@article {95658, title = {Parasites lost - do invaders miss the boat or drown on arrival?}, journal = {Ecological Letters}, volume = {13}, year = {2010}, month = {March 2010}, pages = {516-527}, abstract = {

Host species that colonize new regions often lose parasite species. Using population arrival and establishment data for New Zealand\’s introduced bird species and their ectoparasitic chewing lice species, we test the relative importance of different processes and mechanisms in causing parasite species loss. Few lice failed to arrive in New Zealand with their hosts due to being missed by chance in the sample of hosts from the original population (missing the boat). Rather, most lice were absent because their hosts or the parasite themselves failed to establish populations in their new environment. Given they arrived and their host established, parasite persistence was more strongly related to factors associated with transmission efficiency (number of host individuals introduced, host body size, host sociality and parasite suborder) than parasite propagule pressure and aggregation. Such insights into parasite success are invaluable to both understanding and managing their impact

}, keywords = {aggregation, Chewing lice, ectoparasites, introduced birds, introduction success, propagule pressure, sorting events, transmission efficiency}, issn = {1461-023X, 1461-0248}, doi = {10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01446.x}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01446.x}, author = {Catriona J. MacLeod and Paterson,Adrian M. and Tompkins,D. M. and Richard P. Duncan} } @article {40289, title = {Effect of vertically transmitted ectoparasites on the reproductive success of swifts (Apus apus)}, journal = {Functional Ecology}, volume = {10}, year = {1996}, month = {1996}, pages = {733 - 740}, abstract = {

1. Parasites that are transmitted vertically from parent hosts to offspring are expected to be relatively benign, because their fitness depends on successful host reproduction. The effects of two species of vertically transmitted ectoparasite on the reproductive success of swifts (Apus apus L.) were tested. Populations of the Chewing Louse, Dennyus hirundinis (L.) (Phthiraptera: Menoponidae), and the Flightless Louse Fly, Crataerina pallida (Latreille) (Diptera: Hippoboscidae), were experimentally manipulated, effectively converting the natural aggregated frequency distribution of each species into a bimodal distribution of high and low loads. 2. Neither parasite had any effect on nestling growth or fledging success, even though parasite loads were boosted above natural levels and host environmental conditions were poor during part of the study, thus increasing the chances of detecting an effect of the parasites. 3. In contrast to parasite load, year, brood size and hatch date were all significantly related to components of nestling growth. Year and brood size were also significantly related to fledging success. 4. These results are consistent with theoretical models suggesting that vertically transmitted parasites evolve reduced virulence because they depend on host reproduction for dispersal to new hosts.

}, keywords = {biology, bird, Chewing lice, cost, fly, growth, Hippoboscidae, host, lice, louse, parasitism, Phthiraptera, size, survival, virulence}, url = {http://www.phthiraptera.info/sites/phthiraptera.info/files/3000.pdf}, author = {Tompkins,D. M. and Jones,T. and Clayton,Dale H.} } @article {39651, title = {Reciprocal natural selection on host-parasite phenotypes}, journal = {American Naturalist}, volume = {154}, year = {1999}, month = {1999}, pages = {261 - 270}, abstract = {

Coevolution is evolution in one species in response to selection imposed by a second species, followed by evolution in the second species in response to reciprocal selection imposed by the first species. Although reciprocal selection is a prerequisite of coevolution, it has seldom been documented in natural populations. We examined the feasibility of reciprocal selection in a simple host-parasite system consisting of feral pigeons (Columba livia) and their Ischnoceran feather lice (Phthiraptera: Insecta). We tested for a selective effect of parasites on hosts with experimentally altered defenses and for a selective effect of host defense on a component of parasite escape. Previous work indicates that pigeons control lice through efficient preening, while lice escape from preening using complex avoidance behavior. Our results show that feral pigeons with impaired preening, owing to slight bill deformities, have higher louse loads than pigeons with normal bills. We use a controlled experiment to show that high louse loads reduce the survival of pigeons, suggesting that lice select for efficient preening and against bill deformities. In a reciprocal experiment, we demonstrate that preening with a normal bill selects for small body size in lice, which may facilitate their escape From preening. The results of this study verify a crucial element of coevolutionary theory by identifying likely targets of reciprocal phenotypic selection between host and parasite.

}, keywords = {bird, coevolution, cuckoo, Cuculus, ectoparasite, fitness, lice, rock doves, virulence}, doi = {DOI:10.1086/303237}, url = {https://phthiraptera.myspecies.info/sites/phthiraptera.info/files/1224_0.pdf}, author = {Clayton,Dale H. and Lee,Patricia L. M. and Tompkins,D. M. and Brodie,E. D.} } @article {39586, title = {Ectoparasite virulence is linked to mode of transmission}, journal = {Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences}, volume = {256}, year = {1994}, month = {1994}, pages = {211 - 217}, abstract = {

Theory suggests that the evolution of parasite virulence is Linked to the dynamics of parasite transmission. All else being equal, parasites transmitted vertically from parents to offspring should be less virulent than parasites capable of horizontal transmission to unrelated hosts. This is because the fitness of vertically transmitted parasites is tightly linked to the reproductive success of the host, whereas the fitness of horizontally transmitted parasites is relatively independent of host reproduction. The virulence-transmission relation has seldom been tested because of difficulties inherent in comparing virulences of different parasite-host systems. We compared the virulence of lice and mites infesting a single group of captive rock doves (Columba livia). Lice, which were vertically transmitted, had no detectable effect on host fitness, whereas horizontally transmitted mites drove host reproductive success to zero. These results, in conjunction with a survey of the Literature, support the hypothesis that ectoparasite virulence is linked to the mode of transmission.

}, keywords = {cost, Evolution, host, parasitism, reproduction, selection}, url = {http://www.phthiraptera.info/sites/phthiraptera.info/files/1147.pdf}, author = {Clayton,Dale H. and Tompkins,D. M.} } @article {39587, title = {Host resources govern the specificity of swiftlet lice: size matters}, journal = {Journal of Animal Ecology}, volume = {68}, year = {1999}, note = {I}, month = {1999}, pages = {489 - 500}, abstract = {

1. An important component of parasite diversity is the specificity for particular host taxa shown by many parasites. Specificity is often assumed to imply adaptive specialization by the parasite to its host, such that parasites are incapable of surviving and reproducing on \&$\#$39;foreign\&$\#$39; hosts.

}, keywords = {Apodidae, apus apus, bird, cospeciation, ectoparasite, Host specificity, parasite, Phthiraptera, success}, url = {http://www.phthiraptera.info/sites/phthiraptera.info/files/1148.pdf}, author = {Tompkins,D. M. and Clayton,Dale H.} } @article {39308, title = {Comparative effects of mites and lice on the reproductive success of rock doves (Columba livia)}, journal = {Parasitology}, volume = {110}, year = {1995}, month = {1995}, pages = {195 - 206}, abstract = {

We report experimental data comparing the effects of Mesostigmatid mites and Ischnoceran lice on the reproductive performance of a single group of captive rock doves (Columba livia). Several components of host reproductive success were compared for the two groups, including number of eggs laid, hatching success, nestling growth rates, fledging success, post-fledging body mass and survival. Adult body mass and survival were also compared. There was a dramatic difference in the effects of the mites and lice. The former drove host reproductive success to zero, mainly by agitating adults and causing them to incubate eggs less faithfully. Nestling growth rates and post-fledging survival were also significantly reduced by mites. Lice showed no effect on reproductive success whatsoever, even though the feather damage they cause is known to have energetic consequences (Booth, Clayton and Block, 1993). Neither parasite had a significant effect on adult birds. Although Ischnocera are found on most species of birds, our results for lice constitute the first experimental test of the impact of Ischnocera on avian reproductive success (preliminary report by Clayton and Tompkins, 1994). We discuss reasons for the different effects of mites and lice, including the relationship of horizontal (mites) and vertical (lice) transmission to the evolution of virulence,

}, keywords = {cliff, cost, doves, ecology, ectoparasite, host, lice, mites, parasitism, reproduction, rock, swallows, vector}, url = {http://www.phthiraptera.info/sites/phthiraptera.info/files/0742.pdf}, author = {Clayton,Dale H. and Tompkins,D. M.} }