Helminth communities of herons (Aves: Ardeidae) in southern Italy
The helminth communities of nine species of herons from southern Italy were studied and compared. Of 24 taxa found including seven digeneans, seven nematodes, six cestodes and four acanthocephalans, only five taxa were found in more than one heron species, and five of the 21 taxa that could be identified to species level were classified as 'heron specialists'. The total number of helminth species per heron species ranged from 1 in Botaurus stellaris to 9 in Ixobrychus minutus with infection levels generally low. A statistical comparison was carried out for herons with a sample size >. 5. At the infracommunity level, only I. minutus clearly differed from other heron species. Diversity parame…
Helminth communities of owls (strigiformes) indicate strong biological and ecological differences from birds of prey (accipitriformes and falconiformes) in southern Italy.
We compared the helminth communities of 5 owl species from Calabria (Italy) and evaluated the effect of phylogenetic and ecological factors on community structure. Two host taxonomic scales were considered, i.e., owl species, and owls vs. birds of prey. The latter scale was dealt with by comparing the data here obtained with that of birds of prey from the same locality and with those published previously on owls and birds of prey from Galicia (Spain). A total of 19 helminth taxa were found in owls from Calabria. Statistical comparison showed only marginal differences between scops owls (Otus scops) and little owls (Athene noctua) and tawny owls (Strix aluco). It would indicate that all owl …