 1968. The role of introduced diseases 2006. Morphological versus molecular identifi- in the extinction of the endemic Hawaiian cation of avian haemosporidia: An exploration of avifauna. Condor 70: 101–120. three species concepts. Parasitology 133: 279– 288. ———, J. L. WAITE, AND ———. 2007. Morpho- Jos. J. Schall, Department of Biology, University of logically defined subgenera of Plasmodium from Vermont, Burlington, Vermont 05405, USA. (jschall@ avian hosts: Test of monophyly by phylogenetic zoo.uvm.edu).