The Wildlife Toxicology Laboratory, Texas Tech University, Box 43290, Lubbock, Texas 79409-3290.
J Parasitol. 2021 Jan 1;107(1):132-137. doi: 10.1645/20-137.
The Northern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) is a popular game bird that has been experiencing a well-documented decline throughout Texas since the 1960s. While much of this decline has been attributed to habitat loss and fragmentation, recent studies have identified other factors that may also contribute to decreasing quail populations. Parasites, in particular, have become increasingly recognized as possible stressors of quail, and some species, particularly the eyeworm (Oxyspirura petrowi) and cecal worm (Aulonocephalus pennula) are highly prevalent in Texas quails. Eyeworm infection has also been documented in some passerines, suggesting helminth infection may be shared between bird species. However, the lack of comprehensive helminth surveys has rendered the extent of shared infection between quail and passerines in the ecoregion unclear. Thus, helminth surveys were conducted on bobwhite, scaled quail (Callipepla squamata), Northern mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos), curve-billed thrashers (Toxistoma curvirostre), and Northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) to contribute data to existing parasitological gaps for birds in the Rolling Plains ecoregion of Texas. Birds were trapped across 3 counties in the Texas Rolling Plains from March to October 2019. Necropsies were conducted on 54 individuals (36 quail and 18 passerines), and extracted helminths were microscopically identified. Nematode, cestode, and acanthocephalan helminths representing at least 10 helminth species were found. Specifically, A. pennula and O. petrowi had the highest prevalence, and O. petrowi was documented in all of the study species. This research adds to the body of knowledge regarding parasitic infections in quail and passerines of the Rolling Plains ecoregion and highlights the potential consequences of shared infection of eyeworms among these bird species.
白喉斑翅鹛（Colinus virginianus）是一种受欢迎的猎鸟，自 20 世纪 60 年代以来，在德克萨斯州的数量一直在明显减少。虽然这种减少在很大程度上归因于栖息地的丧失和破碎化，但最近的研究已经确定了其他可能导致鹌鹑数量减少的因素。寄生虫，特别是眼线虫（Oxyspirura petrowi）和盲肠虫（Aulonocephalus pennula），已被越来越多地认为是鹌鹑的可能应激源，而在德克萨斯州的鹌鹑中，这两种寄生虫的发病率都很高。眼线虫感染也在一些雀形目鸟类中被记录下来，这表明寄生虫感染可能在鸟类物种之间共享。然而，由于缺乏全面的寄生虫调查，该生态区中鹌鹑和雀形目鸟类之间共享感染的程度尚不清楚。因此，对线斑翅鹛、栗耳雀鹛（Callipepla squamata）、北美嘲鸫（Mimus polyglottos）、弯嘴嘲鸫（Toxistoma curvirostre）和北美红雀（Cardinalis cardinalis）进行了寄生虫调查，为德克萨斯州滚动平原生态区鸟类的寄生虫学空白提供了数据。2019 年 3 月至 10 月，在德克萨斯州滚动平原的 3 个县进行了鸟类诱捕。对 54 只个体（36 只鹌鹑和 18 只雀形目鸟类）进行了剖检，提取的寄生虫通过显微镜进行了鉴定。发现了至少 10 种寄生虫的线虫、绦虫和棘头虫。具体来说，A. pennula 和 O. petrowi 的流行率最高，并且在所有研究物种中都记录到了 O. petrowi。这项研究增加了关于滚动平原生态区鹌鹑和雀形目鸟类寄生虫感染的知识体系，并强调了这些鸟类物种之间眼线虫共同感染的潜在后果。
