The incidence of American swallow bugs (Oeciacus vicarius) in barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) colonies in northeast Texas

Kopachena, Jeffrey G.; Cochran, B.; Nichols, Tammy B.

doi:10.3376/1081-1710(2007)32[280:tioasb]2.0.co;2

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 11 publications

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“…Bugs can endure long periods of host absence (>12 months). They seemingly prefer to parasitize Cliff Swallows, but they will also take blood meals from Barn Swallows ( Hirundo rustica ) and invasive House Sparrows ( Passer domesticus ) that nest at Cliff Swallow colony sites (Kopachena et al 2007, O’Brien et al 2011). Bugs undergo five instar stages before becoming adults, and temperature affects bug development time (Loye 1985).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The cost of ectoparasitism in Cliff Swallows declines over 35 years

Brown

Hannebaum

O’Brien

et al. 2021

Ecological Monographs

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Host-parasite dynamics often vary over time, brought about by changes in the parasite's virulence or the host's ability to resist or tolerate the parasite. Although virulence evolution in microparasites is well studied, we know little about temporal change in the pathogenicity of macroparasites such as blood-feeding insects. Using data collected over 35 yr, we report a reduction in pathogenicity of the hematophagous swallow bug (Cimex vicarius) on its Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) host. Relative to experimentally fumigated, parasite-free nests, the negative effects of bugs on nestling swallow body mass and survival were less in the later years of the study than in the earlier years, and the negative relationship between nestling body mass and bug abundance became weaker over time. The survival of adult birds exposed to swallow bugs increased throughout the study, while survival of birds from parasitefree nests decreased over time. Swallow bug abundance per nest, bug body size, and bug age ratios did not change during the study. Between-colony transmission of bugs showed less immigration into larger colonies than in earlier studies, but there was no net change in transmission. Cliff Swallows did not reduce their exposure to bugs over time by being more likely to avoid infested nest or colony sites. Parents increased the number of food deliveries to their offspring over time in the presence of parasites, but the total amount of food delivered was unchanged. The reduced cost of swallow bug ectoparasitism does not seem related to changes in parasite narrow-sense virulence, the host's avoidance of parasites, the presence of alternative hosts for bugs, or climate-driven phenological mismatches. The results probably reflect the Cliff Swallow's evolving of greater tolerance to swallow bugs, brought about by the bird's shift from natural cliff nesting sites to artificial structures that may harbor more bugs than natural cliffs. This study shows that hosts can respond relatively rapidly to high levels of parasitism, and provides support for models that suggest the evolution of tolerance should be expected in some host-parasite systems.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The cost of ectoparasitism in Cliff Swallows declines over 35 years

Brown

Hannebaum

O’Brien

et al. 2021

Ecological Monographs

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Group-size effects on virus prevalence depend on the presence of an invasive species

Moore

O’Brien

Brown

2021

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Effects of a novel ectoparasite on condition and mouth coloration of nestling barn swallows

Dugas

Border

2021

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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Parasites have profound and widespread implications for the ecology and evolution of hosts, and human activity has increased the frequency of interactions between hosts and parasites that have not co-evolved. For example, by building habitat attractive for nesting, humans might have facilitated range expansion by cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonata) and barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) in North America, concurrently allowing a haematophagous ectoparasite of cliff swallows, the swallow bug (Oeciacus vicarious), to infest the nests of barn swallows. We found that in barn swallow nests infested with swallow bugs, nestlings weighed less and had lower haematocrit, and the within-brood variation in body mass and tarsus length was higher. Information about these negative effects might be available to parents via mouth coloration, a condition-dependent component of the begging signal. We found that nestlings from infested broods had lower-intensity carotenoid-based and ultraviolet mouth colours, although most elements of colour were unrelated to parasites. Host switching by the swallow bug offers excellent opportunities to understand the direct and indirect effects of a novel parasite and might also afford insights into how parasites cope with selective pressures exerted by closely related hosts with key ecological differences.

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The incidence of American swallow bugs (Oeciacus vicarius) in barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) colonies in northeast Texas

Cited by 5 publications

References 11 publications

The cost of ectoparasitism in Cliff Swallows declines over 35 years

The cost of ectoparasitism in Cliff Swallows declines over 35 years

Group-size effects on virus prevalence depend on the presence of an invasive species

Effects of a novel ectoparasite on condition and mouth coloration of nestling barn swallows

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