LETHAL PROCYRNEA INFECTION IN A BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER (PICOIDES ARCTICUS) FROM CALIFORNIA

The black-backed woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) is a species of management concern in California. As part of a study of black-backed woodpecker home range size and foraging ecology, nine birds in Lassen National Forest (Shasta and Lassen Counties, California) were radio-tracked during the 2011 breed...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of zoo and wildlife medicine 2012-06, Vol.43 (2), p.421-424
Main Authors: Siegel, Rodney B, Bond, Monica L, Wilkerson, Robert L, Barr, Bradd C, Gardiner, Chris H, Kinsella, John M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Aviculture
Bird Diseases - epidemiology
Bird Diseases - parasitology
Bird Diseases - pathology
Bird nesting
Birds
Black-backed woodpecker
BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS
California - epidemiology
Endangered species
Fatal Outcome
Forest ecology
Gastrointestinal Diseases - epidemiology
Gastrointestinal Diseases - parasitology
Gastrointestinal Diseases - veterinary
Gizzard
Infections
Nematoda - classification
Nematode Infections - epidemiology
Nematode Infections - parasitology
Nematode Infections - pathology
Nematode Infections - veterinary
Nematodes
Picoides arcticus
Procyrnea colaptes
Procyrnea pileata
spiruroid nematodes
Woodpeckers
Zoos
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Summary:The black-backed woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) is a species of management concern in California. As part of a study of black-backed woodpecker home range size and foraging ecology, nine birds in Lassen National Forest (Shasta and Lassen Counties, California) were radio-tracked during the 2011 breeding season. One of the marked birds was found dead after being tracked for a 10-wk period in which it successfully nested. A postmortem examination of the dead bird revealed that it was emaciated and autolyzed, with the presumptive cause being numerous spiruroid nematodes of the genus Procyrnea in the gizzard. This first observation of Procyrnea nematodes in a black-backed woodpecker is notable because the Procyrnea infection was considered lethal and because Procyrnea has been implicated in substantial die-offs in other bird species, including woodpeckers.
ISSN:1042-7260
1937-2825
DOI:10.1638/2011-0226.1