The influence of spatially distinct host subpopulations on helminth community structure and pattern was examined in a migratory avian host species. Forty helminth species represented by 24,082 individuals were collected from 184 blue-winged teal (Anas discors; BWT) from 2 primary migratory corridors in Florida (eastern migratory corridor; EMC) and Louisiana and Texas (western migratory corridor; WMC). Mean species richness was greater in BWT from the WMC ( species) than the EMC (8.6 ± 0.2). The helminth community from the WMC had higher abundances of 6 common/intermediate species. Corridor helminth communities were similar in species composition but less similar when incorporating abundances of those species. Overlapping distributions of phylogenetically related host species that share generalist helminth species across ecologically similar habitats seem to mitigate the isolating mechanisms that are necessary for the distinct coevolutionary pathways to develop between adjacent corridors. 1. Introduction Helminth community dynamics among host populations are influenced by several factors such as variations in host feeding ecology [1], habitat use [2], distance between host populations [3–5], the phylogenetic relatedness of host species within an area coupled with host specificity of helminths [6, 7], and the resulting degree of host-parasite coevolution [8]. While many of the above relationships explain differences in helminth community structure (i.e., feeding ecology, habitat use, and distance between populations), others such as phylogenetic relatedness of hosts and host specificity of helminths (generalist rather than specialist) explain observed similarities among helminth communities. In addition to the factors mentioned above, helminth communities of waterfowl are subjected to the effects of migration that may accentuate the influence of other community-shaping factors. Several studies concerning helminth communities of waterfowl have addressed loss of helminths between migratory periods [9], effects of temporal variability on helminth communities within a single region [10], and differences in species richness between breeding and wintering grounds [11–13]. These authors tested ecological hypotheses using helminth communities from hosts within a single geographic region or migratory corridor. Wallace and Pence [9] proposed that if a migratory host species showed high fidelity to respective migratory corridors, after a substantial period of time, helminth communities unique to hosts within migratory corridors might be formed. Brooks’ [8]
References
[1]
W. L. Vickery and R. Poulin, “Parasite extinction and colonisation and the evolution of parasite communities: a simulation study,” International Journal for Parasitology, vol. 28, no. 5, pp. 727–737, 1998.
[2]
A. M. Fedynich, D. B. Pence, and J. F. Bergan, “Helminth community structure and pattern in sympatric populations of black-bellied and fulvous whistling-ducks,” Canadian Journal of Zoology, vol. 74, no. 12, pp. 2219–2225, 1996.
[3]
D. B. Pence, J. M. Crum, and J. A. Conti, “Ecological analyses of helminth populations in the black bear, Ursus americanus, from North America,” Journal of Parasitology, vol. 69, no. 5, pp. 933–950, 1983.
[4]
A. M. Fedynich, D. B. Pence, P. N. Gray, and J. F. Bergan, “Helminth community structure and pattern in two allopatric populations of a nonmigratory waterfowl species (Anas fulvigula),” Canadian Journal of Zoology, vol. 74, no. 7, pp. 1253–1259, 1996.
[5]
R. Poulin and S. Morand, “Geographical distances and the similarity among parasite communities of conspecific host populations,” Parasitology, vol. 119, no. 4, pp. 369–374, 1999.
[6]
C. R. Kennedy and A. O. Bush, “The relationship between pattern and scale in parasite communities: a stranger in a strange land,” Parasitology, vol. 109, no. 2, pp. 187–196, 1994.
[7]
R. Poulin, “Species richness of parasite assemblages: evolution and patterns,” Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, vol. 28, pp. 341–158, 1997.
[8]
D. R. Brooks, “Testing the context and extent of host-parasite coevolution,” Systematic Zoology, vol. 28, pp. 299–307, 1979.
[9]
B. M. Wallace and D. B. Pence, “Population dynamics of the helminth community from migrating blue- winged teal: loss of helminths without replacement on the wintering grounds,” Canadian Journal of Zoology, vol. 64, no. 8, pp. 1765–1773, 1986.
[10]
A. M. Fedynich and D. B. Pence, “Helminth community structure and pattern in a migratory host (Anas platyrhynchos),” Canadian Journal of Zoology, vol. 72, no. 3, pp. 496–505, 1994.
[11]
D. Broderson, A. G. Canaris, and J. R. Bristol, “Parasites of waterfowl from Southwest Texas: II. the shoveler, Anas clypeata,” Journal of Wildlife Diseases, vol. 13, pp. 435–439, 1977.
[12]
J. N. Wilkinson, A. G. Canaris, and D. Broderson, “Parasites of waterfowl from southwest Texas: I. The northern cinnamon teal, Anas cyanoptera septentrionalium,” Journal of Wildlife Diseases, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 62–63, 1977.
[13]
A. G. Canaris, A. C. Mena, and J. R. Bristol, “Parasites of waterfowl, from southwest Texas: III. The green-winged teal, Anas crecca,” Journal of Wildlife Diseases, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 57–64, 1981.
[14]
F. C. Bellrose, Ducks, Geese and Swans of North America, Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, Va, USA, 1980.
[15]
B. Sharp, “Eastward migration of blue-winged teal,” Journal of Wildlife Management, vol. 36, pp. 1273–1277, 1972.
[16]
F. C. Rohwer, W. P. Johnson, and E. R. Loos, “Blue-winged teal (Anas discors),” in The Birds of North America, no. 625, A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds., pp. 1–36, The Birds of North America, Philadelphia, Pa, USA, 2002.
[17]
A. O. Bush, K. D. Lafferty, J. M. Lotz, and A. W. Shostak, “Parasitology meets ecology on its own terms: Margolis et al. revisited,” Journal of Parasitology, vol. 83, no. 4, pp. 575–583, 1997.
[18]
A. O. Bush and J. C. Holmes, “Intestinal helminths of lesser scaup ducks: an interactive community,” Canadian Journal of Zoology, vol. 64, no. 1, pp. 142–152, 1986.
[19]
J. W. Glass, A. M. Fedynich, M. F. Small, and S. J. Benn, “Helminth community structure in an expanding white-winged dove (Zenaida asiatica asiatica) population,” Journal of Wildlife Diseases, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 68–74, 2002.
[20]
M. E. McDonald, Key to Nematodes Reported in Waterfowl, Resource Publication, no. 122, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC, USA, 1974.
[21]
M. E. McDonald, Key to Trematodes Reported in Waterfowl, Resource Publication, no. 142, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC, USA, 1981.
[22]
M. E. McDonald, Key to Acanthocephala Reported in Waterfowl, Resource Publication, no. 173, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC, USA, 1988.
[23]
B. Czaplinski and C. Vaucher, “Family hymenolepididae Ariola, 1899,” in Keys to the Cestode Parasites of Vertebrates, L. F. Khalil, A. Jones, and R. A. Bray, Eds., pp. 595–664, CAB International, Wallingford, UK, 1994.
[24]
W. J. Conover and R. L. Iman, “Rank transformations as a bridge between parametric and nonparametric statistics,” American Statistician, vol. 35, pp. 124–129, 1981.
[25]
C. A. Gray, P. N. Gray, and D. B. Pence, “Influence of social status on the helminth community of late-winter mallards,” Canadian Journal of Zoology, vol. 67, no. 8, pp. 1937–1944, 1989.
[26]
L. Rózsa, J. Reiczigel, and G. Majoros, “Quantifying parasites in samples of hosts,” Journal of Parasitology, vol. 86, no. 2, pp. 228–232, 2000.
[27]
A. A. Radomski and D. B. Pence, “Persistence of a recurrent group of intestinal helminth species in a coyote population from southern Texas,” Journal of Parasitology, vol. 79, no. 3, pp. 371–378, 1993.
[28]
T. S. Leong and J. C. Holmes, “Communities of metazoan parasites in open water fishes of Cold Lake, Alberta,” Journal of Fish Biology, vol. 18, no. 6, pp. 693–713, 1981.
[29]
C. J. Krebs, Ecological Methodology, Harper Collins, New York, NY, USA, 1989.
[30]
A. M. Fedynich, R. S. Finger, B. M. Ballard, J. M. Garvon, and M. J. Mayfield, “Helminths of ross' and greater white-fronted geese wintering in South Texas, U.S.A,” Comparative Parasitology, vol. 72, no. 1, pp. 33–38, 2005.
[31]
M. E. McDonald, Catalogue of the Helminths of Waterfowl (Anatidae), Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife Special Scientific Report, Wildlife no. 126, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC, USA, 1969.
[32]
S. V. Brant and E. S. Loker, “Molecular systematics of the avian schistosome genus Trichobilharzia (Trematoda: Schistosomatidae) in North America,” Journal of Parasitology, vol. 95, no. 4, pp. 941–963, 2009.
[33]
F. J. van de Vusse, “Host-parasite relation of Dendritobilharzia pulverulenta (Tremetoda: Schistosomatidae) and Anatids,” Journal of Parasitology, vol. 65, pp. 894–897, 1979.
[34]
W. S. Hunter and W. B. Vernberg, “Pseudospelotrema ammospizae sp. nov., (Trematoda: Microphallidae) from the seaside sparrow Ammospiza maritima macgillivraii (Audubon),” Journal of Parasitology, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 84–87, 1953.
[35]
R. M. Cable, R. Connor, and J. W. Balling, “Digenetic trematodes of Puerto Rican shorebirds. Scientific Survey of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands,” New York Academy of Science, vol. 16, pp. 187–255, 1960.
[36]
A. O. Bush, “Helminth communities in avian hosts: determinants of pattern,” in Parasite Communities: Patterns and Processes, G. W. Esch, A. O. Bush, and J. M. Aho, Eds., pp. 197–232, Chapman and Hall, New York, NY, USA, 1990.
[37]
A. P. Covich and J. H. Thorp, “Introduction to the subphylum crustasea,” in Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates, J. H. Thorp and A. P. Covich, Eds., pp. 777–810, Academic Press, San Diego, Calif, USA, 2001.
[38]
H. N. Buscher, “Dynamics of the intestinal helminth fauna in three species of ducks,” Journal of Wildlife Management, vol. 29, pp. 772–781, 1965.
[39]
H. N. Buscher, “Intestinal helminths of the blue-winged teal, Anas discors L., at Delta Manitoba,” Canadian Journal of Zoology, vol. 44, pp. 113–116, 1966.
[40]
J. C. Bartonek and J. J. Hickey, “Selective feeding by juvenile diving ducks in summer,” Auk, vol. 86, pp. 443–457, 1969.
[41]
A. S. Hawkins, “Mississippi flyway,” in Waterfowl Tomorrow, J. P. Linduska, Ed., pp. 185–207, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, USA, 1964.
[42]
P. W. Price, “Host populations as resources defining parasite community organization,” in Parasite Communities: Patterns and Processes, G. Esch, A. Bush, and J. Aho, Eds., pp. 21–40, Chapman & Hall, London, UK, 1990.
