Projections related to future climate warming indicate the potential for an increase in the distribution and prevalence of blood parasites in northern regions. However, baseline data are lacking for resident avian host species in Alaska. Grouse and ptarmigan occupy a diverse range of habitat types throughout the northern hemisphere and are among the most well-known and important native game bir...

The Socorro dove Zenaida graysoni , endemic to Socorro Island, was last reported in the wild in 1972. Fortunately, the species has been propagated in zoos in Europe and the United States, and plans are under way to re-introduce it to its native habitat. This will be the first known attempt to return a bird species extinct in the wild to its ancestral island. In order to assess the disease threa...

In this study, the information on distribution, biology, morphology, diseases that it transmits and suggestion on pest management strategies of “pigeon fly” Pseudolynchia canariensis (Macquart, 1839) (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) were also discussed. Material of the study P. canariensis were sampled from especially ventilation windows of the roof, and on the rats which was caught by sticky traps in ...

The blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) is a common Palearctic migratory warbler, and haemosporidian parasites are common in this species. However, genetic and phenotypic diversity of haemosporidians in warblers has been insufficiently investigated and poorly linked. We addressed this issue by combining molecular and microscopy data for detection of pigment-forming haemosporidians of the genera Haemo...

Habitat alteration can disrupt host-parasite interactions and lead to the emergence of new diseases in wild populations. The cerrado habitat of Brazil is being fragmented and degraded rapidly by agriculture and urbanization. We screened 676 wild birds from three habitats (intact cerrado, disturbed cerrado and transition area Amazonian rainforest-cerrado) for the presence of haemosporidian paras...

Spatial heterogeneity influences the distribution, prevalence, and diversity of haemosporidian parasites. Previous studies have found complex patterns of prevalence with respect to habitat characteristics and parasite genotype, and their interactions, but there is little information regarding how parasitemia intensity and the prevalence of co-infections may vary in space. Here, using both molec...

Habitat fragmentation and deforestation are thought to disrupt host–parasite interactions and increase the risk of epizootic outbreaks in wild vertebrates. A total of 220 individuals from three species of African rain-forest bird (Andropadus latirostris, Andropadus virens, Cyanomitra obscura), captured in two pristine and two agroforests in Cameroon, were screened for the presence of avian haem...

The current study focuses on a symbiotic bacterium found in the slender pigeon louse, Columbicola columbae (Insecta: Phthiraptera). Molecular phylogenetic analyses indicated that the symbiont belongs to the gamma subdivision of the class Proteobacteria and is allied to Sodalis glossinidius, the secondary symbiont of tsetse flies (Glossina spp.) and also to the primary symbiont of grain weevils ...