Artificial light at night amplifies seasonal relapse of haemosporidian parasites in a widespread songbird

Abstract

Urban habitats can shape interactions between hosts and parasites by altering not only exposure rates but also within-host processes. Artificial light at night is common in urban environments, and chronic exposure can impair host immunity in ways that may increase infection. However, studies of causal links between this stressor, immunity, and infection dynamics are rare, particularly in migratory animals. Here, we experimentally tested how artificial light at night affects cellular immunity and haemosporidian parasite intensity across the annual cycle of migrant and resident subspecies of the dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis). We monitored an experimental group exposed to light at night and a control group under natural light/dark cycles as they passed through short days simulating early spring to longer days simulating the breeding season, followed by fall migration. Using generalized additive models, we show that artificial light at night increased inflammation, and leukocyte counts were greatest in early spring and fall. At the start of the experiment, few birds had active infections based on microscopy, but PCR revealed many birds had chronic infections. Artificial light at night increased parasitemia across the annual cycle, with strong peaks in spring and fall that were largely absent in control birds. As birds were kept in indoor aviaries to prevent vector exposure, this increased parasitemia indicates relapse of chronic infection during costly life history stages (i.e., reproduction). Although the immunological and parasitological time series were in phase for control birds, cross-correlation analyses also revealed artificial light at night desynchronized leukocyte profiles and parasitemia, which could suggest a general exaggerated inflammatory response. Our study shows how a common anthropogenic influence can shape within-host processes to affect infection dynamics.