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Symbiotic arthropods from the house sparrow (Passer domesticus, Aves: Passeridae) from two locations in Alberta, Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 September 2013

Kaylee Byers*
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, CW405 Biological Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E9
Heather Proctor
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, CW405 Biological Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E9
*
1Corresponding author (e-mail: kbyers@ualberta.ca).

Abstract

House sparrows (Passer domesticus (Linnaeus), Aves: Passeridae) were introduced into eastern North America in the mid 1800s and have been expanding their range since then. We collected sparrows from two sites in Alberta, Canada (Edmonton: 58 birds; Onefour: 13 birds), and compared symbiont richness and prevalence between them and between Alberta and two states in the United States of America. We found 17 species of symbionts: 13 mites, three insects, and one trematode. Richness of symbionts in Alberta was very similar to that in the United States of America sites. The most striking difference was absence of the feather mite Proctophyllodes troncatus Robin (Acari: Proctophyllodidae) on sampled hosts in Alberta.

Résumé

Les moineaux domestiques (Passer domesticus (Linnaeus), Aves: Passeridae) ont été introduits dans l'Est de l'Amérique du Nord au milieu du dix-neuvième siècle et ils accroissent leur aire de répartition depuis lors. Nous avons récolté des moineaux à deux sites en Alberta, Canada (Edmonton: 58 oiseaux; Onefour: 13 oiseaux) et comparé la richesse et la prévalence des symbiontes entre les deux sites, ainsi qu'entre l'Alberta et deux états des États-Unis d'Amérique. Nous avons identifié 17 espèces de symbiontes, 13 acariens, trois insectes et un trématode. La richesse des symbiontes en Alberta est très semblable à celle des sites des États-Unis d'Amérique. La différence la plus marquée est l'absence de l'acarien des plumes Proctophyllodes troncatus Robin (Acari: Proctophyllodidae) chez les hôtes prélevés en Alberta.

Type
Biodiversity & Evolution – NOTE
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 2013 

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