A variety of mammal and bird species in the Mountain Zebra National Park, eastern Cape Province, were examined for Ixodes rubicundus. In addition, caracal (Felis caracal) from the park and its vicinity as well as from the Graaff-Reinet region of the Karoo were examined. Amongst the animals collected, the red rock rabbit (Pronolagus rupestris) was a preferred host of the immature stages of the t...

A novel avian trypanosome, Trypanosoma culicavium sp. nov., isolated from Culex mosquitoes, is described on the basis of naturally and experimentally infected vectors and bird hosts, localization in the vector, morphological characters and molecular data. This study provides the first comprehensive description of a trypanosome species transmitted by mosquitoes, in which parasites form plugs and...

Introduction: Toxoplasmosis is a widely prevalent zoonotic disease, caused by T. gondii. Chickens, consumed widely in many countries, are considered as one of the most important hosts in the epidemiology of T. gondii infection because they could be a main source of infection for both cats and humans. There was no information regarding T. gondii infection in chickens in this area, therefore, thi...

Bird cherry-oat aphid, (Rhopalosiphum padi /L./ (Hemi-ptera, Aphididae), is a holocyclic host-alternating species in temperate climates between wooden bird cherry, Prunus padus L. (Rosaceae) (winter, primary host) and grasses (summer, secondary hosts). In the spring, the aphid hatches from the winter eggs on P. padus and two wingless generations are developed before appearance of winged spring ...

Shorebird abundance and spatial distribution of larval trematodes in the New Zealand mudsnail, Zeacumantus subcarinatus, were investigated in soft-sediment intertidal bays within Otago Harbour, South Island, New Zealand. In a small-scale study, recruitment of trematodes to caged sentinel snails and the prevalence of infection in free-living snails were examined across a grid of fifteen 50·25 m ...

West Nile virus (WNV) has caused disease in humans, equids, and birds at lower frequency in Mexico than in the United States. We hypothesized that the seemingly reduced virulence in Mexico was caused by attenuation of the Tabasco strain from southeastern Mexico, resulting in lower viremia than that caused by the Tecate strain from the more northern location of Baja California. During 2006-2008,...

Phenological responses to climate change vary among taxa and across trophic levels. This can lead to a mismatch between the life cycles of ecologically interrelated populations (e.g. predators and prey), with negative consequences for population dynamics of some of the interacting species. Here we provide, to our knowledge, the first evidence that climate change might disrupt the association be...

The fact that birds, being, hosts of related ectoparasites such as Mallophaga, are usually also related with each other, in other words that parasites can serve as indicators of the degree of relationship of hosts, has already been known to Nitzsch since the beginning 01 the last century ’and later repeatedly confirmed. On this basis the so called Fahrenholz or Nitzsch-Kellog rule has been form...

The present paper reports acuarioid nematodes recovered from avian hosts. A new species of the genus Schistorophus Railliet, 1916 is proposed based mainly on findings referring to ptilina, spicules and vagina. Ancyracanthopsis coronata (Molin, 1860) Chabaud & Petter, 1959 is referred again in Brazil since its proposition in 1860, from specimens recovered from a Brazilian bird. A revised key to ...

Four accipitriform bird species of the family Accipitridae are reported as new hosts for quill mites (Acari: Cheyletoidea: Syringophilidae): Megasyringophilus aquilus Skoracki, Lontkowski and Stawarczyk, 2010 was collected from Hieraaetus pennatus Gmelin, 1788 in France and Spain, and Buteo jamaicensis Gmelin, 1788 in Canada; Peristerophila accipitridicus Skoracki, Lontkowski and Stawarczyk, 20...