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Xerox University Microfilms 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 75-26,561 COOPER, Clyde Lawrence, 1943- THE HELMINTH PARASITES OF AN INSULAR AVIAN PASSERINE COMMUNITY: RELATIONSHIP TO LANDSCAPE EPIDEMIOLOGY. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1975 Zoology Xerox University MicrofilmsAnn , Arbor, Michigan 48106 THE HELMINTH PARASITES OF AN INSULAR AVIAN PASSERINE COMMUNITY: RELATIONSHIP TO LANDSCAPE EPIDEMIOLOGY DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Clyde Lawrence Cooper, B.S,, A.M, The Ohio State University 1975 Reading Committee: Approved by John L. Crites Tony J . Peterle Loren S. Putnam ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A large number of individuals have contributed to my development as a biologist and scholar. Most importantly, Professor John L. Crites has given generously of his spiritual and material wealth to provide an atmosphere in which one joyfully acquires a working knowledge of the discipline of parasitology. Human beings spend their lives adopting various models of behavior. A part of the man that Dr, Crites is can be fqund as a part of this writer. This study would not have been possible without the aid of Dr, L, S. Putnam, Director, Franz Theodore Stone Labora­ tory. The assistance of Dr, M. Miskimen was, likewise, invaluable. The ready assistance offered to a parasitology student working on birds by these two ornithologists is, perhaps, the most telling statement that can be made about these kind people. Over the years, a number of graduate students in parasitology and ornithology have aided me in this study in various ways. Since they are too numerous to acknowledge individually, I wish to recognize their contributions collectively. VITA September 2, 1943. • • .Born - Williamstown, West Virginia 1965 .................... B.S., Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio 1966 .......... A.M., West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 1965-1968........ .. .Elementary and Secondary Science Teacher, Wood County Board of Education, Parkersburg, W. Va. 1968-1969................NSF Academic Year Trainee, Graduate School, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1969-1974 Teaching Associate, Department of Zoology, The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio i 1974-1975 Research Associate, Center‘'for Lake Erie Area Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio Publications "New Records of Monopetalonema alcedinis (Rudolphi, 1819) (Nematoda: Filarioidea) from Wisconsin and California.11 The Passenger Pigeon 35(1): 36. 1973. "Gordius sp., A New Host Record," The Ohio Journal of Science 73(4): 228. 1973. "A Check List of the Helminth Parasites of the Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata L." The Passenger Pigeon 35(4): 191-193. 1 9 m "Helminth Parasites of the Brown-headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater ater, from Ohio." The Ohio Journal of Science 73(6) 1*76-180. 1973. "Occurrence of Helminth Parasites in Avian Hosts from South Bass Island, Ohio." The Ohio Journal of Science 74(1): 60-62. "Arthropod Parasites of the Brown-headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater ater, in Ohio." Journal of Medical Entomology IIXT): 233. 1974. "Helminth Parasites of the Common Grackle, Quiscalus cuiscula versicolor, from South Bass Island, Ohio." Proceedings of the Helminthological Society of Washington 41(2): 233-237. 1974. "Helminth Parasites of the Robin from South Bass Island, Ohio." Journal of Wildlife Diseases 10(4): 397-398. 1974. "Helminth Parasites of the Red-winged Blackbirds from South Bass Island, Ohio, Including a Checklist of the Helminths Reported from This Host." Journal of Wildlife Diseases 10(4): 399-403. "The Helminth Parasites of the Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata bromia, from South Bass Island, Ohio." The Canadian Journal of Zoology 52(11): 1421-1423. 1974. "Helminth Parasites of Over-wintering Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) from Laurel, Maryland;" The Journal of Parasitology 60(6): 962. 1974. "Helminth Parasitism in Juvenile House Sparrows, Passer domesticus (L.), from South Bass Island, Ohio, Including a List ofHelminths Reported from This Host in North America." The Ohio Journal of Science 74(6): 388-389. 1974. "Arthropod Parasites of the Common Grackle, Quiscalus cuiscula versicolor, in Ohio." Journal of Medical Entomology 12(2): In press. 1975. "Arthropod Parasites of Passerine Birds from South Bass Island, Ohio," Journal of Medical Entomology 12(4): In press. 1975. "Helminth Parasites of the Starling, Sturnus vulgaris, from South Bass Island, Ohio." The Journal of Parasitology 61(1): 161. 1975. "Helminth Parasites of the Common Grackle, Quiscalus quiscula versicolor, from Columbus, OhioT11 The Journal of Parasitology 61. In press. 1975. "A Check List of the Helminth Parasites of the Robin, Turdus migratorius Ridgway." American Midland Naturalist. In press. "Additional Check List of the Helminths of the Starling CSturnus vulgaris L .)." American Midland Naturalist. In press. Field of Study Major Field: Zoology Ji Studies in Helminthology. Professor John L. Crites v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS................................... ii VITA ............................................. iii LIST OF T A B L E S ................................. vii LIST OF FIGURES.......................... viii INTRODUCTION......................... .V......... 1 MATERIALS AND METHODS............................. 7 RESULTS........................................... 10 Trematoda................................... 11 Cestoda .......... 63 . Nematoda 8 5 Acanthocephala.............................. 139 DISCUSSION....................................... 150 A. General Consideration of the Helminth Fauna of Passerine Birds. ............. 15Q B . The Concept of Landscape Epidemiology and a Modified Concept of the Nidality of Disease............................... 16 9 C. The Nidality Index...................... 173 D. A Helminth Biocenose Involving Passerine Birds on South Bass Island. 177 SUMMARY........................................... 182 LITERATURE CITED ................................. 184 LIST OF TABLES Table Page I 1. Summary of Past and Present Studies of Helminth Parasites in Selected Passerine Birds..................... 151 2. Prevalence and Intensity of Helminth Parasites in Fifty Red-winged Blackbirds . 15 9 3. Prevalence and Intensity of Helminth Parasites in Fifty Blue J a y s ....... 16Q M-. Prevalence and Intensity of Helminth Parasites in Fifty Brown-headed Cowbirds ............................. 162 5. Prevalence and Intensity of Helminth Parasites in Fifty Common Grackles .... 163 6. Prevalence and Intensity of Helminth Parasites in Thirty House Sparrows .... 16M> 7. Prevalence and Intensity of Helminth Parasites in Fifty Starlings ............. 16 5 8. Prevalence and Intensity of Helminth Parasites in Fifty Robins. ........... 166 vii ! LIST OF FIGURES Figure Pag< 1. The -Similarity Index of Helminth Faunas of Seven Avian Host Species from South Bass Island, Ottawa County, Ohio, 1968- 1971. (Sorensen, 1948)....................... 170 2 Trellis Diagram of 2 80 Birds Examined. The Nidality Index in Percent is Based on Presence or Absence of 10 pecies of Parasitic Helminths in Passerine Hosts from South Bass Island, Ottawa County, Ohio, 1968-1971. (Dice, 1945) ............ 176 • • • V 1 H INTRODUCTION Despite a slow accumulation of records of helminth parasites of passerine birds, little attention has been given to the prevalence and intensity of different parasite species in their respective hosts. Most accounts of the helminth parasites of passerine birds are based on small numbers of host examinations. There is scant knowledge