Fleas from bird nests in southwestern Tuva

14 species of fleas were recorded from 173 nests of 47 species of birds. Most abundant of them are Ceratophyllus vagabundus, C. gallinae, C. borealis. The abundance of fleas was found to depend on season and hosts' habitat. The above species were most frequently encountered in nests in May. The high abundance index of fleas was registered in birds nesting in hollows, burrows of small mammals and in clefts of rocks.     

Fleas of the Lake Evoron vole (Siphonaptera)

In Lower Priamurje in summer of 1977-1979 Microtus evoronensis was parasitized mainly by fleas of Ceratophyllus calcarifer. Other seven species of fleas recorded from this animal are very rare. They are connected, in general, with other small mammals and birds.     

Insect ectoparasites on wild birds in the Czech Republic during the pre-breeding period

Wild passerine birds (Passeriformes) from the northeastern part of the Czech Republic were examined for ectoparasites during the pre-breeding period in 2007. Two species of fleas of the genera Ceratophyllus and Dasypsyllus (Siphonaptera: Ceratophyllidae), and 23 species of chewing lice belonging to the genera Ricinus, Myrsidea, Menacanthus (Phthiraptera: Menoponidae), Brueelia, Penenirmus, and Philopterus (Phthiraptera: Philopteridae) were found on 108 birds of 16 species. Distribution of insect ectoparasites found on wild birds during pre-breeding was compared with previous data from the post-breeding period. There was no difference in total prevalence of chewing lice in pre-breeding and post-breeding periods. Higher prevalence of fleas and slightly higher mean intensity of chewing lice were found on birds during the pre-breeding period. There was a significant difference in total prevalence but equal mean intensity of chewing lice on resident and migrating birds.     

Variable effects of the Hen Flea Ceratophyllus gallinae on the breeding success of the Great Tit Parus major in relation to weather conditions

We investigated the effect of an ectoparasite, the Hen Flea Ceratophyllus gallinae (Siphonaptera), on the reproductive success of the Great Tit Parus major, a hole-nesting passerine bird. Parasite levels of cleaned nesting boxes were experimentally manipulated during the egg-laying period of the birds either by spraying nests with pyrethrin or by introducing c. 100 adult fleas, while other nests were left as controls. Only in 2 out of 5 years did hen fleas significantly affect reproductive success. Nestlings from parasitized nests showed reduced body-mass, tarsus-length and condition, whereas wing-length did not differ between nestlings reared with or without fleas. The impact of the fleas on the growth performance of host nestlings was more noticeable in years with lower temperatures and higher precipitation.     

Of fleas and geese: the impact of an increasing nest ectoparasite on reproductive success

Past studies on the relationship between nest ectoparasites and avian fitness have been primarily limited to altricial hosts. Life history strategies of precocial and altricial birds vary considerably, limiting our ability to infer the effect of nest parasites on fitness of precocial species. Ross's Chen rossii and lesser snow goose Chen caerulescens caerulescens populations have been growing at unprecedented high rates. New limiting factors on vital rates of these precocial birds may arise after populations have been released from previously regulating factors. The flea Ceratophyllus vagabundus vagabundus is an apparently newly emerging nest parasite in the arctic goose colony at Karrak Lake, Nunavut, Canada. We examined the relationship between flea abundance (measured by the proportion of goose eggs covered by blood in each nest) and goose reproductive success from 2001–2004. In three of four years of study, nest success was inversely related to flea abundance in nests. Despite the potential for high costs to individuals, the overall effects of fleas on goose nesting success have thus far been small. We demonstrated that nest parasites negatively influence reproductive success of precocial bird hosts despite host life history strategy of leaving the nest quickly after hatch, which results in minimal exposure to nest parasites compared to altricial birds that raise their young in the nest.     

Automatic recording of flea activity

An Insect Activity Monitor was created to measure the behavioural responses of fleas (Siphonaptera). The apparatus allows for a range of visual, chemo- and mechanoreceptor cues to be presented. The jumping response is detected by counting amplified pulses produced as the fleas land on a stretched membrane held over a microphone. Horizontal movements are detected using a system of infra-red beams and phototransistors which, when broken, are counted as a measure of activity. The apparatus was tested using Ceratophyllus hirundinis (Curtis), Ceratophyllus farreni (Rothschild) and Ceratophyllus rusticus (Wagner), co-inhabiting species from the nests of the house martin (Delichon u.urbica L.). No unaided emigration or immigration has been demonstrated in these species (Clark, 1988) and much of their time is spent confined to the darkness of the nest. In addition to species contrasts, females were more active than males and fleas were more active at 25 degrees C than at 18 degrees C. The more active bird flea Ceratophyllus garei (Rothschild) from the nest of pheasant (Phasianus colchicus L), was tested for responses to light of varying intensity. Activity was stimulated by white light, but not proportional to light intensity.     

Arthropods (Acarina, Coleoptera, Siphonaptera) in nests of hoopoe (Upupa epops) in Central Europe

In 1993–1995 and 2009–2011, during investigation of reproduction biology of hoopoe, 63 nests of this species were collected after fledging of the chicks in Slovakia and Austria and their arthropod fauna was analyzed. Altogether 5,481 individuals and 34 species of mesostigmatic mites were found in 82.5% of the nests examined. The nidicolous mite Androlaelaps casalis was most abundant and frequent, representing 91.7% of all individuals. The richest in species were saprophilous mites (64.7% of all recorded species), while ectoparasites of the genera Dermanyssus and Ornithonyssus represented only 0.4% of all mites. Only 8 beetle species represented by 65 individuals were found in 18 nests. The dominant trophical group were carnivores (mainly nidicolous Gnathoncus buyssoni) with almost identical representation in (86.2%), followed by a similar representation of necrophags (10.8%). Unlike nests of other birds, the typical nidicolous species Haploglossa puncticollis and the fungivors were absent due to the dry character of studied countryside and placement of the nests in boxes situated in vineyard cottages. Only one species of fleas, Ceratophyllus gallinae — parasitizing first of all in the passeriform birds and being particularly abundant in the cavity nesting birds was recorded in hoopoe nests.     

燕角叶蚤端突亚种幼虫形态及与禽角叶蚤欧亚亚种幼虫的比较(英文)

本文详细描述了尚未报道的燕角叶蚤端突亚种Ceratophyllus farreni chaoi幼虫形态并与同属的禽角叶蚤欧亚亚种Ceratophyllus gallinae tribulis幼虫进行比较。 这两亚种的共同特征是:头部,1—3胸节,1—9腹节的毛序和感觉孔数目,肛柱形态,肛梳2列,第10腹节的感觉孔数目和腹面的刚毛数目。而其鉴别特征是:破卵器形态,大颚的齿数,1胸节至9腹节背板上前排感觉孔与前排鬃的位置,肛梳和肛柱的刚毛数目。     

曲扎角叶蚤幼虫的形态描述

本文对曲扎角叶蚤Ceratophyllus chutsaensis Liu & Wu,1962的幼虫形态进行了描述。     

Crystals in the epithelial nuclei of the midgut of fleas]

On studying the changes in the epithelium of the midgut of Ceratophyllus tesquorum, C. laeviceps and Leptopsylla segnis intranuclear crystals were found during the process of digestion. They were recorded both from young and adult insects. The crystals were absent from nuclei of cells of regeneration nests, epithelium of the fore-intestine, any other organs or from nuclei of epithelial cells of the stomach of young non-feeding individuals. They were found neither in young nor in adult individuals of Xenopsylla conformis and Neopsylla setosa.     

Effect of an ectoparasite on lay date, nest-site choice, desertion, and hatching success in the great tit (Pants major)

Ectoparasites are common in most bird species, but experimentalevidence of their effects on life-history traits is scarce.We investigated experimentally the effects of the hematophagoushen flea (Ceratophyllus gallinae) on timing of reproduction,nest-site choice, nest desertion, clutch size, and hatchingsuccess in the great tit (Parus major). When great tits wereoffered a choice on their territory between an infested anda parasite-free nest-box, they chose the one without parasites.When there was no choice, the great tits in a territory containingan infested nest-box delayed laying the clutch by 11 days ascompared with the birds that were offered a parasite-free nestingopportunity. The finding that there was no difference in phenotypictraits related to dominance between the birds nesting in infestedboxes and birds nesting in parasite-free boxes suggests thatthe delay is not imposed by social dominance. Nest desertionbetween laying and shortly after hatching was significandy higherin infested nests. There was no difference between infestedand parasite-free nests in clutch size, but hatching successand hence brood size at hatching were significantly smallerin infested nests. Nest-box studies of great tits have beenseminal in the development of evolutionary, ecological, andbehavioral theory, but recently a polemic has arisen in theliterature about the validity of the conclusions drawn fromnest-box studies where the naturally occurring, detrimentalectoparasites are eliminated by the routine removal of old nestsbetween breeding seasons. Our study suggests that this criticismis valid and that the evaluation of the effects of ectoparasitesmay improve our understanding of behavioral traits, life-historytraits, or population dynamics     

Laboratory rearing of the squirrel fleaCeratophyllus sciurorum sciurorum with notes on its biology

A rearing method for the fleaCeratophyllus (Monopsyllus) sciurorum sciurorum, a pest on farmed mink in Europe, has been developed. The behaviour of egg-laying and the development period are described at 23 °C and 80% r.h. The eggs ofC. sciurorum sciurorum hatched after 4–7 days and cocoons were formed 10–12 days later. The development period from egg to newly emerged adult was 23–32 days. Females emerged, in general, earlier than males.     

A new bird-flea Peru

A new species of bird-flea of the genusb Ceratophyllus is described from material collected from a nest of a cormorant during the 1937 Percy Sladen Trust expedition to Lake Titicaca, Peru.     

Parasites shape the optimal investment in immunity

The evolution of optimal functioning and maintenance of the immune system is thought to be driven by the costs arising from the allocation of resources to immune functions rather than to growth and reproduction and by the benefits arising from higher defence if an infection occurs. In young animals there is a high premium for fast growth and competitiveness and a parasite-mediated trade-off is thus predicted between the allocation of resources to growth versus immune function. In a field study on nestling great tits (Parus major), we manipulated simultaneously the level of immune defence by a dietary supplementation of the immunostimulant methionine and ectoparasite (Ceratophyllus gallinae) abundance in the nest and thereby assessed both the costs and benefits of investing in immune defence. Nestlings supplemented with methionine grew slower during the experimental boost of their immune system compared to controls. Thereafter, however, nestlings with a boosted immune system grew at faster rates under parasite pressure compared to unstimulated birds. It experimentally shows the costs and benefits of investment in immunity and suggests that the evolution of optimum host defence is governed by a parasite-mediated allocation trade-off between growth and immune function.     

Causes of morbidity and mortality and their effect on reproductive success in double-crested cormorants from Saskatchewan

The objectives of this study were to describe causes of morbidity and mortality in a breeding colony of double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) on Doré Lake (Saskatchewan, Canada), and to determine cause-specific mortality rates of juvenile birds. Morbidity and mortality were monitored every third day during the breeding season from 1994 to 1996 from inside a tunnel-and-blind system. Affected eggs and birds were collected for examination and diagnosis. The cause of mortality was determined for 105 eggs, 178 nestlings (< or = 4-wk-old), 1393 post-nestling chicks (> 4-wk-old), and 10 adults. The main causes of mortality were infertility or embryonal death, avian predation, displacement of eggs and chicks from the nest, starvation from sibling competition, Newcastle disease, coyote predation, human-induced suffocation, and entrapment. In 49% of the cases, avian predation and displacement from the nest of eggs or nestlings was associated with human disturbance. Thirty-six nestlings, 40 post-nestling chicks, and three adults were examined for the presence of parasites. Contracaecum spiculigerum was found in the proventriculus; Amphimerus elongatus in the liver. Piagetiella incomposita in the gular pouch; Eidmanniella pellucida, Pectinopygus farallonii, and Ceratophyllus lari in the plumage; and Theromyzon sp. in the nasal and oral cavity. Contracaecum spiculigerum was associated with ulcerative gastritis, A. elongatus with multifocal hepatitis and bile duct hyperplasia, and P. incomposita with ulcerative stomatitis, but these lesions were not considered fatal. Other diseases included beak deformity, abnormal rotation of the carpal joint, hypopigmentation, and eye loss. Overall mortality of cormorant chicks between hatching and the end of the breeding season varied from 25 to 48%. The most important causes of mortality were Newcastle disease, which killed 21% of hatched chicks in 1995, sibling competition (maximum 12% in 1994), and coyote predation (2% in 1994).     

Arthropods in the nests of lesser spotted eagle (Aquila pomarina)

In 2001–2007, altogether 57 nests of lesser spotted eagle were collected in the Orava region in northwestern Slovakia and four groups of arthropods were extracted from them. Richest in number of species and individuals were mites (23 species, 17,500 ind.), followed by beetles (12 species, 725 ind.), whereas pseudoscorpions were represented only by Pselaphochernes scorpioides (39 ind.) and fleas by Ceratophyllus garei (3 ind.). Unlike nests of other birds, free-living mites predominated in the nests fauna (83% of individuals), followed by nidicolous species with more or less free relationship to the nests, while parasitic species represented only a negligible part of the fauna. For the first time we observed phoresy of Nenteria pandioni, a specific and abundant mite in the eagles’ nests, on the nidicolous staphylinid Haploglossa puncticollis. The beetle fauna in the nests was much poorer than in nests of other birds. The predatory H. puncticollis was dominant in the nests (83%) and occurred continuously during the whole investigation period. Other beetles, even the widely distributed nidicols such as the histerid Gnathoncus buyssoni, were found rarely in nests. Predators were also the only abundant trophic group of beetles in the nests, while other trophic groups of beetles abundantly co-occur in nests of majority of other birds. The occurrence of all beetles was very unevenly distributed during the investigation period, but was positively correlated with occurrence of mites. The relatively low number of species and individuals of mites and beetles in the lesser spotted eagle nests resulted from their position on tree tops, at a height of 20–30 m and their quick drying out by sun and wind. It was also indicated by an enormously low number of species and individuals of mycetophagous beetles, which represent a significant component of the fauna in nests of other birds.     

Isolation and characterization of 23 microsatellite loci in the hen flea Ceratophyllus gallinae

Nineteen dinucleotide, two trinucleotide and two tetranucleotide microsatellite loci developed for the hen flea Ceratophyllus gallinae are presented. Twenty fleas were screened at each locus. Loci were polymorphic (three to nine alleles per locus). These markers will provide a system to study population segregation and diversity, gene flow, dispersal and inbreeding.     

Ectoparasites,nest site choice and breeding success in the pied flycatcher

It has recently been suggested that nest box studies might bias the measurement of behavioural and life-history traits, because the removal of old nests may reduce the load of ectoparasites. This experimental artefact may have notable effects on nest site choice and breeding success in cavity-breeding birds. We tested (i) if pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca prefer clean nest boxes and (ii) if old nest material affects the number of parasites and the breeding success of pied flycatchers. In the first experiment we offered birds one cleaned nest box and one nest box with old nest material from the previous year. The two nest boxes were placed in very similar sites near each other. In this experiment all pied flycatchers clearly preferred dirty nest boxes. In the second part of the study we distributed clean nest boxes and dirty ones on the same study area. After breeding was over we counted the number of fleas Ceratophyllus gallinae in the nest material. This flea species was the most abundant and probably the most hazardous parasite in the nests. Surprisingly, we found that there were significantly more fleas in the nest boxes with nests of the current year only than in the boxes with nests of both current and previous year. This might explain the preference for the dirty boxes. However, our results do not indicate that the number of fleas affects breeding success in the pied flycatcher.     

Ectoparasite-modulated deposition of maternal androgens in great tit eggs

Maternal yolk androgens can promote growth and competitive abilities of nestling birds but are also suggested to increase susceptibility to parasites or suppress immune function. We tested the hypothesis that females exposed to ectoparasites during egg formation will adjust the content of androgens in the yolk. We predicted that when anticipating high levels of parasitism, females deposit (i) less androgens into all eggs of their clutch and (ii) smaller amounts of androgens in eggs late in the laying sequence to facilitate brood reduction. In a field experiment we exposed female great tits (Parus major) to hen fleas (Ceratophyllus gallinae), or kept them free of ectoparasites prior to egg laying. We collected the eggs and measured yolk concentrations of androstenedione (A4), testosterone (T) and 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by radioimmunoassay. Among clutches, eggs of ectoparasite-exposed females contained significantly less A4 and tended to contain less T, whereas DHT content was unaffected. Within clutches, content of A4 and T increased significantly with laying order whereas DHT content significantly decreased. These patterns were unaffected by ectoparasites. In summary, our results provide no evidence for hormone-based facilitation of brood reduction under ectoparasite exposure but support the hypothesis that females exposed to ectoparasites reduce levels of T and its precursor A4 in yolk and might thereby reduce the negative effects of parasites on offspring.