Dissertation Research: Patterns of Swallow Bug Dispersal and Infestation

这项研究将研究嗜血性体外寄生虫Oeciacus vicarius(Cimicidae)在其集群宿主悬崖燕子(Hirundo Pyrhonata)上过度分散分布的过程。这项研究将把对寄生虫时空模式的观察与对单个寄生虫运动的野外和实验室实验结合起来。通过对悬崖燕窝进行熏蒸以清除寄生虫，并重新引入固定数量的标记昆虫，这项研究将调查宿主质量、宿主巢密度和同种密度等因素如何影响单个昆虫的传播活动。雌性燕子将喂食不同年龄的燕子雏鸟，以确定取食不同质量宿主的优势。将观察单个燕子在自然条件和实验室场地下的传播路径，以确定它们的运动是随机的，还是符合信号梯度(运动学)上的定向扩散理论。为了了解细菌在群体间传播的重要性，将对整个群体进行熏蒸，并记录重新定殖率。然后，将根据个体运动数据和观察到的寄生虫分布来比较数学模型的预测。其目标是了解单个虫子的运动行为如何转化为寄生虫侵扰的紧急模式。

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.