Diversity and distribution of avian lice on Greater Flamingo chicks (Phoenicopterus roseus) in Algeria

The ecological diversity and distribution of ectoparasites on Greater Flamingo chicks (Phoenicopterus roseus) were investigated in Algeria at two distinct sites: Ezzemoul (Hauts Plateaux) and Safioune (Sahara) at the end of the breeding seasons of 2009 and 2011. Results from the first records for the Greater Flamingo in North Africa, indicate that they were infested by the following louse species: Colpocephalum heterosoma Piaget and Triniton femoratum Piaget (Menoponidae); Anaticola phoenicopteri (Coinde) and Anatoecus pygaspis Nitzsch (Philopteridae). These data support the hypothesis of a connectivity of the Greater Flamingo metapopulation across the Mediterranean region. The results also suggest that there was a spatial segregation in the distribution of the various louse species across distinct body parts of their hosts. Adaptive explanations for this niche partitioning are suggested.