scholarly journals The Influence of Host Body Size and Food Guild on Prevalence and Mean Intensity of Chewing Lice (Phthiraptera) on Birds in Southern China

2019 ◽  
Vol 105 (2) ◽  
pp. 334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingzhi Chu ◽  
Bilal Dik ◽  
Daniel R. Gustafsson ◽  
Xianli Che ◽  
Qiang Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Mean Intensity ◽  
Chewing Lice ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Host Body Size

Abundance of chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera and Ischnocera) increases with the body size of their host woodpeckers and sapsuckers (Aves: Piciformes: Picidae)

2017 ◽  
Vol 149 (4) ◽  
pp. 473-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry D. Galloway ◽  
Robert J. Lamb
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Host Species ◽  
The Body ◽  
Louse Infestation ◽  
Mean Intensity ◽  
Chewing Lice ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Northern Flicker ◽  
Host Body Mass

AbstractSpecimens of five species of woodpeckers (Piciformes: Picidae) from Manitoba, Canada, were weighed and examined for chewing lice, 1998–2015: downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens (Linnaeus), n=49), hairy woodpecker (Picoides villosus (Linnaeus), n=23), pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus (Linnaeus), n=10), northern flicker (Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus), n=170), and yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius (Linnaeus), n=239). The relationship between body mass of each host species and infestation by seven species of lice was analysed: Menacanthus pici (Denny) from all host species, Brueelia straminea (Denny) from Picoides Lacépède species, Penenirmus jungens (Kellogg) from northern flicker, Penenirmus auritus (Scopoli) from the other four hosts, Picicola porisma Dalgleish from northern flicker, Picicola snodgrassi (Kellogg) from Picoides species, and Picicola marginatulus (Harrison) from pileated woodpeckers. Mean abundance of lice increased with the mean mass of their host. Neither the species richness of lice nor the prevalence of lice were related to host body mass. Host body mass explained 98% of the variation in mean intensity of louse infestation among hosts. The positive association of mean intensity and body size was also detected for three genera of lice. Louse intensity also increased with body size for individual birds, more so for some species of lice and hosts than others. Body size matters, but the adaptations that allow higher mean intensity on larger host species remain to be determined.

Host body size and the abundance of chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera, Ischnocera) infesting eight owl species (Aves: Strigiformes) in Manitoba, Canada

2019 ◽  
Vol 151 (5) ◽  
pp. 621-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Lamb ◽  
Terry D. Galloway
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Louse Infestation ◽  
Mean Intensity ◽  
Chewing Lice ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Abundant Genus ◽  
Louse Species ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Host Body Mass

AbstractSpecimens (n = 508) of eight species of owl (Aves: Strigiformes) collected from 1994 to 2017 in Manitoba, Canada, were weighed and examined for chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera, Ischnocera). The relationship between host body mass and infestation by 12 species of lice was examined. Host body mass explained 52% (P = 0.03) of the variation in mean intensity of louse infestation among hosts, due primarily to a high abundance of lice on the heaviest owl species. The relationship was due to the mean intensity of lice, and neither species richness nor the prevalence of lice was related to host body mass. For individual louse species, the relationship was due primarily to Kurodaia acadicae Price and Beer, Kurodaia magna Emerson, and an undetermined species of Kurodaia Uchida (Phthiraptera: Menoponidae) (R2 = 0.997), but not the nine Strigiphilus Mjöberg (Phthiraptera: Philopteridae) species (R2 = 0.27). Louse intensity did not increase with body size for individual birds of any of the owl species. Mean intensity is expected to increase in proportion with the size, specifically the surface area, of the host. Why that relationship holds only for one louse genus, and not for the most abundant genus of lice on owls, and weakly compared with other families of birds, has yet to be determined.

Explaining variability in parasite aggregation levels among host samples

Parasitology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
pp. 541-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBERT POULIN
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Host Susceptibility ◽  
Helminth Parasites ◽  
Susceptibility To Infection ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Parasite Aggregation ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Host Body Size

SUMMARYAggregated distributions among individual hosts are a defining feature of metazoan parasite populations. Heterogeneity among host individuals in exposure to parasites or in susceptibility to infection is thought to be the main factor generating aggregation, with properties of parasites themselves explaining some of the variability in aggregation levels observed among species. Here, using data from 410 samples of helminth parasites on fish hosts, I tested the contribution of (i) within-sample variation in host body size, taken as a proxy for variability in host susceptibility, and (ii) parasite taxon and developmental stage, to the aggregated distribution of parasites. Log-transformed variance in numbers of parasites per host was regressed against log mean number across all samples; the strong relationship (r2 = 0·88) indicated that aggregation levels are tightly constrained by mean infection levels, and that only a small proportion of the observed variability in parasite aggregation levels remains to be accounted for by other factors. Using the residuals of this regression as measures of ‘unexplained’ aggregation, a mixed effects model revealed no significant effect of within-sample variation in host body size or of parasite taxon or stage (i.e. juvenile versus adult) on parasite aggregation level within a sample. However, much of the remaining variability in parasite aggregation levels among samples was accounted for by the number of individual hosts examined per sample, and species-specific and study-specific effects reflecting idiosyncrasies of particular systems. This suggests that with most differences in aggregation among samples already explained, there may be little point in seeking universal causes for the remaining variation.

scholarly journals Costs of immune responses are related to host body size and lifespan

2017 ◽  
Vol 327 (5) ◽  
pp. 254-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber J. Brace ◽  
Marc J. Lajeunesse ◽  
Daniel R. Ardia ◽  
Dana M. Hawley ◽  
James S. Adelman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Host Body Size

scholarly journals Host body size and the diversity of tick assemblages on Neotropical vertebrates

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen J. Esser ◽  
Janet E. Foley ◽  
Frans Bongers ◽  
Edward Allen Herre ◽  
Matthew J. Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Host Body Size

scholarly journals Consumer and host body size effects on the removal of trematode cercariae by ambient communities

Parasitology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 146 (3) ◽  
pp. 342-347
Author(s):  
Jennifer E. Welsh ◽  
Anke Hempel ◽  
Mirjana Markovic ◽  
Jaap van der Meer ◽  
David W. Thieltges
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Size Effects ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Feeding Activity ◽  
Removal Rates ◽  
Host Interactions ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Host Body Size ◽  
Significant Mortality

AbstractParasite transmission can be altered via the removal of parasites by the ambient communities in which parasite–host interactions take place. However, the mechanisms driving parasite removal remain poorly understood. Using marine trematode cercariae as a model system, we investigated the effects of consumer and host body size on parasite removal rates. Laboratory experiments revealed that consumer or host body size significantly affected cercarial removal rates in crabs, oysters and cockles but not in shrimps. In general, cercarial removal rates increased with consumer (crabs and oysters) and host (cockles) body size. For the filter feeding oysters and cockles, the effects probably relate to their feeding activity which is known to correlate with bivalve size. Low infection levels found in cockle hosts suggest that parasite removal by hosts also leads to significant mortality of infective stages. The size effects of crab and shrimp predators on cercarial removal rates were more complex and did not show an expected size match-mismatch between predators and their cercarial prey, suggesting that parasite removal rates in predators are species-specific. We conclude that to have a comprehensive understanding of parasite removal by ambient communities, more research into the various mechanisms of cercarial removal is required.

scholarly journals Analysis of the Influence of the Host Body Size on Morphometrical Characteristics ofAncylodiscoides SiluriandAncylodiscoides Vistulensis

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (sup1) ◽  
pp. 735-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Mancheva ◽  
E. Karaivanova ◽  
G. Atanasov ◽  
S. Stojanovski ◽  
I. Nedeva
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Host Body Size
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