Abstract
Chewing lice were collected from small shorebirds (Charadriformes: Scolopacidae) overwintering in foraging grounds of coastal Ecuador. On 27 occasions at least one louse (3.7%) was collected from six host species. Based on external morphological characters, at least two species of chewing lice could be preliminary identified (family: Menoponidae), including Actornithophilus umbrinus (Burmeister, 1842) and Austromenopon sp. A. umbrinus was found in the Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri), Least Sandpiper (C. minutilla), Stilt Sandpiper (C. himantopus), Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) and Wilson's phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor), while Austromenopon sp. is presumably the first record collected from the Surfbird (Aphriza virgata). These findings indicate that the distribution of these chewing lice species covers at least the regions around the equator (latitude 0°) until the Arctic in the north, but probably also includes the entire winter distribution area of the host species. This is the first study of chewing lice from Ecuador's mainland coast and more research is required to understand the host-parasite ecology and ectoparasitic infection in shorebirds stopping over the region.
Highlights
Bird chewing lice are obligate, permanent ectoparasites with a direct life cycle passed entirely on the body of the host, feeding mainly on feathers and dermal debris some specie feed on blood (CLAYTON; WALTHER, 2001; CLAYTON; DROWN, 2001; CLAYTON et al, 2008)
A. umbrinus was found in the Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri), Least Sandpiper (C. minutilla), Stilt Sandpiper (C. himantopus), Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) and Wilson’s phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor), while Austromenopon sp. is presumably the first record collected from the Surfbird (Aphriza virgata)
In 1991, a banding program was started along the continental coast of Ecuador with the aim to know more about the wintering ecology of pacific migratory shorebirds
Summary
Bird chewing lice are obligate, permanent ectoparasites with a direct life cycle passed entirely on the body of the host, feeding mainly on feathers and dermal debris some specie feed on blood (CLAYTON; WALTHER, 2001; CLAYTON; DROWN, 2001; CLAYTON et al, 2008). To the best of our understanding, the nearest studies in the equatorial zone of the Southeastern Pacific Ocean region and South America are those done by Clayton and Price (1989), who discovered a new species of Menoponidae from a Barred Forest-Falcon, Micrastur ruficollis (Falconidae) in Peru and more recent studies on ectoparasites (e.g., chewing lice, mite) conducted in Galapagos hawks, Buteo galapagoensis (WHITEMAN; PARKER, 2005), and Galapagos finches, e.g., Geospiza spp., Certhidea olivacea (VILLA et al, 2013).
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Schedule a callMore From: Revista brasileira de parasitologia veterinaria = Brazilian journal of veterinary parasitology : Orgao Oficial do Colegio Brasileiro de Parasitologia Veterinaria
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