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This paper provides a catalogue of the type specimens of lice (Insecta: Psocodea: Phthiraptera) held in the collection of the Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), Chicago, Illinois, USA. There are 178 nominal species, four of which are represented by holotype only; 14 by holotype, allotype and paratypes; 29 by holotype and paratypes; 127 by paratypes only; three by neoparatypes, and one by paralectotype. The main goal of this type catalog is to make the louse type specimens and their metadata more readily available to biodiversity researchers.more » « less
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Abstract We reconstruct the species-level phylogenetic relationship among toucans, toucan-barbets, New World barbets using phylogenomic data to assess the monophyly and relationships at the family, generic, and specific levels. Our analyses confirmed (1) the monophyly of toucans (Aves: Ramphastidae), toucan-barbets (Aves: Semnornithidae), and New World barbets (Aves: Capitonidae) and that the toucan-barbets are sister to the toucans, an arrangement suggested, but poorly supported, in previously published phylogenies; (2) the paraphyly of lowland Selenidera toucanets with respect to Andigena mountain-toucans; and (3) evidence of some mitonuclear discordance, suggesting introgression or incomplete lineage sorting. For example, mitonuclear conflict in the phylogenetic placement of Ramphastos vitellinus subspecies suggests that Amazonian populations of Ramphastos vitellinus ariel may have introgressed mitogenomes derived from other Amazonian vitellinus taxa. To reconstruct the phylogenetic history of toucans, toucan-barbets, and New World barbets, we included all species-level taxa from the three families, with the addition of outgroups from the two major clades of Old World barbets (Megalaimidae and Lybiidae). We analyzed a combination of UCE sequences and whole mitochondrial genome sequences to reconstruct phylogenetic trees.
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Phylogenetics and host‐specificity of the mega‐diverse louse genus Myrsidea (Amblycera: Menoponidae)
Abstract Myrsidea Waterston is the most diverse genus of chewing lice, primarily parasitizing perching birds (Passeriformes), which is the most speciose avian order.Myrsidea also parasitize several hosts from non‐passerine groups, including toucans, barbets, woodpeckers (Piciformes) and hummingbirds (Apodiformes). To examine host specificity, host switching and generic limits, we reconstructed a phylogeny of the avian feather louse genusMyrsidea using DNA sequence data from two fragments of the mitochondrial COI gene and a fragment of the nuclear EF‐1α gene for 152Myrsidea specimens collected from 23 avian host families. Unlike other highly diverse louse genera, only a small proportion ofMyrsidea species parasitize more than one host species. We found that host family has significant phylogenetic signal on theMyrsidea phylogeny. These results suggest thatMyrsidea is generally highly host‐specific, with some exceptions where host switching is important. We found that there are two separate groups ofMyrsidea that parasitize toucans, and that both are nested withinMyrsidea found on perching birds, suggesting that these toucan ectoparasites may have arisen from two independent host switching events. Lastly, representatives of the genusRamphasticola Carriker, which was originally described as a distinct genus due to a suite of morphologically unique characters, falls in with a strongly supported clade ofMyrsidea parasitizingRamphastos toucans, and therefore we definitively placeRamphasticola as a synonym ofMyrsidea . -
Corticosterone (
CORT ) is the main glucocorticoid hormone of amphibians, reptiles, birds and some mammals. This hormone may have evolved as an adaptive metabolic mechanism, in part because increased concentrations ofCORT are essential for individuals to manage energy resources and thus cope with negative perturbations such as predation and storms. The benefits ofCORT are offset by costs, because elevated levels can suppress inflammatory responses of individuals, making them more susceptible to parasites and pathogens. In this study, we investigated the relationships between featherCORT levels, infection status and diversity of haemosporidian parasites in the Blue‐crowned ManakinLepidothrix coronata , considering possible effects related to the sex and age of individuals. We predicted higher levels of featherCORT in infected individuals. We observed that featherCORT levels were similar among individuals of different sexes and ages. Although haemosporidian infection status did not vary among sexes, occurrence probability was higher among younger individuals, which may indicate that the less developed immune system of these individuals makes them more susceptible to avian malaria. Contrary to expectations, we found that featherCORT levels were not associated with the infection status and diversity of haemosporidian parasites. That haemosporidian occurrence probability does not increase with elevated featherCORT levels suggests that individuals are not immunosuppressed by elevated levels of this hormone, at least to the extent that featherCORT truly reflects individual differences in the level of this hormone.