Louse Genus Research Articles

LINKING COEVOLUTIONARY HISTORY TO ECOLOGICAL PROCESS: DOVES AND LICE

Many host-specific parasites are restricted to a limited range of host species by ecological barriers that impede dispersal and successful establishment. In some cases, microevolutionary differentiation is apparent on top of host specificity, as evidenced by significant parasite population genetic structure among host populations. Ecological barriers responsible for specificity and genetic structure can, in principle, reinforce macroevolutionary processes that generate congruent host-parasite phylogenies. However, few studies have explored both the micro- and macroevolutionary ramifications of close association in a single host-parasite system. Here we compare the macroevolutionary histories of two genera of feather lice (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera) that both parasitize New World pigeons and doves (Aves: Columbiformes). Earlier work has shown that dove body lice (genus Physconelloides) are more host specific and have greater population genetic structure than dove wing lice (Columbicola). We reconstructed phylogenies for representatives of the two genera of lice and their hosts, using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences. The phylogenies were well resolved and generally well supported. We compared the phylogenies of body lice and wing lice to the host phylogeny using reconciliation analyses. We found that dove body lice show strong evidence of cospeciation whereas dove wing lice do not. Although the ecology of body and wing lice is very similar, differences in their dispersal ability may underlie these joint differences in host specificity, population genetic structure, and coevolutionary history.

A ‘penguin’ chewing louse Nesiotinus on a Kerguelen Diving-petrel ­(Pelecanoides urinatrix exsul): an indication of a phylogenetic relationship?

The confirmed discovery of an adult female of an as yet undescribed species of the genusNesiotinus (Phthiraptera, Ischnocera, Philopteridaesensu lato) on a Kerguelen Diving-petrel appears to provide the first certain parasitophyletic evidence for a phylogenetic relationship between penguins (Sphenisciformes) and tubenoses (Procellariiformes). An overview of the hospital distribution of chewing lice genera parasitising penguins and tubenoses is given.

The population genetics of host specificity: genetic differentiation in dove lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera).

Some species of parasites occur on a wide range of hosts while others are restricted to one or a few host species. The host specificity of a parasite species is determined, in part, by its ability to disperse between host species. Dispersal limitations can be studied by exploring the genetic structure of parasite populations both within a single species of host and across multiple host species. In this study we examined the genetic structure in the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene of two genera of lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) occurring on multiple sympatric species of doves in southern North and Central America. One genus, Columbicola, is generally less host-specific than the other, Physconelloides. For both genera we identified substantial genetic differentiation between populations of conspecific lice on different host species, generally 10-20% sequence divergence. This level of divergence is in the range of that often observed between species of these two genera. We used nested clade analysis to explore fine scale genetic structure within species of these feather lice. We found that species of Physconelloides exhibited more genetic structure, both among hosts and among geographical localities, than did species of Columbicola. In many cases, single haplotypes within species of Columbicola are distributed on multiple host species. Thus, the population genetic structure of species of Physconelloides reveals evidence of geographical differentiation on top of high host species specificity. Underlying differences in dispersal biology probably explain the differences in population genetic structure that we observed between Columbicola and Physconelloides.

Phylogenetic relationships in the louse genus Penenirmus based on nuclear (EF‐1α) and mitochondrial (COI) DNA sequences

Abstract. Ischnoceran lice in genus Penenirmus are parasites of birds in orders Piciformes and Passeriformes. No comprehensive revision of this genus has been published, but a few host‐based revisions have been done. Here we present a phylogenetic analysis of Penenirmus based on nuclear (elongation factor‐1 alpha) and mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase I) gene sequences. Sequences from portions of both these genes provide a well resolved tree that is relatively stable across methods of analysis and to bootstrap resampling. Some aspects of the Penenirmus phylogeny reflect the phylogeny of their avian hosts. We identified monophyly of a group of Penenirmus species occurring on Passeriformes as well as monophyly of a group containing species sometimes placed in a genus Picophilopterus. Species of Penenirmus occurring on Old World barbets fall in several positions at the base of the tree, suggesting that other lineages of Penenirmus may be derived from those occurring on Old World barbets.

Use of Lice to Identify Cowbird Hosts

AbstractBrood-parasitic nestlings have a unique opportunity to encounter host-specific lice (Phthiraptera). Lice are permanent ectoparasites found strictly on the body of the host, and they are transferred almost exclusively by bodily contact during copulation and care of young. We investigated whether Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) nestlings become infested with lice from their host parents and carry these after fledging, in effect bearing ectoparasite indicators of the species that raised them. Examining lice on cowbirds to identify foster parents would be less costly than determining parasitism patterns in the conventional way by finding many host nests. The 244 cowbird fledglings that we examined carried 11 species and 6 genera of lice, almost the entire spectrum of louse genera known from passerines. We also examined 320 songbirds from 30 species of hosts. As a group, the diversity of louse species on hosts was comparable to that on fledgling cowbirds: 13 species and 7 genera. In contrast, most individual host species yielded only one or two louse species, significantly fewer than on cowbird fledglings. Of 44 fledgling cowbirds with lice, 11 were linked with probable avian foster parents, and 18 other fledglings were linked with one of two possible foster parents. We conclude that cowbird fledglings carry away host lice and that our technique provides a partial assessment of parasitism patterns. The incomplete state of louse taxonomy requires that users of the technique obtain a reference collection of lice from host species in addition to the sample collection from cowbird fledglings. Lice from cowbird fledglings can be identified by a taxonomist and linked to particular host species, and the principal difficulty is the scarcity of skilled louse taxonomists. We also found an unusually rich louse fauna on 219 adult cowbirds, which supports the interpretation that lack of opportunity due to physical isolation has been the fundamental factor in the host specificity of lice in certain avian orders.

USE OF LICE TO IDENTIFY COWBIRD HOSTS

Brood-parasitic nestlings have a unique opportunity to encounter host-specific lice (Phthiraptera). Lice are permanent ectoparasites found strictly on the body of the host, and they are transferred almost exclusively by bodily contact during copulation and care of young. We investigated whether Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) nestlings become infested with lice from their host parents and carry these after fledging, in effect bearing ectoparasite indicators of the species that raised them. Examining lice on cowbirds to identify foster parents would be less costly than determining parasitism patterns in the conventional way by finding many host nests. The 244 cowbird fledglings that we examined carried 11 species and 6 genera of lice, almost the entire spectrum of louse genera known from passerines. We also examined 320 songbirds from 30 species of hosts. As a group, the diversity of louse species on hosts was comparable to that on fledgling cowbirds: 13 species and 7 genera. In contrast, most individual host species yielded only one or two louse species, significantly fewer than on cowbird fledglings. Of 44 fledgling cowbirds with lice, 11 were linked with probable avian foster parents, and 18 other fledglings were linked with one of two possible foster parents. We conclude that cowbird fledglings carry away host lice and that our technique provides a partial assessment of parasitism patterns. The incomplete state of louse taxonomy requires that users of the technique obtain a reference collection of lice from host species in addition to the sample collection from cowbird fledglings. Lice from cowbird fledglings can be identified by a taxonomist and linked to particular host species, and the principal difficulty is the scarcity of skilled louse taxonomists. We also found an unusually rich louse fauna on 219 adult cowbirds, which supports the interpretation that lack of opportunity due to physical isolation has been the fundamental factor in the host specificity of lice in certain avian orders.

Relationship of Host Coloniality to the Population Ecology of Avian Lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera)

We test the hypothesis that avian social system (territorial vs. colonial) has an impact on the ecological characteristics of avian lice. We compared the louse loads of two congeneric host species, the territorial hooded crow (Corvus corone cornix L.) and the colonial rook (C. frugilegus L.). Each species harboured the same five genera of lice ; one species of louse was shared, while the other four species on each host were host-specific. More rooks harboured Myrsidea, Philopterus, Brueelia and Allocolpocephalum spp. than crows. Rooks harboured more species-rich louse loads than crows. Louse loads were also more diverse on rooks than on crows. The frequency distributions of lice on rooks were less aggregated than on crows. Sex ratios of lice were less biased on rooks than on crows. Biased sex ratios were correlated with the subpopulation size of lice on individual hosts, making it necessary to control for subpopulation size in comparative analyses. These findings may result from the increased frequency of horizontal transmissions via increased body-to-body contacts among colonial rooks, compared to territorial hooded crows.

Kaysius emersoni (Mallophaga: Menoponidae), a New Genus and New Species of Louse from the Wedge-Billed Woodcreeper (Passeriformes: Dendrocolaptidae) of Peru

A new genus of chewing louse, Kaysius , and new species, K. emersoni , are described and illustrated using specimens collected from the wedge-billed woodcreeper, Glyphorhynchus spirurus (Vieillot), of Peru.

Species distribution of genusQuadraceps(Mallophaga: Philopteridae) on New Zealand endemic plovers

Abstract The louse genus Quadraceps Clay & Meinertzhagen is represented on New Zealand endemic Charadriinae by Q. dominella Timmermann, Q. novaeseelandiae Timmermann, and Q. cedemajori Timmermann, which are parasitic on Charadrius obscurus (Gmelin), Thinornis novaeseelandiae (Gmelin), and Anarhynchus frontalis Quoy & Gaimard respectively. Charadrius bicinctus Jardine & Selby is parasitised by both Q. novaeseelandiae and Q. cedemajori. This pattern of distribution is unusual, in that two Quadraceps species are sympatric on the same host individuals, and host species that are not closely related have louse species in common. It seems probable that C. bicinctus has been secondarily colonised by two species of Quadraceps. One species appears to have primarily evolved on 7 novaeseelandiae and the other on A. frontalis.

Studies in Neotropical Mallophaga, XVII: A New Family (Trochiliphagidae) and a New Genus of the Lice of Hummingbirds

Studies in Neotropical Mallophaga, XVII: A New Family (Trochiliphagidae) and a New Genus of the Lice of Hummingbirds

A new genus and species of parrot louse from South Africa

(1957). A new genus and species of parrot louse from South Africa. Annals and Magazine of Natural History: Vol. 10, No. 118, pp. 733-736.