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Helminth communities of two species of piscivorous birds, Ardea alba (Linnaeus) and Nyctanassa violacea (Gmelin) (Ciconiiformes: Ardeidae), in two coastal lagoons from Guerrero state, Mexico

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Abstract

The composition and species richness in helminth communities of two species of heron, Ardea alba and Nyctanassa violacea, in two coastal lagoons from Guerrero, Mexico were examined. Nineteen species of helminth (7,804 individuals) were identified in 43 adult birds: 15 digeneans, 1 acanthocephalan, 1 cestode, and 2 nematodes. Eight species co-occurred in herons of both species and lagoons. The prevalence values of seven species and the mean abundance of five species varied significantly between species of birds and between lagoons. The heterophyid, Ascocotyle (Phagicola) longa, was the helminth numerically dominant in the helminth community of A. alba in both lagoons, while the cestode, Parvitaenia cochlearii, dominated the community of N. violacea. At the component community level, species richness varied significantly: 10 species in A. alba from Coyuca to 16 in N. violacea (Tres Palos). All of the birds examined were infected with helminth parasites: three to seven species per host in A. alba from Coyuca, and two to eight species in A. alba and N. violacea from Tres Palos. The results indicate that even though species composition was similar between both species of heron, the structure of their communities was not the same. Differences in the feeding behavior of the birds (day/night habits), as well as local differences in the abundance of species of fish, and infection levels of helminths in each lagoon are suggested as being responsible for the variations registered in the structure of the helminth communities.

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Acknowledgments

This research was possible in part because of a collaborative project “Calidad Ambiental y Desarrollo Sustentable: Inventario Ambiental y Establecimiento de Indicadores Regionales” financed by the Programa de Mejoramiento del Profesorado (PROMEP). The authors thank Francisco Javier Aguilar Palma of the Marine Ecology Academic Unit (UAG) for his assistance with field and laboratory work. We are also grateful to Rogelio Aguilar Aguilar and David Osorio Sarabia (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) for their assistance in identifying some of the species of helminths, as well as to Luís García Prieto (UNAM) who helped us obtain important bibliographic references for the realization of this manuscript. We thank an anonymous reviewer whose extensive and thoughtful comments substantially improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unidad Académica de Ecología Marina, Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero, Gran Vía Tropical No. 20, Fracc. Las Playas, C.P. 39390, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

    Juan Violante-González, Salvador Gil-Guerrero, Agustín A. Rojas-Herrera & Pedro Flores-Rodríguez

  2. Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Apartado Postal 1-69, C.P. 42001, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico

    Scott Monks

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  1. Juan Violante-González
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  2. Scott Monks
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  3. Salvador Gil-Guerrero
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  4. Agustín A. Rojas-Herrera
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  5. Pedro Flores-Rodríguez
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Correspondence to Juan Violante-González.

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Violante-González, J., Monks, S., Gil-Guerrero, S. et al. Helminth communities of two species of piscivorous birds, Ardea alba (Linnaeus) and Nyctanassa violacea (Gmelin) (Ciconiiformes: Ardeidae), in two coastal lagoons from Guerrero state, Mexico. Parasitol Res 111, 309–315 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-012-2840-y

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