Parasitic Diseases of Wild Birds provides thorough coverage of major parasite groups affecting wild bird species. Broken into four sections covering protozoa, helminths, leeches, and arthropod parasites, this volume provides reviews of the history, disease, epizootiology, pathology, and population impacts caused by parasitic disease. Taking a unique approach that focuses on the effects of the parasites on the host, Parasitic Diseases of Wild Birds fills a unique niche in animal health literature. "This is an excellent text that contains a tremendous amount of information useful for both wildlife biologists and veterinarians." - Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association , June 2009 "Overall this very reasonably-priced book is quite well done. I recommend this book to any veterinarian working with wild birds or wild-caught birds including zoo specimens or veterinary students with an interest in such matters. Wildlife biologists, wildlife rehabilitators and wildlife centers should also find this book useful. University parasitologists should also find an interest in this new offering." - Veterinary Information Network Parasitic Diseases of Wild Birds provides thorough coverage of major parasite groups affecting wild bird species. Broken into four sections covering protozoa, heminths, leeches, and arthropod parasites, this volume will provide reviews of the history, disease, epizootiology, pathology, and population impacts caused by parasitic disease. Taking a unique approach that focuses on the effects of the parasites on the host, Parasitic Diseases of Wild Birds will fill a unique niche in animal health literature. Parasitic Diseases of Wild Birds provides thorough coverage of major parasite groups affecting wild bird species. Broken into four sections covering protozoa, heminths, leeches, and arthropod parasites, this volume will provide reviews of the history, disease, epizootiology, pathology, and population impacts caused by parasitic disease. Taking a unique approach that focuses on the effects of the parasites on the host, Parasitic Diseases of Wild Birds will fill a unique niche in animal health literature. Carter T. Atkinson , Ph.D., is a research microbiologist with the U. S. Geological Survey, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center. His research focuses on protozoan parasites of vertebrates, particularly birds, with a recent emphasis on the effects of introduced avian malaria on Hawaiian forest birds. Nancy J. Thomas, DVM, MS, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Pathologists, is an endangered species specialist for the U. S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center. She has more than 20 years of experience in diagnostic pathology and research on wild bird diseases. D. Bruce Hunter , DVM, MSC, is a professor in the Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. His specialty encompasses avian, fur-bearing, and wildlife pathology and ecosystem health. His research interests have included infectious diseases in commercial poultry, West Nile Virus in owls, and diseases of mink. Parasitic Diseases of Wild Birds John Wiley & Sons Copyright © 2009 Carter T. Atkinson, Nancy J. Thomas and D. Bruce Hunter All right reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8138-2081-1 Chapter One Parasitism: Costs and Effects Gary A. Wobeser Parasitism has been defined in many ways, but in terms of wildlife disease, it is usually taken to mean an obligatory trophic association between individuals of two species in which one (the parasite) derives its food from a living organism of the other species (the host). An individual host bird can be viewed as an island of habitat that provides resources for parasites, with the parasites deriving benefits while the host is harmed or bears some cost. Parasitism is common in nature; for example, Price (1980) estimated that half of all animal taxa are parasitic. Parasitism is ubiquitous in wild birds and individual birds are affected by many different parasites during their lifetime, but our understanding of the parasites that occur in wild birds is fragmentary. Moore and Clayton (1997) concluded that the majority of parasites of wild birds have yet to be described taxonomically. Some groups, such as blood-inhabiting protozoa (the hematozoa), have been studied widely, perhaps because of the ease with which blood can be collected from living birds, while little is known about other groups such as intestinal flagellates. But even within the hematozoa, species diversity has probably been greatly underestimated (Bensch et al. 2007). Similarly, more is known about the effects of arthropod ectoparasites than about the effect of protozoa and helminths on birds, and cavity nesting birds have been studied more extensively than most other species because of the relative ease in capturing, examining, and following these birds. Studying parasitism in wild birds is subject to a number of constraints that make worki