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Black-necked swans (Cygnus melanocoryphus) are endemic to the southern cone of South America. Their range extends from Brazil and Paraguay south to Argentina and Chile. A total of 16 parasite species were collected from 7 swans from the Biobio region, Chile, of which 12 are new records for Chile and 11 represent new host records, Echinostoma trivolvis, Paranomostomum sp., Microsomacanthus sp., Nadejdolepis sp., Retinometra sp., Avioserpens sp., Capillaria skrjabini, Ingrassia cygni, Anatoecus penicillatus, A. icterodes and A. keymeri. A checklist is presented that summarizes sites of infections, localities, life cycles and their intermediate hosts (if known), and the pertinent references to demonstrate the wide diversity of parasites of black-necked swans. Our review of the existing literature (23 publications) along with our own records provided information on a total of 18 families and 27 genera, including 33 described species (some only identified to genus), of which 11 were recorded only in Chile (8 endoparasites and 3 ectoparasites), and 6 only in Argentina (4 endoparasites and 2 ectoparasites). Five parasites are known only from captive swans in European zoos. Parasites recorded from C. melanocoryphus include 23 helminths and 10 ectoparasites (one leech and 9 arthropods).

Ecotones can increase free‐living species richness, but little is known about how parasites respond to ecotones. Here, we use parasite communities in raccoons (Procyon lotor) to test the hypothesis that parasite communities can be divided into core and satellite species, each with fundamentally different responses to ecotones. We used published parasite surveys to classify parasites as common core or rare satellite species, and then surveyed raccoons in coastal California to examine how proximity to two aquatic ecotones altered parasite communities. Raccoons near ecotones had more satellite and fewer core parasite species. Specifically, the marine ecotone increased parasite diversity by adding satellite species to a persistent core community, whereas the freshwater ecotone shifted the community from core to satellite species without a net change in parasite richness. We hypothesize that increased parasite richness at the marine ecotone resulted from increased diet diversity, but that raccoons were sinks for some parasites. Increased exposure to rare parasites at ecotones has implications for wildlife health and provides insight into observed associations between ecotones and emerging disease.

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