Helminth community structure in two species of arctic-breeding waterfowl

Abstract

Climate change is occurring rapidly at high latitudes, and subsequent changes in parasite communities may have implications for hosts including wildlife and humans. Waterfowl, in particular, harbor numerous parasites and may facilitate parasite movement across broad geographic areas due to migratory movements. However, little is known about helminth community structure of waterfowl at northern latitudes. We investigated the helminth communities of two avian herbivores that breed at high latitudes, Pacific black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans), and greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons), to examine effects of species, geographic area, age, and sex on helminth species richness, aggregation, prevalence, and intensity. We collected 83 and 58 black brant and white-fronted geese, respectively, from Arctic and Subarctic Alaska July–August 2014. We identified 10 known helminth species (Amidostomum anseris, Amidostomum spatulatum, Drepanidotaenia lanceolata, Epomidiostomum crami, Heterakis dispar, Notocotylus attenuatus, Tetrameres striata, Trichostrongylus tenuis, Tschertkovilepis setigera, and Wardoides nyrocae) and 1 previously undescribed trematode. All geese sampled were infected with at least one helminth species. All helminth species identified were present in both age classes and species, providing evidence of transmission at high latitudes and suggesting broad host susceptibility. Also, all but one helminth species were present at both sites, suggesting conditions are suitable for transmission across a large latitudinal/environmental gradient. Our study provides important baseline information on avian parasites that can be used to evaluate the effects of a changing climate on host-parasite distributions.

Comparative morphology and biology of nematodes of genus Heterakis (Nematoda, Heterakidae), parasites of the domestic goose (Anser anser) in Ukraine

“…Nematodes are the most widely distributed parasites of domestic and wild animals, and the genus Heterakis Dujardin, 1845 includes especially common and prevalent parasite species. Representatives of the genus have been found in domestic chickens in West and South Africa (Phiri et al, 2007;Ogbaje et al, 2012), Great Britain (Pennycott & Steel, 2001) and Germany (Kaufmann et al, 2011;Wongrak et al, 2014), in Colinus virginianus, Branta bernicla nigricans, Chen caerulescens caerulescens, Chen rossii and Anser albifrons in USA (Moore & Simberloff, 1990;Shutler et al, 2012;Amundson et al, 2016;Boone et al, 2017), in wild migratory birds and domestic waterfowl in South Asia (Hoque et al, 2014), and in birds of the families Psittacidae, Cacatuidae, Phasianidae and Anatidae in Spain (Cordón et al, 2009). In Ukraine, nematodes of the genus Heterakis have been found in domestic birds (chickens, turkeys and geese) with prevalence ranging 2.9-100.0% (Bogach & Taranenko, 2003;Zaikina & Marshalkina, 2015).…”

Morphometric characteristics of embryonic development Heterakis dispar isolated from geese

“…Так, гетеракіси були виділені від домашніх курей, гусей, качок, куріпок, білолобих гусей, папугоподібних птахів, фазанів, дикорї водоплавної птиці у більшості країн світу, зокрема й в Україні. Причому екстенсивність ураження птиці збудником гетеракозу в окремих господарствах сягала 100% (Bogach & Taranenko, 2003;Cordón et al, 2009;Ogbaje et al, 2012;Hoque et al, 2014;Wongrak et al, 2014;Amundson et al, 2016;Boone et al, 2017).…”

Molecular Identification and Phylogenetic Analysis of Heterakis dispar Isolated from Geese

“…It is caused by the Heterakis species (Nematoda, Secernentea, Ascaridida, Heterakoidea, and Heterakoidea). These nematodes infect the ceca of numerous species of wild and domestic birds [1, 2]. In domestic birds, three species of Heterakis, differentiated mostly by the morphological characters of males are noted and described: Heterakis gallinarum (Schrank, 1788) noted mainly in gallinaceous birds such as chicken, turkey, guinea fowl, partridge, quail, but also in waterfowl.…”

“…Not much information is available about H. dispar including epizootiology and pathogenicity [1, 5, 13]. Because of differences in morphology and host specificity H. dispar was qualified as a different species than H. gallinarum and H. isolonche, but the phylogenetic relationships were unclear for a long time, because of a lack of H .…”