Ectoparasitic Fly Camus hemapterus (Diptera: Carnidae) in a Nesting Population of Common Barn-Owls (Strigiformes: Tytonidae)

Kirkpatrick, Carl E.; Colvin, Bruce A.

doi:10.1093/jmedent/26.2.109

Cited by 32 publications

(37 citation statements)

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“…Liker et al (2001) reported a maximum of 284 Carnus hemapterus for starling nests, whereas the largest number we found in a bee-eater nest (with five chicks) was 515 individuals. In many other bird species, even with larger body size, for example the Barn Owl Tyto alba (Kirkpatrick and Colvin 1989;Roulin et al 2001), American Kestrel Falco sparverius (Dawson and Bortolotti 1997), or European Kestrel Falco tinnuculus (Fargallo et al 2001, own unpublished data), parasite intensity is much lower. In comparison with most of these species the European bee-eater is a highly colonial species with probably the highest breeding densities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast with most other bird ectoparasites the 2 mm long bloodsucking milichiid fly Carnus hemapterus Nitzsch is nestling-specific (Kirkpatrick and Colvin 1989;Marshall 1981;Walter and Hudde 1987) and has been found on many bird species, even across different bird orders distributed over the Old and the New Worlds (Bequaert 1942;Cannings 1986;Capelle and Whitworth 1973;Collin 1939;Grimaldi 1997;Guiguen et al 1983;Janovy 1997;Matyukhin and Krivosheina 2008). C. hemapterus is a mobile ectoparasite species with a typical horizontal transmission mode among chicks within a nest and between nests even of different species (Valera et al 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

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Are parasite intensity and related costs of the milichiid fly Carnus hemapterus related to host sociality?

et al. 2010

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Ectoparasites have often been shown to have detrimental effects on their host. Not much is known, however, about determinants of infestation, e.g. the question of which factors affect distribution and occurrence of parasites on different host species (degree of host specificity) and their infestation rates. In this study we examine possible effects of host determinants on parasite intensity of Carnus hemapterus (Carnidae), an ectoparasitic fly on nestling birds, in the European bee-eater (Merops apiaster), which is a common host of C. hemapterus. Our results show that European bee-eaters seem to be one of the most heavily infested host species of C. hemapterus. We found that brood size, nestling age, and colony size are the most important determinants of infestation by C. hemapterus. This parasite seems to prefer medium-sized bee-eater chicks and to select them according to their condition. Our results further suggest a negative effect of C. hemapterus on chick development.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Are parasite intensity and related costs of the milichiid fly Carnus hemapterus related to host sociality?

et al. 2010

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“…These traits may reflect both the degree to which parasites have already invaded a host and the host ability of fending off disease. Following an infection, the immune organs bursa of Fabricius and spleen increase in size to produce more immune cells (Glick, 1983; John, 1994), hosts produce more leucocytes (Roitt, Brostoff & Male, 1996) and immunoglobulins (Bos et al ., 1987; Freitas et al ., 1991), and ectoparasites, such as C. haemapterus , that feed upon erythrocytes (Kirkpatrick & Colvin, 1989), can reduce haematocrit (Richner, Oppliger & Christe, 1993).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Origin-related, environmental, sex, and age determinants of immunocompetence, susceptibility to ectoparasites, and disease symptoms in the barn owl

Roulin

Christe

Dijkstra

et al. 2007

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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Knowledge of the role of origin-related, environmental, sex, and age factors on host defence mechanisms is important to understand variation in parasite intensity. Because alternative components of parasite defence may be differently sensitive to various factors, they may not necessarily covary. Many components should therefore be considered to tackle the evolution of host-parasite interactions. In a population of barn owls ( Tyto alba ), we investigated the role of origin-related, environmental (i.e. year, season, nest of rearing, and body condition), sex, and age factors on 12 traits linked to immune responses [humoral immune responses towards sheep red blood cells (SRBC), human serum albumin (HSA) and toxoid toxin TT, T-cell mediated immune response towards the mitogen phytohemagglutinin (PHA)], susceptibility to ectoparasites (number and fecundity of Carnus haemapterus , number of Ixodes ricinus ), and disease symptoms (size of the bursa of Fabricius and spleen, proportion of proteins that are immunoglobulins, haematocrit and blood concentration in leucocytes). Cross-fostering experiments allowed us to detect a heritable component of variation in only four out of nine immune and parasitic parameters (i.e. SRBC-and HSA-responses, haematocrit, and number of C. haemapterus ). However, because nestlings were not always cross-fostered just after hatching, the finding that 44% of the immune and parasitic parameters were heritable is probably an overestimation. These experiments also showed that five out of these nine parameters were sensitive to the nest environment (i.e. SRBC-and PHA-responses, number of C. haemapterus , haematocrit and blood concentration in leucocytes). Female nestlings were more infested by the blood-sucking fly C. haemapterus than their male nestmates, and their blood was less concentrated in leucocytes. The effect of year, season, age (i.e. reflecting the degree of maturation of the immune system), brood size, position in the within-brood age hierarchy, and body mass strongly differed between the 12 parameters. Different components of host defence mechanisms are therefore not equally heritable and sensitive to environmental, sex, and age factors, potentially explaining why most of these components did not covary.

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“…The ecto‐parasitic fly Carnus hemapterus , (Diptera: Carnidae) is a 2‐mm long blood‐sucking fly that parasitises nestling birds (Walter and Hudde 1987, Kirkpatrick and Colvin 1989, Dawson and Bortolotti 1997, Roulin 1998). It uses a wide diversity of bird species as hosts (Capelle and Whitworth 1973, Dawson and Bortolotti 1997, Grimaldi 1997), although seems to parasitise preferentially hole‐nesting species (Grimaldi 1997).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relative importance of factors affecting nestling immune response differs between junior and senior nestlings within broods of hoopoesUpupa epops

Martín‐Vivaldi¹,

Ruiz‐Rodríguez²,

Méndez³

et al. 2006

Journal of Avian Biology

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Martín-Vivaldi, M., Ruiz-Rodríguez, M., Méndez, M. and Soler, J. J. 2006. Relative importance of factors affecting nestling immune response differs between junior and senior nestlings within broods of hoopoes Upupa epops. Á J. Avian Biol. 37: 467 Á476.Animals should invest in the immune system to protect themselves from parasites, but the cost of immune responses may limit investment depending on resource availability. In birds' broods, senior and junior chicks in size hierarchies face different rearing conditions, and thus we predicted that factors affecting immune response should differ between them. In asynchronously hatched hoopoe Upupa epops broods, we found that the immune response of senior nestlings was not related to their body condition, but positively related to risk of parasitism (which was indirectly estimated by laying date). This suggests that their immunocompetence is not limited by access to resources, and they can differentially invest in immune response with increasing risk of parasitism. On the other hand, immune response of junior nestlings was related to their body condition, but secondarily also to risk of parasitism. Our results agree with previous studies that have found significant influence of nutritional status and risk of parasitism on nestlings immune defence, but show that the effects of these environmental factors on nestling immunocompetence differ between nestlings occupying high and low rank positions in size hierarchies. The possible influence of maternal effects on the results found is also discussed. M. Martín-Vivaldi (correspondence)

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Ectoparasitic Fly Camus hemapterus (Diptera: Carnidae) in a Nesting Population of Common Barn-Owls (Strigiformes: Tytonidae)

Cited by 32 publications

References 0 publications

Are parasite intensity and related costs of the milichiid fly Carnus hemapterus related to host sociality?

Are parasite intensity and related costs of the milichiid fly Carnus hemapterus related to host sociality?

Origin-related, environmental, sex, and age determinants of immunocompetence, susceptibility to ectoparasites, and disease symptoms in the barn owl

Relative importance of factors affecting nestling immune response differs between junior and senior nestlings within broods of hoopoesUpupa epops

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