An extensive field survey of 12 duck species yielded two morphologically distinct populations of Typhlocoelum (Digenea: Cyclocoelidae). Studies on the variability of these two populations in conjunction with experimental cross infections provided conclusive evidence that they must be considered as subspecies of Typhlocoelum cucumerinum. A laboratory comparison of their survival strategies revealed that, in the definitive host, Typhlocoelum cucumerinum cucumerinum develops slowly, survives for an extended time and has a high fecundity, whereas Typhlocoelum cucumerinum sisowi develops more quickly, has a shorter longevity and a lower fecundity. In the intermediate host, T. c. cucumerinum develops more slowly than T. c. sisowi. The almost complete segregation of these two subspecies into dabbling and diving ducks in the field may be maintained by an ecological separation of the ducks as well as intrinsic differences between the two host-parasite associations.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.77085 |
| Date | January 1980 |
| Creators | Scott, Marilyn Elizabeth. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Institute of Parasitology) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 000595627, proquestno: AAINK52119, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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