A list of parasitic worms, including twenty-five new records, from British birds

Harris

1965

Parasitology

An account is given of the incidence and intensity of infection of the gulls Larus argentatus Pont., L. fuscus L., and L. marinus L. with Cestoda on the coast of Wales. Eleven species of cestodes were found in the three species of gulls, nine in L. argentatus, eight in L. fuscus and six in L. marinus. Nine new host records and two new British records are listed.The presence of the cestode parasites did not appear to be harmful to the birds.Ecological and systematic notes are given on each of the cestode species. The basic cestode fauna of L. argentatus, L. fuscus and L. marinus on the coast of Wales comprised three species, namely Tetrabothrius cylindraceus (Rud.), T. erostris (voennberg) and Anomotaenia micracantha (Krabbe).The factors influencing the intensity and incidence of infection are considered and it is concluded that infection is determined mainly by the food and feeding habits of the host. It is shown that the number of cestodes per bird may be represented by a negative binomial distribution. There is some evidence to suggest that high intensities of infection were associated with high incidences. Three main stages in the development of the helminth-fauna of gulls are described and are related to the age and activity of the bird.It is a pleasure to record our personal thanks to those to whom we are indebted, namely the Nature Conservancy and the West Wales Naturalists' Trust for permission to work on Skomer Island, to Mr D. R. Saunders, Warden of Skomer Island, for help in the collection of some of the Great Black-backed Gulls, to Mr P. Hope Jones who collected the gulls from Malltraeth, and to Professor J. G. Baer, Departement de Zoologie, Université de Neuchâtel, Professor W. E. Kershaw, Department of Parasitology and Entomology, University of Liverpool, and Mr Stephen Prudhoe, British Museum (Natural History), for the loan of specimens, and to Mr M. D. B. Burt, Department of Natural History, University of St Andrews, for identifying the specimens of Paricterotaenia paradoxa.The participation of one of us (M. P. H.) in this work was made possible through the generous assistance of a D.S.I.R. research studentship, which is gratefully acknowledged.

Section: Effect Of the Cestodes On The Host Birdsupporting

confidence: 60%

The infection of the gullsLarus argentatusPont.,L. fuscus L.andL. marinusL. with Cestoda on the coast of Wales

Harris

1965

Parasitology

“…He found this species in 0-77% of 6165 adult L. littorea in Cardigan Bay, with the highest local incidence, of 2*7%, in periwinkles on College Rocks, Aberystwyth ; these compared with 15% of 5878 L. littorea from Scalby Rocks. Yet C. lingua is known to be a common parasite of sea birds at Aberystwyth (Williams 1961) and the reason for the comparatively low incidence reported by James may be found by further study of the regular feeding and roosting grounds, which are often limited to a specific few square yards of rocky shore, of gulls at Aberystwyth. Elsewhere C. lingua has been found to be even more frequent in L. littorea, for instance Sindermann & Farrin (1962) in a two and a half year study at Boothbay Harbor, Maine, found that the average incidence of infection of L. littorea in the high tidal zone over the entire period was 65%, in the mid tide zone 45% and in the low tide zone 46%.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The adult stage may be a species of Catatropis, various species of which are common in anserine birds but these birds are infrequent at Scalby Rocks. However, C. verrucosa (Frolich, 1789) has been recorded from the Oyster Catcher (Williams 1961) and these birds, which are common at Scalby, may maintain infections in periwinkles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships of Some Species of Digenea with the Marine Prosobranch Littorina littorea (L.) I. The Occurrence of Larval Digenea in L, littorea on the North Yorkshire Coast

Robson

1970

J. Helminthol.

1. 8515 specimens of the common periwinkle, Littorina littorea (L.), from four localities on the North Yorkshire coast were examined for larval Digenea during 1966 and 1907. Four species were found, namely Cryptocotyle lingua (Creplin, 1825), Himasthla leptosoma (Creplin, 1829), Cercaria lebouri Stunkard, 1932 and Cercaria A, the incidence of infection with which correlated with the presence of sea bird and wader final hosts.2. 5878 of all L. littorea examined were from one locality of relatively high incidence of infection where there were seasonal changes in incidence, being greatest during the autumn and early winter and least during the summer. The incidence of infection was higher in larger than in smaller periwinkles except in infections with an unidentified species, named Cercaria A, where the incidence declined sharply in L. littorea above 25 mm shell length. The ecology of the infections is discussed.

“…Some uncertainty exists about the suitability of birds as final hosts of those species of Corynosoma which usually parasitize marine mammals, and Van Cleave (1953) and Golvan (1959) maintain that sexual maturity is never attained in birds if the normal host is a mammal. Yet some species are known in which gravid females have been reported from both birds and mammals, for example, C. strumosum by Dollfus (1964) and Williams (1961). On the other hand the presence of eggs in the female worm does not demonstrate that these would be viable in the intermediate host.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Nematode and Acanthocephalan Parasites of the Sheathbill, Chionis alba (Gmelin), at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands and a summary of host parasite relationships in the Sheathbill

Jones

1969

J. Helminthol.

We have previously reported on the cestode and trematode parasites of the Sheathbill at Signy Island (Jones & Williams 1967, 1968, 1969) and conclude with an account of the nematodes and Acanthocephala. Our previous reports were based on specimens obtained from 13 Sheathbills collected at Signy Island in July and October, 1965 by Mr. Charles Howie, British Antarctic Survey. In addition to these we have examined a further 12 Sheathbills taken at Signy Island in March, 1967. We are greatly indebted to Mr. E. A. Smith, Senior Biologist, British Antarctic Survey, for arranging the collection and transport of the latter material.