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Relative Incidence of Blood Parasites in Robins of Central New York and of the High Rockies
Author(s) -
MANWELL REGINALD D.
Publication year - 1955
Publication title -
the journal of protozoology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.067
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1550-7408
pISSN - 0022-3921
DOI - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1955.tb02405.x
Subject(s) - leucocytozoon , biology , juvenile , avian malaria , zoology , malaria , plasmodium (life cycle) , incidence (geometry) , haemoproteus , ecology , parasite hosting , gametocyte , immunology , plasmodium falciparum , physics , optics , world wide web , computer science
SUMMARY. A total of 60 robins, nearly equally divided among eastern and western species ( Turdus migratorius migratorius and T. m. propinquus respectively), and also almost evenly divided between juvenile and adult birds, has been studied for the relative incidence of blood parasites. Malaria of four species was found among the eastern robins, in most instances caused by Plasmodium vaughani. P. relictum (especially of the variety known as matutinum ) was next in frequency. Leucocytozoon was the next most common parasite. Among western robins only one case of malaria ( P. vaughani ) was found, but other blood parasites were much more common than in the eastern series, especially Leucocytozoon , which occurred in well over half the birds. Juvenile birds, even nestlings, seldom found infected with any of these parasites in the east, were very frequently infected in the western group. The explanation of these differences in incidence is believed to be chiefly differences in the distribution of still unknown vectors.