Comparison of the helminth fauna of California gulls, Larus californicus, and ring-billed gulls, Larus delawarensis, at Beaverhill and Miquelon Lakes, Alberta

Abstract

The helminth fauna of California and ring-billed gulls at Beaverhill and Miquelon lakes, Alberta, was studied. The extensity of the occurrence of Plagiorchis elegans, Diplostomum spathaceum, Hymenolepis californicus, and Aprocta turgida and the intensity of Plagiorchis elegans and Paricterotaenia porosa were significantly greater in the ring-billed gull than in the California gull. The greater occurrence of Diphyllobothrium dendriticum, Schistocephalus solidus, Diplostomum spathaceum, and Cotylurus erraticus in the ring-billed gull indicates that this bird eats more infected fish, in the vicinity of Beaverhill and Miquelon Lakes, than does the California gull.