Chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera and Ischnocera) infesting woodpeckers and sapsuckers (Aves: Piciformes: Picidae) in Manitoba, Canada

2018

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The annual abundance of chewing lice (Phthiraptera) was recorded from 1996 to 2015 in Manitoba, Canada, on two species of woodpeckers (Piciformes: Picidae). Yellow-bellied sapsuckers (Sphyrapicus varius (Linnaeus)) were infested with Menacanthus pici (Denny) (Amblycera: Menoponidae) and Penenirmus auritus (Scopoli) (Ischnocera: Philopteridae); northern flickers (Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus)) were also infested with M. pici, as well as two other Ischnocera, Penenirmus jungens (Kellogg) and Picicola porisma Dalgleish. The mean annual abundance varied from nine to 51 lice per bird for the four species, with prevalence, mean intensity, sex ratio, and nymphs per female also varying among louse species. Menacanthus pici populations on both hosts were unstable: abundance rose over two decades because of increasing prevalence, whereas the abundance of the other three louse species fluctuated around a mean. Population variability was similar for the lice on both hosts, with the metric, PV, ranging from 0.41 to 0.51 on a 0–1 scale, once the effect of the trend in abundance for M. pici had been removed. Although the population dynamics for species of lice on these two woodpeckers were distinct, inter-specific differences in population stability were less pronounced than observed in the few other species of bird lice studied in this way.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abundance and stability of populations of chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera and Ischnocera) infesting two species of woodpeckers (Aves: Piciformes: Picidae)

2018

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“…The woodpecker lice provided the opportunity for an additional and perhaps more rigorous test of the hypothesis because in the study described below, sampling of lice was exhaustive and consistent for all host specimens. A comparison of louse infestation among woodpeckers is particularly relevant because there is a diversity of lice that commonly infest woodpeckers and sapsuckers, including four genera: Menacanthus Neumann (Amblycera) revised by Price and Emerson (1975): Picicola Clay and Meinertzhagen and Penenirmus Clay and Meinertzhagen (both Ischnocera) revised by Dalgleish (1969Dalgleish ( , 1972, respectively; Brueelia straminea (Denny) (Ischnocera), which is found on many species of Piciformes in Manitoba (Price et al 2003;Galloway and Lamb 2016). These taxa of lice provide an opportunity to investigate differences in the host mass and infestation parameters for lice with distinct life histories (Lamb and Galloway 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

2017

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Specimens 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.

“…Roughley Museum of Entomology, Department of Entomology, University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada). Galloway and Lamb (2016) suggested that M. pici is probably a species complex requiring revision, with the taxa being host specific. Here, we consider M. pici on each host separately and so interpretation of data for members of such a complex could still be assigned to a species name, once the taxonomy of this species group has been clarified.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For woodpeckers, nothing has been published beyond basic infestation parameters. For example, infestation parameters of seven species of chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera and Ischnocera) from four genera infesting five species of woodpeckers and sapsuckers (Piciformes: Picidae) were investigated in Manitoba, Canada (Galloway and Lamb 2016). However, the temporal relationships between parasites and their hosts also are critical in understanding their interactions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal population dynamics of chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera and Ischnocera) infesting three species of woodpeckers (Aves: Piciformes: Picidae) in Manitoba, Canada

2016

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Three species of woodpeckers (Piciformes: Picidae) in Manitoba, Canada, were examined for chewing lice (Phthiraptera): the resident downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens(Linnaeus),n=55), and two migrants, yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius(Linnaeus),n=316) and northern flicker (Colaptes auratus(Linnaeus),n=225). Six species were collected:Menacanthus pici(Denny) (Amblycera: Menoponidae) from all hosts, and five species of Ischnocera (Philopteridae):Penenirmus auritus(Scopoli) from downy woodpeckers and sapsuckers,Picicola snodgrassi(Kellogg) andBrueelia straminea(Denny) from downy woodpeckers, andPenenirmus jungens(Kellogg) andPicicola porismaDalgleish from flickers. Adults and nymphs were present on downy woodpeckers all year, and on migrant sapsuckers and flickers from when they arrived until they left, suggesting lice reproduce continuously on their hosts. Prevalence and mean intensities of louse infestations generally decreased from their respective springtime levels to their lowest values during or at the end of the breeding season of their hosts, and then increased in various degrees during the fall. No seasonal pattern in louse sex ratios was observed except on northern flickers, where male to female ratios for two of three species were lowest during the breeding season. Resident and migrant hosts had similar seasonal patterns of infestation by lice.