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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE Studies of Northern Fowl Mite Host-Parasite Interactions and Evaluation of Novel Control Strategies in Poultry A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Entomology by Amy Christine Murillo June 2016 Dissertation Committee Dr. Bradley A. Mullens, Chairperson Dr. Alec C. Gerry Dr. Timothy D. Paine i Copyright by Amy Christine Murillo 2016 ii The Dissertation of Amy Christine Murillo is approved: Committee Chairperson University of California, Riverside iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Bradley Mullens for his generous guidance and support while pursuing my Ph.D. in his laboratory. His enthusiasm and optimism was always appreciated, especially when things didn’t work as planned. I would also like to thank my dissertation committee. Dr. Alec Gerry was always available for ideas and advice. Dr. Joseph Morse provided guidance and support for early on in my project planning. Dr. Timothy Paine provided guidance during the later stages of my Ph.D. career. The work in this dissertation would not have been possible without support from the Mullens laboratory. I would like to thank Fallon Fowler, Emily McDermott, and Diane Soto for their support as well as Katherine Chau, Jonathan McGhee, Natalie Wong, Levi Zahn, and Caleb Hubbard for their assistance in making sure the chickens (and mites) were always happy and healthy. Dr. Karen Xu in the Department of Statistics at UCR assisted with the statistical analyses in Chapter 1. Dr. Joy Mench in the Department of Animal Science at UC Davis provided her expertise in the area of animal welfare and served on my qualifying committee. I would like to thank my co-authors, Drs. Mark Chappell (Department of Biology at UCR) and Jeb Owen (Department of Entomology at Washington State University), for providing support, equipment, and expertise that made Chapter 1 possible. The Briles’ laboratory at Northern Illinois University (Department of Biological Sciences) determined bird haplotypes used in Chapter 1. iv I would like to thank the survey participants and their chickens for their contribution to Chapter 4. It was a big leap to move across the country to work on, of all things, chicken mites, and I could not have done it without the love and support from my family and friends. Special thanks to my parents, who never told their 11-year-old daughter that she couldn’t be an entomologist. I would especially like to thank my husband Kelly for his unwavering encouragement and love, and for letting me bring home the mutt living under Darcy’s desk. The research presented in this dissertation was supported by a USDA Western Regional IPM grant (No. 2013-34103-21219). Chapter 1 has been published as Murillo, A. C., M. A. Chappell, J. P. Owen, and B. A. Mullens (2016) Northern fowl mite (Ornithonyssus sylviarum) effects on metabolism, body temperatures, skin condition, and egg production as a function of hen MHC haplotype in Poultry Science. Chapter 3 has been accepted for publication as Murillo, A. C. and B. A. Mullens (2016) Sulfur Dust Bag: A Novel Technique for Ectoparasite Control in Poultry Systems in the Journal of Economic Entomology. Chapter 4 was previously published as Murillo, A. C. and B. A. Mullens (2016) Diversity and Prevalence of Ectoparasites on Backyard Chicken Flocks in California in the Journal of Medical Entomology. v DEDICATION To Kelly & Vader – Oh the places we’ll go vi ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Studies of Northern Fowl Mite Host-Parasite Interactions and Evaluation of Novel Control Strategies in Poultry by Amy Christine Murillo Doctor of Philosophy, Graduate Program in Entomology University of California, Riverside, June 2016 Dr. Bradley A. Mullens, Chairperson Northern fowl mites (Ornithonyssus sylviarum) are the most common and economically important ectoparasites in US laying hen flocks. Mites are permanent ectoparasites and cause damage to birds via blood feeding. Once in a flock, they can be very difficult to eradicate from a property. Mite control has traditionally relied on chemical sprays directed at high pressure underneath the birds and into the vent region where mites live; these applications are most effective when birds are held in battery cages. However, in recent years animal welfare concerns and consumer demand has affected how laying hens are housed. The transition to furnished-cage or cage-free production systems will require novel control techniques to achieve ectoparasite control. I investigated possibilities for ectoparasite control that would be effective in alternative poultry housing. Breeding for parasite resistance is an attractive control method. Chickens develop resistance to the northern fowl mite (NFM) and this is under at least some genetic control. I tested whether the haplotype conferring NFM resistance had any effect on chicken resting metabolism (energy expenditure), physiology, or economic performance. Bird vii haplotype did not affect hen metabolism or production parameters. NFM infestations negatively affected economic performance. Dustboxes have been shown to effectively decrease mite populations in cage-free flock when insecticidal dusts are used in combination with sand. I tested whether dustboxes with sand and diatomaceous earth could keep mites below economic thresholds before mite levels became damaging. When dustboxes were present in a flock, mite levels were on average kept below economic threshold regardless of percent of the flock that dustbathed. Sulfur dust is effective for NFM control in very low doses, though it is not universally approved for organic use. I tested whether sulfur deployed in a dust bag would be effective in caged (non-organic) flocks and if the placement of the bag affected efficacy. Hanging dust bags offered the best NFM control. Backyard chicken flocks are a growing trend in this country, and nothing is currently known about ectoparasite diversity on these birds. I surveyed 100 birds on 20 properties in southern California. Greater diversity was found on backyard flocks than on commercial birds. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ iv LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. xi LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... xii INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 15 Northern fowl mite (Ornithonyssus sylviarum) effects on metabolism, body temperatures, skin condition, and egg production as a function of hen MHC haplotype .......................................................................................................................... 23 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. 24 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 25 MATERIALS AND METHODS .................................................................................. 28 RESULTS ..................................................................................................................... 33 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................... 41 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 50 TABLES AND FIGURES ............................................................................................ 58 Timing Diatomaceous Earth-filled Dustbox Use for Management of Northern Fowl Mites (Acari: Macronyssidae) in Cage-Free Poultry Systems .................................... 74 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. 75 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 76 MATERIALS AND METHODS .................................................................................. 78 RESULTS ..................................................................................................................... 82 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................... 84 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 91 FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... 95 Sulfur Dust Bag: A Novel Technique for Ectoparasite Control in Poultry Systems ......................................................................................................................................... 102 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ 103 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 104 MATERIALS AND METHODS ................................................................................ 105 RESULTS ..................................................................................................................