Posted By: 817cd
Eyeworms - 03/21/14 12:15 PM
If y'all follow Rolling Plains Quail research you have already seen this but thought it was interesting and wanted to share.
Graduate student Andrew Olsen (TAMUK) and I sat down and compared eyeworm numbers recently. Andrew is conducting a parasite survey on hunter-shot bobwhites from South Texas. Andrew and I are comparing eyeworm numbers in 125 south Texas bobwhites to 128 bobwhites all shot in the 2012-2013 hunting season. Based on our results, it’s safe to say that eyeworm numbers in South Texas (7% of bobwhites infected) are much lower than in the Rolling Plains (66% of bobwhites infected). The average number of worms per bird (0.2) is also way below the Rolling Plains average (9.3). While we can’t say for sure why this discrepancy exists, we can speculate that it might have something to do with the distribution of the intermediate hosts and climate. Many studies on climate change cite the northward expansion of insects due to their sensitivity to warming spring and summer temperatures. Species of parasitic worms have also been documented exhibiting northward range extensions due to warming temperatures. Unfortunately we don’t know much about the abundance of the eyeworm in South Texas prior to Andrew's study, but it is definitely something to think about. (Posted by Andrea Bruno).
Graduate student Andrew Olsen (TAMUK) and I sat down and compared eyeworm numbers recently. Andrew is conducting a parasite survey on hunter-shot bobwhites from South Texas. Andrew and I are comparing eyeworm numbers in 125 south Texas bobwhites to 128 bobwhites all shot in the 2012-2013 hunting season. Based on our results, it’s safe to say that eyeworm numbers in South Texas (7% of bobwhites infected) are much lower than in the Rolling Plains (66% of bobwhites infected). The average number of worms per bird (0.2) is also way below the Rolling Plains average (9.3). While we can’t say for sure why this discrepancy exists, we can speculate that it might have something to do with the distribution of the intermediate hosts and climate. Many studies on climate change cite the northward expansion of insects due to their sensitivity to warming spring and summer temperatures. Species of parasitic worms have also been documented exhibiting northward range extensions due to warming temperatures. Unfortunately we don’t know much about the abundance of the eyeworm in South Texas prior to Andrew's study, but it is definitely something to think about.
Graduate student Andrew Olsen (TAMUK) and I sat down and compared eyeworm numbers recently. Andrew is conducting a parasite survey on hunter-shot bobwhites from South Texas. Andrew and I are comparing eyeworm numbers in 125 south Texas bobwhites to 128 bobwhites all shot in the 2012-2013 hunting season. Based on our results, it’s safe to say that eyeworm numbers in South Texas (7% of bobwhites infected) are much lower than in the Rolling Plains (66% of bobwhites infected). The average number of worms per bird (0.2) is also way below the Rolling Plains average (9.3). While we can’t say for sure why this discrepancy exists, we can speculate that it might have something to do with the distribution of the intermediate hosts and climate. Many studies on climate change cite the northward expansion of insects due to their sensitivity to warming spring and summer temperatures. Species of parasitic worms have also been documented exhibiting northward range extensions due to warming temperatures. Unfortunately we don’t know much about the abundance of the eyeworm in South Texas prior to Andrew's study, but it is definitely something to think about. (Posted by Andrea Bruno).
Graduate student Andrew Olsen (TAMUK) and I sat down and compared eyeworm numbers recently. Andrew is conducting a parasite survey on hunter-shot bobwhites from South Texas. Andrew and I are comparing eyeworm numbers in 125 south Texas bobwhites to 128 bobwhites all shot in the 2012-2013 hunting season. Based on our results, it’s safe to say that eyeworm numbers in South Texas (7% of bobwhites infected) are much lower than in the Rolling Plains (66% of bobwhites infected). The average number of worms per bird (0.2) is also way below the Rolling Plains average (9.3). While we can’t say for sure why this discrepancy exists, we can speculate that it might have something to do with the distribution of the intermediate hosts and climate. Many studies on climate change cite the northward expansion of insects due to their sensitivity to warming spring and summer temperatures. Species of parasitic worms have also been documented exhibiting northward range extensions due to warming temperatures. Unfortunately we don’t know much about the abundance of the eyeworm in South Texas prior to Andrew's study, but it is definitely something to think about.