Zoltán Vas

Clever birds are lousy: Co-variation between avian innovation and the taxonomic richness of their amblyceran lice

Lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) are ectoparasites that reduce host life expectancy and sexual attractiveness. Their taxonomic richness varies considerably among their hosts. Previous studies have already explored some important factors shaping louse diversity. An unexplored potential correlate of louse taxonomic richness is host behavioural flexibility. In this comparative study, we examine the relationship between louse generic richness, innovative capabilities (as a proxy for behavioural flexibility), and brain size while controlling for host species diversity, phylogeny, body size and research effort. Using data for 108 avian families, we found a highly significant positive relationship between host innovative capabilities and the taxonomic richness of amblyceran lice, but a lack of a similar relationship in ischnoceran lice. Host brain size had only a marginal impact on amblyceran diversity and no correlation with ischnoceran diversity. This suggests that the effect in Amblycera is not mediated by metabolic limitations due to the energetic costs of brain size and maintenance, rather directly caused by the ecological differences between hosts with differing cognitive capabilities. We propose four alternative and mutually non-exclusive hypotheses that may explain this phenomenon.

Co-extinct and critically co-endangered species of parasitic lice, and conservation-induced extinction: should lice be reintroduced to their hosts?

The co - extinction of parasitic taxa and their host species isconsideredacommon phenomenon inthecurrent global extinction crisis. However, information about the conservation status of parasitic taxa is scarce. We prese nt a global list of co - extinct and critically co - endangered parasitic lice (Phthiraptera), based on published data on their host - specificity and their hosts’ conservation status according to the IUCN Red List. We list six co - extinct and 40 (possibly 41) cr itically co - endangered species. Additionally, we recognize 2 – 4 species that went extinct as a result of conservation efforts to save their hosts. Conservationists should consider preserving host - specific lice as part of their efforts to save species.

Evolutionary co-variation of host and parasite diversity—the first test of Eichler’s rule using parasitic lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera)

The taxonomic richness of lice (Phthiraptera) varies considerably among their avian and mammalian hosts. Previous studies explored some factors shaping louse diversity; however, the so-called Eichler’s rule—according to which taxonomic richness of parasites co-varies with that of their hosts—has never been tested. Our study incorporates all families of birds and mammals and the whole order of lice to test this co-variation, thus we present the widest taxonomic range to test any correlates of louse richness. Louse richness data were controlled for uneven sampling effort. We used the method of independent contrasts to control for phylogenetic effects. We found a strong correlation between the species richness of avian and mammalian families and generic richness of their lice. We discuss some alternative macroevolutionary and macroecological hypotheses that may explain this phenomenon that may well be a general feature of parasitism and it seems possible that this effect contribute considerably to global biodiversity.

Ringing procedure can reduce the burden of feather lice in Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica

Abstract. Chewing lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) are the most widespread obligate ectoparasites living in the plumage of birds. Lice have to cope with unusual mechanical effects during ringing, and they could fall off their hosts. We assumed that trapping birds in nets, taking measurements and estimating condition could reduce their louse burdens. Lousiness affects life expectancy and reproductive success, so if ringing causes remarkable louse loss, the fitness of ringed birds could be altered. Lice are usually collected at ringing sites, and ringing precedes parasite sampling. This may therefore lead to an underestimation of louse prevalence and intensity. Here we tested whether ringing reduces the louse burden. We allocated Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica in the breeding season to two experimental groups — the birds were subject to either a standard ringing procedure (recording biometry, fat and other condition scores, feather hole counts), or a reduced one (only feather hole counts). We used feather holes (traces of louse chewing) as a measure of louse loads. Holes were recounted after a month. Significantly more new holes appeared in the reduced ringing procedure group, indicating tat the usual ringing procedures effectively reduce louse loads. We believe this is the first evidence that bird ringing affects ectoparasite infestations.

Photographic survey of the prey-choice of European Bee-eaters (Merops apiaster Linnaeus, 1758) in Hungary at three colonies

Abstract Prey choice of European Bee-eaters was monitored via taking pictures of parent birds carrying prey items to their perches in front of the nests between 2011 and 2013 at three colonies in Hungary: at Pócsmegyer, Nagykarácsony and Albertirsa. All the colonies were studied in the breeding season, and prey items were identified from the digital images taken of adults carrying food for their chicks. During the three years 25 days were spent with collecting photographic data, and from the thousands of pictures taken 805 were suitable for analysis. On 775 photographs the prey item was identified at least to order level. Combining data from all the colonies hymenopterans were by far the most often consumed insects (50%), followed by dragonflies (17%), while beetles, orthopterans, lepidopterans and dipterans each contributed approximately 7-9% of the consumed prey. Prey composition showed marked differences between the individual colonies, although the ratio of hymenopterans was everywhere high. Bee-eaters at Pócsmegyer, probably due to the abundance of aquatic habitats nearby on the Danube shore, consumed almost as much dragonflies as hymenopterans, and ate very few orthopterans. While at the Albertirsa colony, surrounded by agricultural fields and meadows in a more arid environment, hymenopterans dominated the prey, and orthopterans were almost as often consumed as dragonflies. Lepidopterans constituted approximately 8% of Bee-eaters’ diet in all colonies. From an insect ecological viewpoint, our study provides valuable data on the species pool that might be at risk of predation by Bee-eaters, and enables us to roughly estimate the predation pressure on some taxa, and in certain cases even on species by these birds. Összefoglalás A gyurgyalagok táplálékösszetételét a fészek előtt álló beülő fákhoz szállított táplálék fotózásával elemeztük 2011-2013 között három magyarországi gyurgyalag telepen: Albertirsa, Pócsmegyer és Nagykarácsony határában. Valamennyi kolóniánál a költési időszakban, elsősorban fiókanevelési időszakban végeztük a vizsgálatokat, és a hordott rovarokat a digitális képek alapján határoztuk meg. A három év alatt 25 alkalommal végeztünk adatgyűjtést, és a több ezer készített felvételből 805 bizonyult elemzésre alkalmasnak. 775 képen a hozott táplálék azonosítása legalább rend szintig lehetséges volt. A három kolónia összesített eredményei alapján a hártyásszárnyúak (50%) és szitakötők (17%) voltak a leggyakrabban fogyasztott rovarok, míg a bogarak, egyenesszárnyúak, lepkék és kétszárnyúak egyenként nagyjából a táplálék 7-9%-át tették ki. Ugyan az egyes kolóniákon mindenütt a hártyásszárnyúak voltak a leggyakrabban fogyasztott rovarok, határozott különbségeket észleltünk a többi fogyasztott rovar részarányában. A pócsmegyeri kolónia táplálékában, feltehetőleg a közeli Duna ártéren található vízi élőhelyeknek köszönhetően, csaknem ugyanolyan arányban képviseltettek a szitakötők, mint a hártyásszárnyúak, míg az egyenesszárnyúakat meglepően alacsony arányban fogyasztották. A szárazabb környezetben található, mezőgazdasági művelésbe vont területekkel és rétekkel körülvett albertirsai telep esetében a hártyásszárnyúak alkották a táplálék felét, a szitakötők, egyenesszárnyúak és kétszárnyúak hasonló arányban szerepeltek a táplálékban. A lepkék megközelítőleg 8%-át tették ki a gyurgyalagok táplálékának mindhárom kolóniában. A tanulmány rovarökológiai szempontból értékes adatokat nyújt arra nézve, hogy mely rovarfajok szerepelnek a gyurgyalagok táplálékában, továbbá durva becsléseket tehetünk az egyes taxonokat, illetve szerencsés esetben egyes fajokat sújtó predációs nyomásra.

A successful habitat reconstruction effort, the short history of the European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) colony at Albertirsa (Hungary)

Abstract In the Golyófogó Valley near Albertirsa natural erosion created near vertical walls in the loess deposited in the last glacial period, offering natural nesting sites for the European Bee-eater. Later the deeply cut coach roads, the pits of loess extraction and the construction works of the motorway nearby created further man-made banks. Hence by the 1970-ies a well-established colony bred here, but by the beginning of the 21st century, disturbance and the demise of vertical banks led to a serious reduction in the number of breeding pairs. The purchase of 5-hectare loess grassland plot and the adjacent loess bank, and later its reconstruction led to an unprecedented growth in the number of Bee-eaters. From 2010 the number of breeding pairs exceeded 200 every year. Not only the Bee-eater colony, but also the natural vegetation and the botanical values of the area are managed to maintain the population of rare and protected element of the local flora and fauna. Összefoglalás Az albertirsai Golyófogó-völgyben a jégkorszakban felhalmozódott löszbe vájt eróziós völgy falai régóta természetes fészkelési lehetőséget biztosítanak a gyurgyalagnak. A falu határában a vályogkészítéshez használt lösz kitermelése után maradt gödrök falai, a bevágódott mélyutak, majd később az autóút építkezés révén további ember alkotta fészkelőhelyek jöttek létre. Ennek köszönhetően az 1970-es évekre a partfalban költő kolónia létszáma megnőtt, de a 21. század elejére a zavarásnak, illetve a falak leomlásának köszönhetően a gyurgyalagok száma alaposan megcsappant. A Golyófogó-völgyben egy öthektáros löszgyep és a hozzátartozó partfal megvásárlása, majd 2009-es rekonstrukciója után a költő párok száma 2010-től 200 pár fölé emelkedett. A gyurgyalag kolónia mellett a terület botanikai értékeinek és természetes növénytársulásainak megőrzésére is törekednek a természetvédők, hogy ezzel biztosítsák a helyi állat- és növényvilág ritka és értékes elemeinek megőrzését

Louse (Insecta: Phthiraptera) infestations of European Bee-eaters (Merops apiaster Linnaeus, 1758) at Albertirsa, Hungary

Abstract Colonial breeding birds such as the European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster), are perfectly suited for ectoparasitological studies, as their elaborate social life and frequent body-to-body contacts induce high prevalence of louse (Phthiraptera) infestations. In this study we investigated a large breeding colony at Albertirsa, Hungary, and measured the louse burden of the breeding population. With more than 200 pairs nesting in the loess wall there, it may be Hungary’s largest colony of European Bee-eaters. We sampled breeding birds and compared their louse burdens between age groups and sexes. We report the prevalence, mean and median intensity of infestations of the three louse species harboured by the Bee-eaters, and the results of louse burden comparisons between age groups and sexes. Összefoglalás A koloniális fészkelésű madarak, mint a gyurgyalag (Merops apiaster) különösen alkalmasak ektoparazitológiai kutatásokra, köszönhetően az összetett szociális viselkedésükből adódó gyakori testi érintkezések miatt fellépő magas fertőzöttségi aránynak. Vizsgálatunk során felmértük az Albertirsán (Pest megye, Magyarország) található kolónia tolltetű (Phthiraptera) fertőzöttségét. Ez a kolónia több mint 200 fészkelő párral valószínűleg Magyarország legnagyobb gyurgyalagtelepe. Jelen dolgozatban közöljük a különböző gyurgyalag korés ivarcsoportok fertőzöttségi mérőszámait mindhárom, a gyurgyalagot fertőző tetűfaj esetében, illetve a kor- és ivarcsoportok fertőzöttségének összehasonlítása során kapott eredményeket

Avian brood parasitism and ectoparasite richness - scale-dependent diversity interactions in a three-level host-parasite system

Brood parasitic birds, their foster species and their ectoparasites form a complex coevolving system composed of three hierarchical levels. However, effects of hosts’ brood parasitic life‐style on the evolution of their louse (Phthiraptera: Amblycera, Ischnocera) lineages have never been tested. We present two phylogenetic analyses of ectoparasite richness of brood parasitic clades. Our hypothesis was that brood parasitic life‐style affects louse richness negatively across all avian clades due to the lack of vertical transmission routes. Then, narrowing our scope to brood parasitic cuckoos, we explored macroevolutionary factors responsible for the variability of their louse richness. Our results show that taxonomic richness of lice is lower on brood parasitic clades than on their nonparasitic sister clades. However, we found a positive covariation between the richness of cuckoos’ Ischnoceran lice and the number of their foster species, possibly due to the complex and dynamic subpopulation structure of cuckoo species that utilize several host species. We documented diversity interactions across a three‐level host parasite system and we found evidence that brood parasitism has opposing effects on louse richness at two slightly differing macroevolutionary scales, namely the species richness and the genera richness.

New species and host association records for the Hungarian avian louse fauna (Insecta: Phthiraptera)

Abstract A recently published checklist of Hungarian louse fauna (Insecta: Phthiraptera) listed 279 species and subspecies which have been recorded in Hungary. According to that checklist several louse species still await detection in Hungary, and many of the previously reported louse species have not been found on all expected host species yet. Our faunistical survey on avian lice started in 2005 at Ócsa Bird Ringing Station, resulting hundreds of ectoparasite samples collected from over 70 bird species. Additionally, our louse collection has grown by collecting samples in other research projects focusing on various bird species, and by sampling cadavers before taxidermy in the Bird Collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum. As the results of a preliminary exploration of this collection, we list 20 louse species which are new to the Hungarian fauna, as well as the first Hungarian records of 17 host-parasite associations. We also found 3 louse-bird association records new for the World fauna. Összefoglalás A tetvek rendjének (Insecta: Phthiraptera) hazai faunalistája 279 tetűfaj és alfaj előfordulásáról számol be. A faunalista szerint számos további tetűfaj fordul elő nagy valószínűséggel Magyarországon, és a már megtalált tetűfajok jelentős része sem került még elő valamennyi várható gazdafajáról. A madarakon élősködő tetvek faunisztikai kutatását 2005-ben az Ócsai Madárvártán kezdtük, ahol több mint 70 madárfaj ektoparazitáit mintavételeztük. A több száz, Ócsán gyűjtött minta mellett más madártani kutatások keretében is gyűjtöttünk külső élősködőket, illetve a Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum Madárgyűjteményében is vettünk mintákat a preparálásra előkészített madártetemekről. A gyűjtött minták előzetes feldolgozása során magyar faunára új 20 tetűfajt, és Magyarországon eddig nem jegyzett 17 gazda-parazita kapcsolatot dokumentáltunk. Eredményeink közt további 3, a nemzetközi irodalomból eddig ismeretlen gazda-parazita kapcsolatról is beszámolunk.

Contributions to the taxonomy, identification, and biogeography of Thaumatogelis Schwarz, 1995 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae)

Three species of Thaumatogelis Schwarz, 1995 are described as new: T. megaera Vas sp. nov. from Mongolia, T. alecto Vas sp. nov. from Jordan, and T. tisiphone Vas Schwarz sp. nov. from Sicily, Italy. The identity of the previously misinterpreted T. pilosus (Capron, 1888) is clarified, and is redescribed. An updated identification key to the females of all known Thaumatogelis species is provided. Twelve new records from six countries are reported, some of them significantly expanding the known geographical distribution of certain Thaumatogelis species and that of the genus in the Palaearctic region.