Abundance and stability of populations of a chewing louse,Mulcticola macrocephalus(Phthiraptera: Philopteridae), on common nighthawks,Chordeiles minor(Caprimulgiformes: Caprimulgidae) in Manitoba, Canada

Abstract

Populations of the chewing louse, Mulcticola macrocephalus (Kellogg) (Phthiraptera: Philopteridae), were investigated on its host the common nighthawk, Chordeiles minor (Forster) (Aves: Caprimulgiformes: Caprimulgidae), from 1992 to 2013 in southern Manitoba, Canada. The louse was present in all but one year with an annual prevalence of 0.52, mean intensity of 16 lice per infested bird, a ratio of 0.81 males and 1.89 nymphs to female (n=178). Intensity was the same in the first 11 and last nine years of the study, but prevalence dropped from 0.59 to 0.34 between the two decades. Population variability for annual abundance, measured as PV, was 0.49. In August, adults and newly fledged nighthawks had a prevalence of infestation similar to the adults that immigrated in the spring, but mean intensity did not reach spring levels until September–October. Samples of hosts were small in some years, reducing the precision of parameter estimates, particularly those based on ratios. The population parameters for M. macrocephalus on a native migrant host were intermediate in the ranges of parameters for four species of lice on non-migratory, introduced feral pigeons, Columba livia Gmelin (Aves: Columbiformes: Columbidae), but the distributions of M. macrocephalus among nighthawks was less severely aggregated than those from pigeons.

Abundance and stability of populations of chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera and Ischnocera) infesting two species of woodpeckers (Aves: Piciformes: Picidae)

“…This sampling error might affect estimates of correlation and regression coefficients as well as PV. An effect of low sample size was observed previously for PV (Galloway and Lamb 2015b). To assess the effects of sampling error, correlation and regression coefficients and PV values were re-estimated using subsets of the data excluding data for years with a few birds, the samples that might contribute most to error.…”

“…2011, 2012), as well as in Coleoptera and Lepidoptera (Lamb and Boivin 2017). In previous studies of four chewing lice on feral pigeons, Columba livia Gmelin (Columbiformes: Columbidae), and one on common nighthawks, Chordeiles minor (Forster) (Caprimulgiformes: Caprimulgidae), there were species-specific patterns of abundance and population variability although these species of lice have similar feeding habits and often occur on the same individual birds (Galloway and Lamb 2014, 2015a, 2015b). The population variabilities of all these louse species were relatively low in comparison with other species for which this aspect of population dynamics has been studied (Galloway and Lamb 2014).…”

“…The population variabilities of all these louse species were relatively low in comparison with other species for which this aspect of population dynamics has been studied (Galloway and Lamb 2014). The populations of lice on pigeons were stable in the sense that no trends in abundance were detected over a decade or more (Galloway and Lamb 2014), whereas the prevalence of the louse on common nighthawks declined by 40% over two decades, possibly as a result of a decline in the host population (Galloway and Lamb 2015b). Louse populations on woodpeckers were also documented over two decades, providing an opportunity to assess the generality of the patterns of population stability observed in previous studies.…”

New species of parasitic nasal mites infesting birds in Manitoba, Canada (Mesostigmata, Rhinonyssidae)

“…The common nighthawk ( Chordeilesminor ) has been a focus for studies of ectoparasites in Manitoba (Galloway 2006, Galloway and Lamb 2015). Despite the apparent decline in populations of common nighthawk in the province (Taylor 1996), these birds are frequently submitted to rehabilitation hospitals.…”

First records of the chewing louse Mulcticola hypoleucus (Denny, 1842) on the Eurasian nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus Linnaeus, 1758 in the Benelux

“…Little is known about population dynamics of species of Mulcticola on nightjars and nighthawks. A recent study of Galloway & Lamb [21], however, suggests that parasite intensity on adult nighthawks Chordeiles minor (Foster, JR, 1771) increases in spring. This would ensure females of the chewing louse Mulcticola macrocephalus (Kellogg, 1896) were transferred to chicks during the incubation period.…”