The case of the blood-covered egg: ectoparasite abundance in an arctic goose colony
Since 1991, blood-covered eggs have been noted in nests of Ross’s ( Chen rossii (Cassin, 1861)) and lesser snow ( Chen caerulescens caerulescens (L., 1758)) geese at the Karrak Lake colony, Nunavut, Canada. Fleas ( Ceratophyllus vagabundus vagabundus (Boheman, 1866)) were subsequently observed to be...
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Canadian Science Publishing
2008
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z08-074 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/Z08-074 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/Z08-074 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z08-074 2024-09-15T18:26:56+00:00 The case of the blood-covered egg: ectoparasite abundance in an arctic goose colony Harriman, V. B. Alisauskas, R. T. Wobeser, G. A. 2008 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z08-074 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/Z08-074 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/Z08-074 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 86, issue 9, page 959-965 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 journal-article 2008 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z08-074 2024-08-15T04:09:32Z Since 1991, blood-covered eggs have been noted in nests of Ross’s ( Chen rossii (Cassin, 1861)) and lesser snow ( Chen caerulescens caerulescens (L., 1758)) geese at the Karrak Lake colony, Nunavut, Canada. Fleas ( Ceratophyllus vagabundus vagabundus (Boheman, 1866)) were subsequently observed to be associated with goose nests containing eggs covered with dried blood. We examined prevalence of blood presence on goose eggs and extent of egg coverage with blood in goose nests from 2001 to 2004. Flea abundance in nests was estimated in 2003 and 2004, and was strongly correlated with the proportion of goose egg surface covered by blood, suggesting that degree of blood coverage was a suitable index of flea abundance. Extent of blood fluctuated annually and was correlated with both host characteristics and host habitat factors. Nest bowls used by geese in previous years contained more fleas than did new nest bowls, and fleas were more abundant in older areas of the colony. Flea abundance increased with goose clutch size and was highest in rock and birch habitats. Ceratophyllus vagabundus vagabundus appears to be a new parasite of geese at Karrak Lake; flea abundance may change in response to increased availability of favorable habitat, which is expected if local climate warms. Article in Journal/Newspaper Nunavut Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Zoology 86 9 959 965 |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
Since 1991, blood-covered eggs have been noted in nests of Ross’s ( Chen rossii (Cassin, 1861)) and lesser snow ( Chen caerulescens caerulescens (L., 1758)) geese at the Karrak Lake colony, Nunavut, Canada. Fleas ( Ceratophyllus vagabundus vagabundus (Boheman, 1866)) were subsequently observed to be associated with goose nests containing eggs covered with dried blood. We examined prevalence of blood presence on goose eggs and extent of egg coverage with blood in goose nests from 2001 to 2004. Flea abundance in nests was estimated in 2003 and 2004, and was strongly correlated with the proportion of goose egg surface covered by blood, suggesting that degree of blood coverage was a suitable index of flea abundance. Extent of blood fluctuated annually and was correlated with both host characteristics and host habitat factors. Nest bowls used by geese in previous years contained more fleas than did new nest bowls, and fleas were more abundant in older areas of the colony. Flea abundance increased with goose clutch size and was highest in rock and birch habitats. Ceratophyllus vagabundus vagabundus appears to be a new parasite of geese at Karrak Lake; flea abundance may change in response to increased availability of favorable habitat, which is expected if local climate warms. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Harriman, V. B. Alisauskas, R. T. Wobeser, G. A. |
spellingShingle |
Harriman, V. B. Alisauskas, R. T. Wobeser, G. A. The case of the blood-covered egg: ectoparasite abundance in an arctic goose colony |
author_facet |
Harriman, V. B. Alisauskas, R. T. Wobeser, G. A. |
author_sort |
Harriman, V. B. |
title |
The case of the blood-covered egg: ectoparasite abundance in an arctic goose colony |
title_short |
The case of the blood-covered egg: ectoparasite abundance in an arctic goose colony |
title_full |
The case of the blood-covered egg: ectoparasite abundance in an arctic goose colony |
title_fullStr |
The case of the blood-covered egg: ectoparasite abundance in an arctic goose colony |
title_full_unstemmed |
The case of the blood-covered egg: ectoparasite abundance in an arctic goose colony |
title_sort |
case of the blood-covered egg: ectoparasite abundance in an arctic goose colony |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z08-074 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/Z08-074 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/Z08-074 |
genre |
Nunavut |
genre_facet |
Nunavut |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 86, issue 9, page 959-965 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z08-074 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
86 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
959 |
op_container_end_page |
965 |
_version_ |
1810467564792315904 |