Dissertation Research: Patterns of Swallow Bug Dispersal and Infestation

本研究将研究吸血外寄生虫vicarius Oeciacus （Cimicidae）在其寄主崖燕（Hirundo pyrrhonata）上过度分散分布的过程。该研究将结合寄生物的时空格局观察和寄生物个体移动的实地和实验室实验。本研究将通过对燕巢进行熏蒸去除寄生虫，并重新引入固定数量的标记虫，研究寄主质量、寄主巢密度和同种密度等因素对个体虫的传播活动的影响。雌性燕子会以不同年龄的燕窝为食，以确定以不同品质的寄主为食的优势。在自然条件和实验室环境下，将观察单个燕子的传播路径，以确定它们的运动是随机的，还是符合信号梯度（kineesis）的定向传播理论。为了了解昆虫群落间扩散的重要性，将对整个群落进行熏蒸并记录再定殖率。然后将基于个体运动数据的数学模型预测与观察到的寄生虫分布进行比较。目标是了解单个昆虫的运动行为如何转化为寄生虫感染的紧急模式。

This research will study the processes that generate overdispersed distributions of the hematophagous ectoparasite Oeciacus vicarius (Cimicidae) on it's colonial host, the cliff swallow (Hirundo pyrrhonata). The study will combine observations on the spatial and temporal pattern of parasitism with field and laboratory experiments on the movement of individual parasites. By fumigating cliff swallow nests to remove parasites and reintroducing fixed numbers of marked bugs, the study will investigate how factors such as host quality, host nest density, and conspecific density affect the dispersal activity of individual bugs. Female swallow bugs will be fed on swallow nestlings of various ages to determine the advantage of feeding on hosts of different quality. The dispersal paths of individual swallow bugs under natural conditions and laboratory arenas will be observed to see if their movements are random or conform to theories of directed dispersal on a signal gradient (kinesis). In order to understand the importance of intercolony dispersal of bugs, whole colonies will be fumigated and recolonization rates recorded. The predictions of mathematical models will then be compared, based on individual movement data to observed parasite distributions. The goal is to understand how the movement behavior of individual bugs translates into an emergent pattern of parasite infestation.