Dataset Information

The ectoparasites of hybrid ducks in New Zealand (Mallard x Grey Duck).

ABSTRACT: We studied the population genetics of one population sample of hybrid Mallard x Grey Ducks and their lice in New Zealand. We aimed to document the relationship between ectoparasite load and host phenotype, and test for an association between the mtDNA diversity of the lice and their hosts, which is predicted based on maternal care. We found three feather lice species previously described for these hosts: Anaticola crassicornis (wing louse), Anatoecus dentatus (head louse), and Trinoton querquedulae (body louse). No new or rare lice species were uncovered. Most ducks in our sample were more Mallard-like than Grey Duck-like hybrids for the five colour and plumage traits examined. We confirm that based solely on phenotypic characters it is difficult to distinguish between Mallards, hybrids and Grey Ducks. We detected no association between the number of lice and host phenotype for two of the three louse species (while controlling for bird size). However, the Grey Duck-like hybrids had fewer head lice (A. dentatus) than their Mallard-like counterparts. Only three of the 40 hosts had mtDNA haplotypes that characterise Grey Ducks. We present the first genetic data of Anaticola crassicornis, Anatoecus dentatus and Trinoton querquedulae from New Zealand waterfowl. We found that the lice mtDNA had greater sequence diversity than the homologous gene for the ducks. A mitochondrial phylogeny for A. crassicornis collected from hosts worldwide has been previously published, and we added our novel data to infer evolutionary relationships among worldwide populations of this louse. None of the three lice species showed a close association of parasite and host mtDNA lineage despite lack of paternal care in these duck species.

SUBMITTER: Bulgarella M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6154467 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

The ectoparasites of hybrid ducks in New Zealand (Mallard x Grey Duck).

Bulgarella Mariana M Quenu Mathieu M Shepherd Lara D LD Morgan-Richards Mary M

International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife 20180914 3

We studied the population genetics of one population sample of hybrid Mallard x Grey Ducks and their lice in New Zealand. We aimed to document the relationship between ectoparasite load and host phenotype, and test for an association between the mtDNA diversity of the lice and their hosts, which is predicted based on maternal care. We found three feather lice species previously described for these hosts: Anaticola crassicornis (wing louse), Anatoecus dentatus (head louse), and T ...[more]

PMID: 30258780

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundDomestication, including selective breeding, can lead to morphological changes of biomechanical relevance. In birds, limb proportions and sternum characteristics are of great importance and have been studied in the past for their relation with flight, terrestrial locomotion and animal welfare. In this work we studied the effects of domestication and breed formation in limb proportions and sternum characteristics in chicken (Gallus gallus), mallard ducks (Anas plathyrhynchos) and Muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata).MethodsFirst, we quantified the proportional length of three long bones of the forelimb (humerus, radius, and carpometacarpus) and the hind limb (femur, tibiotarsus, and tarsometatarsus) in domestic chickens, mallard ducks, and Muscovy ducks and their wild counterparts. For this, we took linear measurements of these bones and compared their proportions in the wild vs. the domestic group in each species. In chicken, these comparisons could also be conducted among different breeds. We then evaluated the proportional differences in the context of static and ontogenetic allometry. Further, we compared discrete sternum characteristics in red jungle fowl and chicken breeds. In total, we examined limb bones of 287 specimens and keel bones of 63 specimens.ResultsWe found a lack of significant change in the proportions of limb bones of chicken and Muscovy duck due to domestication, but significant differences in the case of mallard ducks. Variation of evolvability, allometric scaling, and heterochrony may serve to describe some of the patterns of change we report. Flight capacity loss in mallard ducks resulting from domestication may have a relation with the difference in limb proportions. The lack of variation in proportions that could distinguish domestic from wild forms of chicken and Muscovy ducks may reflect no selection for flight capacity during the domestication process in these groups. In chicken, some of the differences identified in the traits discussed are breed-dependent. The study of the sternum revealed that the condition of crooked keel was not unique to domestic chicken, that some sternal characteristics were more frequent in certain chicken breeds than in others, and that overall there were no keel characteristics that are unique for certain chicken breeds. Despite some similar morphological changes identified across species, this study highlights the lack of universal patterns in domestication and breed formation.

Dataset Information

The ectoparasites of hybrid ducks in New Zealand (Mallard x Grey Duck).

Publications

The ectoparasites of hybrid ducks in New Zealand (Mallard x Grey Duck).

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets