Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T14:31:03.896Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Studies on the helminth parasites of the herring gull, Larus argentatus Pontopp., in Northern Caernarvonshire and Anglesey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

William Threlfall
William Threlfall
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Forest Zoology, U.C.N.W., Bangor*
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

A survey was made of the helminth fauna of 657 herring gulls (474 ‘adults’ and 183 chicks) in northern Caernarvonshire and Anglesey during the period July 1962 to November 1964. A total of 31 species of helminths were identified (10 species of Trematoda, 11 of Cestoda and 10 of Nematoda), including 1 new species, four new host records and three new British records. Two species of Mallophaga were identified from the birds. In three cases (Gymnophallus deliciosus, Paricterotaenia porosa and Capillaria contorta) a significant difference was found in the burden carried by male and female birds. ‘Adult’ birds were generally found to be more heavily infected with helminths than the chicks, with the exception of the nematode Cyathostoma lari, which was found more frequently in the chicks. A new intermediate host for Capillaria contorta was noted, namely Eiseniella tetraedra.

Three species of Trematoda, two of Cestoda, and two of Nematoda were found to be cyclic (seasonal) in their time of appearance. Tetrabothrius spp. appeared most frequently in winter, whilst Anomotaenia larina was found only during the summer months. C. lari showed a primary peak of appearance in summer, with a secondary peak in winter. Capillaria contorta appeared in high numbers throughout the year.

The distribution of helminths within the birds was also examined. Gymnophallus deliciosus was generally found in the gall bladder, whilst Parorchis acanthus was found only in the rectum. Intestinal trematodes were normally found in the mid-third of the small intestine (e.g. Spelotrema excellens, Himasthla elongata). In the case of C. lingua, however, peak numbers were found in the duodenum, whilst Brachylaemus fuscatus was found most frequently in the posterior third of the small intestine. Cestodes appeared most frequently in the anterior or posterior thirds of the small intestine (e.g. Tetrabothrius spp., Anomotaenia micracantha). Hymenolepis cirrosa showed two peaks of infection along the length of the small intestine, a small one in the anterior third, a much larger one in the posterior third. Attempts were made to correlate the helminth burden found with the food eaten by the birds and the availability of intermediate hosts.

I should like to thank Mr J. Hobart and Dr I. V. Herbert for all the help that they have given me in the preparation of this manuscript, and also the bodies that gave me permission to shoot birds on their land, particularly the Nature Conservancy. Finally, I would like to thank the S.R.C. for the grant that made this work possible.

Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 57 , Issue 3 , August 1967 , pp. 431 - 453
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1967

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Andrewartha, H. G. & Birch, L. C. (1954). The Distribution and Abundance of Animals. 782 pp. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Brambell, M. F. (1963). Effects of the age of infestation and of the immunity of the host on the distribution of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis in the small intestine. Parasitology 53, 7p. (Abstr.)Google Scholar
Cram, E. B. (1927). Bird parasites of the nematode suborders Strongylata, Ascaridata and Spirurata. Bull. U.S. Natn. Mus. 140, pp. 1–465.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cram, E. B. (1936). Species of Capillaria parasite in the upper digestive tract of birds. Bull. U.S. Dep. Agric. 516, 1–28.Google Scholar
Dawes, B. (1956). The Trematoda, 644 pp. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Dogiel, V. A., Petrushevski, G. K. & Polyanski, Y. I. (1961). Parasitology of Fishes. 384 pp. Edinburgh, London: Oliver and Boyd.Google Scholar
Fuhrmann, O. (1932). Les ténias des oiseaux, Mém. Univ. Neuchâtel 8, 381 pp.Google Scholar
Guildal, J. A. (1964). Some qualitative and quantitative investigations on the endoparasitic fauna of the Scandinavian–Baltic population of the black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus). K. Vet.- og. Landbohøisk. Aarsskr. 1964, pp. 227–49.Google Scholar
Harris, M. P. (1964). The incidence of some species of trematode in three species of Larus gulls in Wales. Ibis 106, 532–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holmes, J. C. (1961). Effects of concurrent infections on Hymenolepis diminuta (Cestoda) and Moniliformis dubius (Acanthocephala) I. General effects and comparison with crowding. J. Parasit. 47, 209–16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Joyeux, C. & Baer, J. G. (1936). Cestodes. Faune Fr. 30, 613.Google Scholar
Leonov, V. A. (1957). New trematodes offish-eating birds. (In Russian.) Uchen Zap. gorkov. gos. pedagog. Inst. 19, 43–52.Google Scholar
Leonov, V. A. (1958). Helminth fauna of Lariformes in the Animal Reserve and adjoining territory in the Kherson area. (In Russian.) Uchen. Zap. gorkov. gos. pedagog. Inst. 20, 266–95.Google Scholar
Leonov, V. A. (1960). Dynamics of the helminth fauna of the herring gull nesting in the territory of the Black Sea Reserve (In Russian.) Uchen. Zap. gorkov. gos. pedagog. Inst. 27, 38–57.Google Scholar
Linton, E. (1927). Notes on the cestode parasites of birds. Proc. U.S. natn. Mus. 79, 1–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Madsen, M. (1945). The species of Capillaria (Nematodes: Trichinelloidea), parasitic in the digestive tract of Danish gallinaceous and anatine game birds, with a revised list of species of Capillaria in birds. Dan. Rev. Game Biol. 1, 1–112.Google Scholar
Markov, G. S. (1937). Changes in the parasite fauna of Uria lomvia lomvia with the age of the host. Trudy leningr. Obshch. Estest 66, 456–66.Google Scholar
Markov, G. S. (1939). The dynamics of the parasite fauna of the starling. Uchen. Zap. leningr. gos. Univ. (biol.), 43, 172–212.Google Scholar
Markov, G. S. (1940). Seasonal and annual changes in the parasite fauna of the starling, relating to changes in the meteorological factors. Zool. Zh. 19, 741–9.Google Scholar
Owen, R. W. (1951). The helminth parasites of domesticated birds in mid-Wales. J. Helminth. 25, 105–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen, R. W. & Pemberton, R. T. (1962). Helminth infection of the starling (Sturnus vulgaris L.) in northern England. Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. 139, 557–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pemberton, R. T. (1963). Helminth parasites of three species of British gulls. Larus argentatus Pont., L. fuscus L. and L. ridibundus L. J. Helminth. 37, 57–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pomeroy, M. R. & Burt, M. D. B. (1964). Cestodes of the herring gull, Larus argentatus Pontoppidan, 1763, from New Brunswick, Canada. Can. J. Zool. 42, 759–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schad, G. A. (1963). Niche diversification in a parasitic species flock. Nature, Lond. 198, 404–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sindermann, C. J. & Farrin, A. E. (1962). Ecological studies of Cryptocotyle lingua (Trematoda: Heterophyidae) whose larvae cause ‘pigment spots’ of marine fish. Ecology 43, 69–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sommerville, R. I. (1963). Distribution of some parasitic nematodes in the alimentary tract of sheep, cattle and rabbits. J. Parasit. 49, 593–99.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Threlfall, W. (1965). The helminth parasites of the herring gull (Larus argentatus Pontopp.) on the Newborough Warren Nature Reserve, Anglesey. Ph.D. thesis, University of Wales.Google Scholar
Wakelin, D. (1964). A survey of the intestinal helminths parasitic in British domestic fowl. J. Helminth. 38, 191–200.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wardle, R. A. & McLeod, J. A. (1952). The Zoology of Tapeworms. 780 pp. Minneapolis: Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Wehr, E. E. (1952). Recent studies on the transmission of Capillaria spp. in poultry, with special reference to C. contorta. J. Parasit. 38, suppl. 20. (Abstr.)Google Scholar
Williams, I. C. & Harris, M. P. (1965). The infection of the gulls Larus argentatus, L. fuscus L. and L. marinus L. with Cestoda on the coast of Wales. Parasitology 55, 237–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yamaguti, S. (1958–1961). Systema helminthum, vols. 1–3. New York and London: Interscience Publishers Ltd.Google Scholar
Yorke, W. & Maplestone, P. A. (1926). The Nematode Parasites of Vertebrates. 536 pp. London: Churchill.Google Scholar
Zeknov, M. I. (1949). Seasonal and annual fluctuations in the helminth fauna of Corvus frugilegus L. Zool. Zh. 28, 231–42.Google Scholar