www.ias.is ISSN 2298-786X Icelandic Agricultural Sciences 33 / 2020 Icelandic Agricultural Sciences Icel. Agric. Sci. www.ias.is Published by: Agricultural University of Iceland (Landbúnaðarháskóli Íslands) Icelandic Forest Research (Rannsóknastöð Skógræktarinnar á Mógilsá) Marine and Freshwater Research Institute (Hafrannsóknastofnun, rannsókna- og ráðgjafa- stofnun hafs og vatna) Institute for Experimental Pathology, University of Iceland (Keldur, Tilraunastöð Háskóla Íslands í meinafræði) Matís, Ltd. – Icelandic Food and Biotech R&D Institute (Matís ohf. – Þekkingar- og rannsóknarfyrirtæki í þróun og nýsköpun í matvælaiðnaði, líftækni og matvælaöryggi) Soil Conservation Service of Iceland (Landgræðsla ríkisins) The Farmers Association of Iceland (Bændasamtök Íslands) Editor in chief Bjorn Thorsteinsson Agricultural University of Iceland (Landbúnaðarháskóla Íslands) Associate editors Bjarni D Sigurdsson Agricultural University of Iceland Sigurdur Ingvarsson Keldur, Institute for Experimental Pathology Editorial Board Edda S. OddsdóttirIcelandic Forest Research , Mógilsá Gudmundur Halldórsson Soil Conservation Service of Iceland, Gunnarsholt Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir Matís Ltd. Icelandic Food and Biotech B&D Jón S. Ólafsson Marine and Freshwater Research Institute Ólöf SigurdardóttirInstitute for Experimental Pathology Þorvaldur Kristjánsson The Icelandic Agricultural Advisory Centre Contact and submission Bjorn Thorsteinsson at [email protected] Cover Foto: Liverwort based biocrust Photographer: Petra Landmark Guðmundsdóttir 1 ICELANDIC AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES 33 / 2020 CONTENTS 2 ICELANDIC AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES Editorial www.ias.is https://doi.org/10.16886/IAS.2020.01 ICEL. AGRIC. SCI. 33 (2020), 3-14 Past and present status of poultry parasites in Iceland Karl Skírnisson And Guðný Rut Pálsdóttir Institute for Experimental Pathology at Keldur, University of Iceland, Keldnavegur 3, IS-112, Reykjavík, Iceland E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] ABSTRACT For centuries flocks of free-ranging hens, Gallus gallus, have been kept on farms in rural Iceland and egg- laying hens are occasionally kept in backyards in urban areas. Studies on poultry parasites started in Iceland in the late 1940s, but have been sporadic since the 1970. Recently, 18 birds from nine flocks were examined for endo- and ectoparasites. An eimerid, a nematode, three mites and four mallophagan species were identified. However, altogether, 22 parasite species have been reported from poultry in Iceland; Cryptosporidium, at least three eimerids, two flagellates, six nematodes, five mallophagans, three acarines, a bed bug, and at least one flea species. Haematozoans, trematodes, cestodes, and acanthocephalans have never been detected. Additional dozens of other species parasitize poultry elsewhere in the world, many of them causing severe diseases that demand use of environmentally harmful compounds. Strict import regulations and active surveillance have to be imposed to prevent the introduction of these parasites into Iceland. Keywords: Peridomestic poultry, endoparasites, ectoparasites, Iceland, indigenous species YFIRLIT Snýkjudýr í hænsnum á Íslandi fyrr og nú. Hænsnarækt hefur verið stunduð til sveita á Íslandi um alda raðir og á seinni árum hefur hænsnahald í bakgörðum í þéttbýli færst í vöxt. Rannsóknir á hænsnasníkjudýrum hófust hér á landi rétt fyrir miðja síðustu öld en frá því um 1970 hafa óverulegar athuganir verið framkvæmdar þar til nýlega að innri og ytri sníkjudýr voru rannsökuð á 18 fuglum úr 9 hænsnahópum. Við rannsóknirnar hér á landi hafa alls 22 sníkjudýrategundir fundist í og á hænum: Cryptosporidium sp., þrjár hníslategundir, tvær svipudýrategundir, sex þráðormar, fimm naglýs, þrjár mítlategundir, veggjalús og að minnsta kosti ein flóartegund. Blóðsníkjudýr, ögður, bandormar og krókhöfðar hafa aftur á móti aldrei fundist. Mikill fjöldi annarra sníkjudýra, margir hinir mestu skaðvaldar, sníkja á hænsnum erlendis og er þeim iðulega haldið í skefjum með lyfjagjöf og notkun eiturefna. Til að hindra landnám þeirra hér á landi er stöðug þörf á árvekni og virku innflutningseftirliti. INTRODUCTION It is an old tradition to keep free-ranging, Landrace, a genetically diverse breed that was scavenging hens (Gallus gallus) on Icelandic saved from near extinction in the 1980s. These farms, usually with a rooster. In the past few birds posess a wide range of plumage colours decades, houseowners in urban areas have also and patterns, the comb types can be different started keeping a few egg-laying hens in their (single, double or even triple), and some birds backyards, usually without a rooster. Usually, have feather crests or feathered feet (Pálsdóttir birds kept in these non-commercial flocks & Hallsson 2016). Archaeological evidence and belong to the so-called Icelandic Chicken historical information on chickens in Iceland 4 ICELANDIC AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES is scarce. Until recent years, however, the of mallophagans collected in the late 1980s and Icelandic Chicken Landrace was often believed early 1990s from scavaging hens on a small to be a special old breed that had been isolated farm in Álftanes, SW Iceland, were mounted in Iceland since the settlement period more than and identified. 1100 years ago. At present this is not considered The aims of this article are to present the to be correct: recent studies suggest that the results of a survey made on parasite infections present non-commercial poultry population and infestation in nine peridomestic poultry in Iceland is descended from different breeds flocks in Iceland and report which species have imported from Europe into Iceland in recent previously been identified in the country. decades and centuries, birds that then mixed with the old landrace population (Pálsdóttir & MATERIAL AND METHODS Hallsson 2016). The birds The first commercial poultry farm in Iceland In March 2018 a short notice was published in was established at Reykir in Mosfellsbær in an Icelandic newspaper expressing the interest 1946. Since then many commercial poultry of parasitologists at IEP Keldur to obtain hens production units have operated in the country. for parasitological examinations; especially old In 2018 around 250,000 egg-laying hens that birds that had stopped egg laying or birds found more-or-less provide for the domestic egg dead (Morgunblaðið 2018). In the following consumption in Iceland were kept on a total of 15 months, 17 landrace hens and one rooster from poultry farms (commercial units with more than nine poultry flocks located in different parts of 100 laying hens) in Iceland (Hagstofa Íslands Iceland were obtained. The flocks from which 2018). The number of farms and households in the birds originated were small, and the total Iceland keeping less than 100 hens each have bird number per flock varied from four up to been estimated to be 300-400. approximately 20 birds. Birds in six of the flocks Pioneer work on poultry diseases and were free-ranging and scavenging on farms, or parasites started in Iceland a few years before the around domestic households in the countryside, establishment of the Institute for Experimental usually in a flock with a rooster. The remaining Pathology (IEP) at Keldur, Reykjavík, in 1948. three flocks were kept in small enclosures by This work was later continued by the same domestic households in the capital area of experts, whilst at Keldur. Thus, Vigfússon & Reykjavík. These flocks had four or five egg- Gíslason (1946) dealt with avian tuberculosis laying hens. (mycobacteriosis), Pálsson (1949a) examined The birds were packed individually Newcastle disease, and Sigurðsson & Pálsson into a plastic bag, labeled with the date and (1949) investigated the widespread pullorum whether they had been found dead or had disease. The parasite fauna were also examined; been sacrificed, approximate age in years, and Vigfússon & Gíslason (1947) published an contact information of the owner. All birds article on coccidiosis, and Pálsson (1949b) were donated for the study and were stored and Vigfússon (1968, 1971 & 1972) dealt frozen at -20°C until analysis. The owners were with flagellates, helminths, and ectoparasites. contacted and asked if antiparasitic drugs had Since 1972, however, no systematic studies been administered to the birds. have been performed on poultry parasites in Iceland. Some sporadic examinations have Gross morphology examinations included identification of Eimeria species The birds were thawed overnight at room causing coccidiosis on a commercial poultry temperature prior to dissection. Each bird was farm (Skirnisson, unpublished data). Also, weighed with an accuracy of 10 g. Tarsus and specimens of helminths and ectoparasites bill lengths were measured to the nearest 1 mm sent to the Laboratory of Parasitology at IEP with a caliper ,and wing-length was measured Keldur have been identified. Recently, dozens with a ruler to the nearest 1 mm (Table 1). 16 POULTRY PARASITE 5 d a b c e FigureFigure 1. LightLight microscope microscope photograph photograph of the ofchicken the chicken body louse body Menacanthus louse Menacanthus stramineus (Amblycera: stramineus Mal - (Amblycera:lophaga). a. Adult Mallophaga). male. b. Adult a. female.Adult male.c. Five bspherical. Adult masses female. of c.nits Five glued spherical to the base masses of feathers of nitsadjacent glued toto the the basecloaca. of d. feathers A single nitadjacent mass e. toTwo the nits. cloaca Scale. bard. A a,b: single 1 mm; nit c,d mass: 0.5 mm; e. Two e: 100 nits. µm. Scale bar a,b: 1 mm; c,d: 0.5 mm; e: 100