Abstract
The diversity of permanent ectoparasites is likely underestimated due to the difficulty of collecting samples. Lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) are permanent ectoparasites of birds and mammals; there are approximately 5,000 species described and many more undescribed, particularly in the Neotropics. We document the louse genera collected from birds sampled in Peru (2006–2007) and Colombia (2009–2016), from 22 localities across a variety of ecosystems, ranging from lowland tropical forest and Llanos to high elevation cloud forest. We identified 35 louse genera from a total of 210 bird species belonging to 37 avian families and 13 orders. These genera belong to two suborders and three families of lice: Amblycera, families Menoponidae (present on 131 bird species) and Ricinidae (39 bird species); and Ischnocera, family Philopteridae (119 bird species). We compared our bird-louse associations with data in Price et al. (2003) and recently published Neotropical studies. The majority of bird-louse associations (51.9%) were new, with most of these coming from Passeriformes, the most diverse avian order, with the most poorly known louse fauna. Finally, we found geographical variation in louse infestation and prevalence rates. With this study, we report the first comprehensive documentation of bird-louse associations for Colombia and substantially increase the known associations documented for Peru.
Highlights
Parasites are one of the most common forms of life on the planet (Price 1980)
We identified 35 louse genera from a total of 210 bird species belonging to 37 avian families and 13 orders
Colombia and Peru harbor the richest avifaunas in the world (Jetz et al 2012), with 1,878 and 1,852 bird species, respectively (Avendaño et al 2017), and, correspondingly, the highest diversity of avian lice is thought to be found in these regions (e.g. Valim and Weckstein (2013))
Summary
Parasites are one of the most common forms of life on the planet (Price 1980). Colombia and Peru harbor the richest avifaunas in the world (Jetz et al 2012), with 1,878 and 1,852 bird species, respectively (Avendaño et al 2017), and, correspondingly, the highest diversity of avian lice is thought to be found in these regions Clayton et al (1992) and the Neotropics in general (Clayton et al (1992), Marini et al (1996), Valim and Weckstein (2013) This is due in part to the poor representation of louse specimens in museum collections and the lack of louse specialists and field workers who sample parasites when collecting or handling birds. Our main objective is to provide novel information about the composition and distribution of lice on Colombian and Peruvian birds
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