Haemosporida, vector-transmitted blood parasites, can have various effects and may also exert selection pressures on their hosts. In this study we analyse the presence of Haemosporida in a previously unstudied migratory seabird species, the red-throated diver
Gavia stellata. Red-throated divers were sampled
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Haemosporida, vector-transmitted blood parasites, can have various effects and may also exert selection pressures on their hosts. In this study we analyse the presence of Haemosporida in a previously unstudied migratory seabird species, the red-throated diver
Gavia stellata. Red-throated divers were sampled during winter and spring in the eastern German Bight (North Sea). We used molecular methods and data from a related tracking study to reveal (i) if red-throated divers are infected with Haemosporida of the genera
Leucocytozoon, Plasmodium and
Haemoproteus, and (ii) how infection and prevalence are linked with the breeding regions of infected individuals. Divers in this study were assigned to western Palearctic breeding grounds, namely Greenland, Svalbard, Norway and Arctic Russia. We found a prevalence of
Leucocytozoon of 11.0% in all birds sampled (n = 45), of 33.0% in birds breeding in Norway (n = 3) and of 8.3% in birds breeding in Arctic Russia (n = 25). For two birds that were infected no breeding regions could be assigned. We identified two previously unknown lineages, one each of
Plasmodium and
Leucocytozoon. Haemosporida have not been detected in birds from Greenland (n = 2) and Svalbard (n = 2). In summary, this study presents the first record of Haemosporida in red-throated divers and reports a new lineage of each,
Plasmodium and
Leucocytozoon GAVSTE01 and GAVSTE02, respectively.
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