Survey on Avian Ecto-parasites from Different Habitat of Fragmented Area

• Main Author: Nur Hasniza, Rusli
• Format: Final Year Project Report
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) 2014
• Subjects: QL Zoology
• Online Access: http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/33748/2/Nur%20Hasniza%20Binti%20Rusli.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/33748/

A survey of ecto-parasites was carried out on birds at Saremas oil palm plantation, Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia from 1st November 2013 till 13th April 2014. A total of 90 birds comprising of many families including Turdidae, Alcedinidae, Pycnonotidae, Nectariniidae, Rhiphiduridae, and Bucerotidae were examined for mites and lice. Examinations on 25 individuals of birds that were infested with parasites, a total of five species of lice, 22 species of mites and a species of chiggers were collected. Most of the parasites found are from family Proctophyllodidae and the species belong to this family was Tanyphyllodes pteroptochi, Dolichodectes neotropicus, Dolichodectes myrmecocichlae, Lipeurus caponis, Pterodectes fissuratus , Monojoubertia sp. and Montesauria sp. Lice collected were belongs to the suborder Amblycera and Ischnocera. This survey produced the first list of mites and lice in many habitat in Saremas oil palm plantation which was including oil palm estate, forest fragment and boundary area. Ecological factors were considered to play a role in determining the parasite fauna of selected bird species. Host size also playing an important role in determining abundance of ectoparasites on birds since value of R2 for linear regression of total length versus parasite abundance was quiet high (R2 = 0.143) which indicated a slightly correlation between both variables.