@article {40149, title = {Comparative analysis of time spent grooming by birds in relation to parasite load}, journal = {Behaviour}, volume = {131}, year = {1994}, month = {1994}, pages = {171 - 187}, abstract = {

Although grooming and other kinds of maintenance activity are important components of the behavioural repertoire of terrestrial vertebrates, comparative studies of the proportion of time budgets devoted to maintenance are lacking. Data were collated on the proportion of their time-budgets devoted to maintenance behaviour by 62 different bird species. On average, birds spend 9.2\% of the day in maintenance activities, with the major component (92.6\%) being grooming. Male birds devoted more time to maintenance than females, except in the case of ducks. Maintenance time does not appear to correlate with morphology, moult, latitude, coloniality or season. However, bird species known to harbour more parasitic louse species spend more time on maintenance than do host species with few lice.

}, keywords = {activity, annual, antarctica, Behavior, breeding season, canada, geese, louisiana, oystercatchers, teal, time}, url = {https://phthiraptera.myspecies.info/sites/phthiraptera.info/files/40149.pdf}, author = {Cotgreave,P. and Clayton,Dale H.} } @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 {39327, title = {Review of the species of Rallicola (Phthiraptera: Philopteridae) from the antbirds, ovenbirds, and tapaculos (Passeriformes)}, journal = {Journal of Medical Entomology}, volume = {31}, year = {1994}, month = {1994}, pages = {649 - 657}, abstract = {

Fourteen species of chewing lice in the genus Rallicola are recognized and described from members of the passerine families Thamnophilidae, Furnariidae (subfamily Furnariinae), and Rhinocryptidae. These include 10 previously described species and four new ones: R. mooreae from Premnoplex brunnescens (Sclater), R. leeae from Thripadectes melanorhynchus (Tschudi), R. tompkinsi from Sclerurus caudacutus (Vieillot), and R. hambleri from Syndactyla rufosuperciliata (Lafresnaye). New synonymies include R. acutifrons subsimilis (Carriker) and R. a. chocoana (Carriker), which are both junior synonyms of R. acutifrons (Carriker), and R. mirandae (Carriker), R. punensis (Carriker), R. myrmeciza (Carriker), and R. hylactiphaga canae (Carriker), which are, respectively, junior synonyms of R. laticephala (Carriker), R. titicacae (Carriker), R. heterocephala (Carriker), and R. hylactiphaga (Carriker). A key is provided for identification of the species treated herein.

}, keywords = {aves, furnaricola, mtax, Neotropical, PHP}, url = {http://www.phthiraptera.info/sites/phthiraptera.info/files/0765.pdf}, author = {Roger D. Price and Clayton,Dale H.} } @article {39324, title = {Relationship of bill morphology to grooming behavior in birds}, journal = {Animal Behaviour}, volume = {47}, year = {1994}, note = {[INCOMPLETE: Add alternate journal title]}, month = {1994}, pages = {195 - 201}, abstract = {

Efficient preening by birds is critical for feather care and defence against harmful ectoparasites, yet many species have long, unwieldy bills that are presumably less efficient for preening than short bills. Long-billed taxa such as hummingbirds and toucans could attempt to compensate for inefficient preening by spending relatively more grooming time scratching with their feet than do short-billed taxa. To test this simple hypothesis preliminary data on the grooming behaviour of wild birds in Costa Rica and more extensive data on captive birds in zoos were collected. Comparative analyses of these data support the hypothesis and suggest additional hypotheses for future testing.

}, url = {http://www.phthiraptera.info/sites/phthiraptera.info/files/0761.pdf}, author = {Clayton,Dale H. and Cotgreave,P.} }