Chewing lice from high‐altitude and migrating birds in Yunnan, China, with descriptions of two new species of Guimaraesiella

Abstract

In total, 366 birds representing 55 species in 24 families and eight orders, were examined for chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera, Ischnocera) in two high‐altitude localities in Yunnan Province, China. In Ailaoshan, almost all of the birds examined were resident passeriforms, of which 36% were parasitized by chewing lice. In Jinshanyakou, most birds were on migration, and included both passerine and non‐passerine birds. Of the passerine birds caught in Jinshanyakou, only one bird (0.7%) was parasitized by chewing lice. The prevalence of Myrsidea and Brueelia‐complex lice on birds caught in Ailaoshan was higher than in previous reports. Of the chewing lice identifiable to species level, three represent new records for China: Actornithophilus hoplopteri (Mjöberg, 1910), Maculinirmus ljosalfar Gustafsson & Bush, 2017 and Quadraceps sinensis Timmermann, 1954. In total, 17 new host records are included, of which we describe two as new species in the Brueelia‐complex: Guimaraesiella (Cicchinella) ailaoshanensis sp. nov. ex Schoeniparus dubius dubius (Hume, 1874) and G. (C.) montisodalis sp. nov. ex Fulvetta manipurensis tonkinensis Delacour & Jabouille, 1930. This published work has been registered in ZooBank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9FC3D8EE-2CED-4DBE-A1DB-471B71260D27.

Population Dynamics of Chewing Lice (Phthiraptera) Infesting Birds (Aves)

“…How many lice can an observer expect to find on a sample of birds? In broad but short-term surveys of many bird species in Peru (24) and China (20,54), host species had 0.4-1.9 species of lice and 0.5-4.2 louse individuals per bird specimen. In long-term studies in Canada with large numbers of specimens per host, 16 bird species hosted 1-4 species of lice (mean of 2.3), with a mean abundance of 93 lice per specimen, 67% having some lice, and a mean intensity of 188 lice per infested bird (47,49,50,52).…”

Multivariate study of lice (Insecta: Psocodea: Phthiraptera) assemblages hosted by hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae)

“…Since bird body mass was unrelated to elevation, this covariation is not rooted in differences in body mass at different elevations. Gustafsson et al (2019) also reported an unusually high prevalence of lice on small passerines at high geographic elevations. They suggested that this may reflect differences in environmental factors such as ambient relative humidity, which is known to affect some louse assemblages (Bush et al , 2009).…”

“…Since highelevation habitats may provide more limited food resources to hummingbirds than low-elevation ones, aggressive interactions with body-to-body contacts (both within and between species) may be more frequent, providing more opportunities for horizontal transmission of lice (Johnson and Clayton, 2003) at high elevations. This may be analogous to the effect of forming mixed species feeding flocks in passerines (Gustafsson et al, 2019). Alternatively, birds' energy constraints may be stricter at higher elevations so that birds may allocate less time and energy to antiparasitic behaviours like preening.…”

Coevolutionary analysis of the Philopteroides Mey, 2004 (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera) parasitizing bulbuls (Passeriformes: Pycnonotidae)

“…Birds were caught and fumigated for lice in several localities across South China during 2012-2021 (Figure 2) using standard mist nets (net size: 2 m × 6 m; 2 m × 12 m) following the methods outlined by Gustafsson et al (2019a). Hosts were identified using MacKinnon and Phillipps (2000) or Arlott (2017); host taxonomy has been updated to conform with Clements et al (2021).…”