Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T01:39:17.738Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Infection levels of the eyeworm Oxyspirura petrowi and caecal worm Aulonocephalus pennula in the northern bobwhite and scaled quail from the Rolling Plains of Texas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2016

N.R. Dunham
Affiliation:
The Wildlife Toxicology Laboratory, The Institute of Environmental and Human Health, Texas Tech University, Box 43290, Lubbock, Texas, 79409-3290, USA
S.T. Peper
Affiliation:
Vector-Borne Zoonoses Laboratory, The Institute of Environmental and Human Health, Texas Tech University, Box 41163, Lubbock, Texas 79409-1163, USA
C. Downing
Affiliation:
The Wildlife Toxicology Laboratory, The Institute of Environmental and Human Health, Texas Tech University, Box 43290, Lubbock, Texas, 79409-3290, USA
E. Brake
Affiliation:
The Wildlife Toxicology Laboratory, The Institute of Environmental and Human Health, Texas Tech University, Box 43290, Lubbock, Texas, 79409-3290, USA
D. Rollins
Affiliation:
Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch, 1262 US Highway 180 W., Rotan, Texas, 79546, USA
R.J. Kendall*
Affiliation:
The Wildlife Toxicology Laboratory, The Institute of Environmental and Human Health, Texas Tech University, Box 43290, Lubbock, Texas, 79409-3290, USA

Abstract

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) have experienced chronic declines within the Rolling Plains ecoregion of Texas. Parasitic infection, which has long been dismissed as a problem in quail, has not been studied thoroughly until recently. A total of 219 northern bobwhite and 101 scaled quail from Mitchell County, Texas were captured and donated from 2014 to 2015, and examined for eyeworm (Oxyspirura petrowi) and caecal worm (Aulonocephalus pennula) infections. In 2014, bobwhites averaged 19.6 ± 1.8 eyeworms and 98.6 ± 8.2 caecal worms, and 23.5 ± 2.1 eyeworms and 129.9 ± 10.7 caecal worms in 2015. Scaled quail averaged 4.8 ± 1.0 eyeworms and 50 ± 6.8 caecal worms in 2014, and 5.7 ± 1.3 eyeworms and 38.1 ± 7.1 caecal worms in 2015. This study expands the knowledge of parasitic infection in quail inhabiting the Rolling Plains of Texas. A significant difference was documented in O. petrowi infection between species but there was no significant difference in A. pennula between quail species. No significant difference was detected in parasite infection between the sexes of both northern bobwhite and scaled quail. This study also documented the highest reported O. petrowi infection in both species of quail. Additional research is needed on the life history and infection dynamics of O. petrowi and A. pennula infections to determine if there are individual- and/or population-level implications due to parasitic infection.

Type
Research Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Addison, E.M. & Anderson, R.C. (1969) A review of eyeworms of the genus Oxyspirura (Nematoda: Spirurodidea). Wildlife Disease 55, 158.Google Scholar
Bridges, A.S., Peterson, M.J., Silvy, N.J., Smeins, F.E. & Ben Wu, X. (2001) Differential influence of weather on regional quail abundance in Texas. Journal of Wildlife Management 65, 1018.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruno, A.B., Fedynich, A.M., Smith-Herron, A. & Rollins, D. (2015) Pathological response of northern bobwhites to Oxyspirura petrowi infections. Journal of Parasitology 101, 364368.Google Scholar
Bush, A.O., Lafferty, K.D., Lotz, J.M. & Shostak, A.W. (1997) Parasitology meets ecology on its own terms: Margolis et al. revisited. Journal of Parasitology 83, 575583.Google Scholar
Cantu, R., Rollins, D. & Lerich, S.P. (2005) Scaled quail in Texas: their biology and management. W7000-1183. Austin, Texas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.Google Scholar
Chandler, A.C. (1935) A new genus and species of Subuluriae (Nematodes). Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 54, 3335.Google Scholar
Davidson, W.R., Kellogg, F.E. & Doster, G.L. (1980) Seasonal trends of helminth parasites of bobwhite quail. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 16, 367375.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DeRosa, M. & Shivaprasad, H.L. (1999) Capillariasis in vulture guinea fowl. Avian Diseases 43, 131135.Google Scholar
Draycott, R.A.H., Parish, D.M.B., Woodburn, M.I.A. & Carroll, J.P. (2000) Spring survey of the parasite Heterakis gallinarum in wild-living pheasants in Britain. Veterinary Record 147, 245246.Google Scholar
Dunham, N.R., Soliz, L.A., Fedynich, A.M., Rollins, D. & Kendall, R.J. (2014) Evidence of an Oxyspirura petrowi epizootic in northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus). Journal of Wildlife Diseases 50, 552558.Google Scholar
Dunham, N.R., Soliz, L.A., Brightman, A., Rollins, D., Fedynich, A.M. & Kendall, R.J. (2015) Live eyeworm (Oxyspirura petrowi) extraction, in-vitro culture, and transfer for experimental studies. Journal of Parasitology 101, 98101.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dunham, N.R., Bruno, A., Almas, S., Rollins, D., Fedynich, A.M., Presley, S.M. & Kendall, R.J. (2016) Eyeworms (Oxyspirura petrowi) in Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) from the Rolling Plains of Texas and Oklahoma, 2011–2013. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 52, 562567.Google Scholar
Erickson, A.B., Highby, P.R. & Carlson, C.E. (1949) Ruffed grouse populations in Minnesota in relation to blood and intestinal parasitism. Journal of Wildlife Management 13, 188194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Friend, M., McLean, R.G. & Dein, F.J. (2001) Disease emergence in birds: challenges for the twenty-first century. The Auk 118, 290303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hernández, F., Kelley, K.M., Arredondo, J.A., Hernández, F., Hewitt, D.G., Bryant, F.C. & Bingham, R.L. (2007) Population irruption of Northern Bobwhite: testing an age-specific reproduction hypothesis. Journal of Wildlife Management 71, 895901.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hernández, F., Brennan, L.A., DeMaso, S.J., Sands, J.P. & Wester, D.B. (2013) On reversing the northern bobwhite decline: 20 years later. Wildlife Society Bulletin 37, 177188.Google Scholar
Hudson, P.J. & Dobson, A.P. (1988) The ecology and control of parasites in gamebird populations. pp. 98133 in Hudson, P.J. & Rands, M.R.W. (Eds) Ecology and management of gamebirds. Oxford, UK, BSP Professional Books.Google Scholar
Jackson, A.S. (1969) Quail management handbook for west Texas Rolling Plains. Bulletin No. 48, pp. 175. Austin, Texas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.Google Scholar
Jackson, A.S. & Green, H. (1965) Dynamics of bobwhite quail in the west Texas Rolling Plains: parasitism in bobwhite quail. Federal Aid Project No. W-88-R-4. Austin, Texas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.Google Scholar
Johnson, J.L., Rollins, D. & Reyna, K.S. (2012) What's a quail worth? A longitudinal assessment of quail hunter demographics, attitudes, and spending habits in Texas. Proceedings of the National Quail Symposium 7, 294299.Google Scholar
Kistler, W.M., Hock, S., Hernout, B., Brake, E., Williams, N., Downing, C., Dunham, N.R., Kumar, N., Turaga, U., Parlos, J. & Kendall, R.J. (2016) Plains lubber grasshopper (Brachystola magna) as an intermediate host for Oxyspirura petrowi in northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus). Parasitology Open 2, 18.Google Scholar
Landgrebe, J.N., Vasquez, B., Bradley, R.G., Fedynich, A.M., Lerich, S.P. & Kinsella, J.M. (2007) Helminth community of scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) from western Texas. Journal of Parasitology 93, 204208.Google Scholar
Lehmann, V.W. (1984) The bobwhite in the Rio Grande Plain of Texas. College Station, USA, Texas A&M University Press.Google Scholar
Lund, E.E. (1960) Factors influencing the survival of Heterakis and Histomonas on soil. Journal of Parasitology 46, 38.Google Scholar
Lusk, J.J., Guthery, F.S., Peterson, M.J. & Demaso, S.J. (2007) Evidence of regionally synchronized cycles in Texas quail population dynamics. Journal of Wildlife Management 71, 837843.Google Scholar
Lyons, E.K., Schroeder, M.A. & Robb, L.A. (2012) Criteria for determining sex and age of birds and mammals. pp. 207229 in Silvy, N.J. (Ed.) The wildlife techniques manual: research. Baltimore, Maryland, USA, Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
McClure, H.E. (1949) The eyeworm, Oxyspirura petrowi, in Nebraska pheasants. Journal of Wildlife Management 13, 303307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nagarajan, K., Thyagarajan, D. & Raman, M. (2012) Subulura brumpti infection – an outbreak in Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Veterinary Research Forum 3, 6769.Google Scholar
Pence, D.B. (1972) The genus Oxyspirura (Nematoda:Thelaziidae) from birds in Louisiana. Proceedings of the Helminthological Society of Washington 39, 2328.Google Scholar
Peterson, M.J. (2007) Diseases and parasites of Texas quails. pp. 89114 in Brennan, L. (Ed.) Texas quails: Ecology and management. College Station, USA, Texas A&M University Press.Google Scholar
R Development Core Team. (2015) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria, R Foundation for Statistical Computing.Google Scholar
Robel, R.J., Walker, T.L. Jr, Hagen, C.A., Ridley, R.K., Kemp, K.E. & Applegate, R.D. (2003) Helminth parasites of lesser prairie-chicken Tympanuchus pallidicinctus in southwestern Kansas: incidence, burdens and effects. Wildlife Biology 9, 341349.Google Scholar
Rollins, D. (1980) Comparative ecology of bobwhite and scaled quail in mesquite grassland habitats. M.Sc. Thesis, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma.Google Scholar
Rollins, D. (2000) Status, ecology, and management of scaled quail in West Texas. Proceedings of the National Quail Symposium 4, 165172.Google Scholar
Rollins, D. (2007) Quails on the Rolling Plains. pp. 117141 in Brennan, L. (Ed.) Texas quails: Ecology and management. College Station, Texas, USA, Texas A&M University Press.Google Scholar
Sauer, J.R., Hines, J.E., Fallon, J.E., Pardieck, K.L., Ziolkowski, D.J. Jr. & Link, W.A. (2013) The North American breeding bird survey, results, and analysis 1966–2013. United States Geological Survey. Laurel, Maryland, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.Google Scholar
Saunders, G.B. (1935) Michigan's studies of sharp-tailed grouse. Transactions of the American Game Conference 21, 342344.Google Scholar
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. (2016) Extension education in Mitchell, County. Available from http://mitchell.agrilife.org/ (accessed August 2016).Google Scholar
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. (2016) Annual quail hunting forecast. Available from https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/planning/quail_forecast/forecast/rolling_plains/ (accessed July 2016).Google Scholar
Tompkins, D.M., Dobson, A.P., Arneberg, P., Begon, M.E., Cattadori, I.M., Greenman, J.V., Heesterbeek, A.P., Hudson, P.J., Newborn, D., Pugliese, A., Rizzoli, A.P., Rosá, R., Rosso, F. & Wilson, K. (2002) Parasites and host population dynamics. pp. 4562 in Hudson, P.J., Rizzoli, A., Grenfell, B.T., Heesterbeek, H. & Dobson, A.P. (Eds) The ecology of wildlife diseases. Oxford, Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Villarreal, S.M., Fedynich, A.M., Brennan, L.A. & Rollins, D. (2012) Parasitic eyeworm Oxyspirura petrowi in northern bobwhites from the Rolling Plains of Texas, 2007–2011. Proceedings of the National Quail Symposium 7, 241243.Google Scholar
Wallmo, O.C. (1956) Determination of sex and age of scaled quail. Journal of Wildlife Management 20, 154158.Google Scholar