Pathology of Gastrointestinal Helminthiasis in the Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

Greve, John; Albers, H. F.; Suto, Barbara; Grimes, Jeannie

doi:10.2307/1590410

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…and a trematode (Renicola sp.). These parasites have low virulence in Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) and so probably play only a secondary role in population fluctuations (Greve et al 1986). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chronic lack of breeding by Galápagos Blue-footed Boobies and associated population decline

Anchundia¹,

Huyvaert²,

Anderson³

2014

ACE

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ABSTRACT. A survey of Blue-footed Boobies (Sula nebouxii excisa) throughout the taxon's range in Galápagos, Ecuador found ~6400 adults, compared to a rough estimate of 20,000 in the 1960s. Few pairs bred in 2011-2013 and almost no birds in juvenile plumage were seen. Long-term data suggest that poor breeding began in 1998. Lack of recruitment over this period would mean that the current population is mostly elderly and experiencing senescent decline in performance. Anthropogenic effects such as introduced predators are unlikely to explain this decline because islands with and without such factors exhibited the same low breeding. The poor reproduction seems to be linked to diet. Previous work indicated that sardine and herring (Clupeidae) supported successful breeding, but these fish were mostly absent from the diet during this study, except in the central part of Galápagos, where most breeding attempts during this study occurred. Elsewhere in the eastern Pacific sardine abundance has decreased dramatically by natural processes in the last 15 years, as part of a well-documented and apparently natural cycle. This cyclic change in abundance provides a possible explanation for the recent demographic changes in Blue-footed Boobies in Galápagos. Whether natural or anthropogenic in origin, the implications of senescent decline in breeding ability and survival are dramatic for this genetically distinct icon of biodiversity and ecotourism. Absence chronique de reproduction chez le Fou à pieds bleus des Galápagos et déclin inhérent de la populationRÉSUMÉ. Un inventaire du Fou à pieds bleus (Sula nebouxii excisa) dans l'ensemble de l'aire occupée aux Galápagos, en Équateur, fait état d'~6 400 adultes, comparativement aux ~20 000 estimés grossièrement dans les années 1960. Seulement quelques couples se sont reproduits en 2011-2013 et presque aucun oiseau en plumage juvénile n'a été observé. Les données à long terme indiquent que la reproduction est mauvaise depuis 1998. Le manque de recrutement durant la période 1998-2013 laisse supposer que la population actuelle serait surtout constituée de vieux individus aux performances reproductrices déclinantes en raison du phénomène de sénescence. Les causes de source anthropique, comme les prédateurs introduits, n'expliquent vraisemblablement pas ce déclin, car toutes les îles, avec ou sans prédateurs, présentent le même faible taux de reproduction. Ce faible taux semble plutôt lié à l'alimentation. Ainsi, des études antérieures ont révélé que les sardines et les harengs (Clupeidae) constituaient la base de l'alimentation d'individus s'étant reproduits avec succès dans le passé; or, ces poissons étaient pratiquement absents de l'alimentation des fous lors de notre étude, hormis dans le centre des Galápagos où la plupart des tentatives de reproduction se sont produites. Ailleurs dans l'est du Pacifique, le nombre de sardines a diminué dramatiquement durant les quinze dernières années, selon un cycle bien documenté et apparemment naturel. Il est donc possible que ce changement cycliq...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chronic lack of breeding by Galápagos Blue-footed Boobies and associated population decline

Anchundia¹,

Huyvaert²,

Anderson³

2014

ACE

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“…For example, nestling brown pelicans 4-5 weeks old from Louisiana contained over 18,000 specimens of P. longus along the small intestine and ceca, many in the mucosa and lamina propria. Mesostephanus appendiculatoides, present in lower numbers (e.g., averaging 1,112 specimens per bird from the Floridian Gulf of Mexico coast) attached to the villar tips and occasionally penetrated the epithelium (Humphrey et al 1978, Greve et al 1987. It was acquired from coastal silversides as well as mullets.…”

Section: Bird Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parasites of the American White Pelican

Overstreet

Curran

2005

GCR

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Metazoan symbionts, including parasites, infecting the American white pelican (AWP) Pelecanus erythrorhynchos comprise a list of 75 species, 7 of which are new host records. Several new geographic records are also presented, but generally these have a low value because of the migratory nature of the bird. Evidence suggests that some parasites, mostly flies and other arthropods but also nematodes and digeneans, produce detrimental behavioral or pathologic changes in the AWP. Some of the arthropods transmit microbial agents to the pelican. Two digeneans that have the AWP as a definitive host harm and even kill their catfish intermediate host, especially in aquaculture, and another causes abnormalities and mortality in amphibians. Some of the arthropods with low hostspecificity can potentially transmit harmful microbial agents to humans and domestic animals. A few avian bloodflukes, intestinal flukes, and nematodes can potentially cause "swimmers itch," gastroenteritis, and "anisakiasis," respectively, in humans. Because of the life cycles of some helminths, presence of those worms can provide an indication as to the dietary items of a specific pelican individual, where the individual has been, and how long it has been present in an area. Feather mites, lice, and diplostomoid digeneans serve as good parasites to indicate phylogenetic relationships among different pelican species as well as relationships among the Pelecanidae and other families such as the Sulidae.

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“…Undetermined species have also been reported, as Contracaecum sp. or spp., from the Gulf of Mexico (Courtney et al, 1977;Humphrey et al, 1978;Deardorff & Overstreet, 1980;Greve et al, 1986;Dronen et al, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two new species of Contracaecum Railliet & Henry, 1912 (Nematoda: Anisakidae), C. fagerholmi n. sp. and C. rudolphii F from the brown pelican Pelecanus occidentalis in the northern Gulf of Mexico

et al. 2011

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DNA sequencing of the nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacers (ITS) and mitochondrial rrnS and cox2 genes, and analysis of polymorphisms in restriction profiles in the ITS and rrnS, were used to characterise anisakid nematodes belonging to Contracaecum Railliet & Henry, 1912 infecting the brown pelican Pelecanus occidentalis (L.) in Galveston Bay, Texas and Sarasota Bay, Florida. Molecular data led to the detection of two new species: Contracaecum fagerholmi n. sp., which was also supported by clear morphological evidence, and Contracaecum rudolphii F, a new cryptic species within the Contracaecum rudolphii Hartwich, 1964 complex. Bayesian phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that C. fagerholmi and C. rudolphii F form two well-separated clusters, with C. fagerholmi being closely related to Contracaecum bioccai Mattiucci et al., 2008 and C. rudolphii F being included in the C. rudolphii complex. C. fagerholmi can be readily differentiated morphologically from all of its congeners, other than C. microcephalum (Rudolphii 1809) and the five currently recognised members of the C. rudolphii complex (C. rudolphii A, B, C, D and E). C. fagerholmi differs from C. microcephalum in the length of the spicules and the shape of the distal tip of the spicules, and from C. rudolphii (sensu lato) in the shape and size of the ventro-lateral and dorsal lips and by having interlabia which are not distally bifurcate. Further studies are needed to determine which morphological characteristics can be used to distinguish the cryptic species of the C. rudolphii complex in order to assign them with formal names. The recovery of a third species, C. bioccai, from the brown pelican confirms its occurrence in this host and extends its known geographical distribution.

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Pathology of Gastrointestinal Helminthiasis in the Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

Cited by 13 publications

References 4 publications

Chronic lack of breeding by Galápagos Blue-footed Boobies and associated population decline

Chronic lack of breeding by Galápagos Blue-footed Boobies and associated population decline

Parasites of the American White Pelican

Two new species of Contracaecum Railliet & Henry, 1912 (Nematoda: Anisakidae), C. fagerholmi n. sp. and C. rudolphii F from the brown pelican Pelecanus occidentalis in the northern Gulf of Mexico

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