title: Comparative ectoparasite loads of five seabird species in the Galapagos Islands.
abstract: In this paper we describe the ectoparasitic lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) found on 5 species of seabirds (magnificent frigatebird Fregata magnificens; great frigatebird Fregata minor ; Nazca booby Sula granti ; blue-footed booby Sula nebouxii ; and red-footed booby Sula sula ) on the Galapagos Archipelago. We found 9 species of ectoparasitic lice: 5 species of Pectinopygus ischnocerans, 1 infesting each host; 2 species of Colpocephalum amblyceran lice, 1 on each frigatebird species; and 2 shared amblycerans, Eidmanniella albescens (Piaget, 1880) found on Nazca and blue-footed boobies and Fregatiella aurifasciata (Kellogg, 1899) found on the 2 frigatebirds. We tested the relative importance and interactions of host sex, body size, host, island, host family, and breeding status and found that inter-island differences were the main predictors of prevalence and infestation intensity. These differences could be related to host density or weather, but further evidence is needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63110. Correspondence should be sent to: jose.rivera@epn.edu.ec.
authors.forename: Jose L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Rivera-Parra
authors.forename: Iris I
authors.initials: II
authors.lastname: Levin
authors.forename: Patricia G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Parker
mesh_terms: D058325:Amblycera / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D001717:Birds; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D058893:DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic; D004484:Ecuador / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D058326:Ischnocera / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D010373:Lice Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D009758:Nymph; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D012744:Sex Ratio; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D004247:DNA