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Bird lice ecomorphology Project ID: 000610698 Public
88 Media · 88 Specimens · Managed by: Edward Stanley

Organisms that have repeatedly evolved similar morphologies owing to the same selective pressures provide excellent cases in which to examine specific morphological changes and their relevance to the ecology and evolution of taxa. Hosts of permanent parasites act as an independent evolutionary experiment, as parasites on these hosts are thought to be undergoing similar selective pressures. Parasitic feather lice have repeatedly diversified into convergent ecomorphs in different microhabitats on their avian hosts. We quantified specific morphological characters to determine (i) which traits are associated with each ecomorph, (ii) the quantitative differences between these ecomorphs, and (iii) if there is evidence of displacement among co-occurring lice as might be expected under louse–louse competition on the host. We used nano-computed tomography scan data of 89 specimens, belonging to four repeatedly evolved ecomorphs, to examine their mandib- ular muscle volume, limb length and three-dimensional head shape data. Here, we find evidence that lice repeatedly evolve similar morphologies as a mechanism to escape host defences, but also diverge into different ecomorphs related to the way they escape these defences. Lice that co-occur with other genera on a host exhibit greater morphological diver- gence, indicating a potential role of competition in evolutionary divergence.

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List of media items in this team
  ID Part Object Taxonomy Type Date Added Publication Status  
000611599 entire specimen VPI:VTEC:000005154 Vernoniella guimaraesi Volumetric Image Series 2024-03-13 Open Download  
000611593 entire specimen VPI:VTEC:000005153 Vernoniella guimaraesi Volumetric Image Series 2024-03-13 Open Download  
000611585 entire specimen VPI:VTEC:000005152 Turnicola sp. Volumetric Image Series 2024-03-13 Open Download  
000611584 entire specimen VPI:VTEC:000005151 Turnicola sp. Volumetric Image Series 2024-03-13 Open Download  
000611574 entire specimen VPI:VTEC:000005148 Splendoroffula sp. Volumetric Image Series 2024-03-13 Open Download  
000611571 entire specimen VPI:VTEC:000005147 Splendoroffula sp. Volumetric Image Series 2024-03-13 Open Download  
000611564 entire specimen VPI:VTEC:000005145 Strongylocotes lipogonus Volumetric Image Series 2024-03-13 Open Download  
000611563 entire specimen VPI:VTEC:000005144 Strongylocotes lipogonus Volumetric Image Series 2024-03-13 Open Download  
000611556 entire specimen VPI:VTEC:000005142 Rallicola sp. Volumetric Image Series 2024-03-13 Open Download  
000611555 entire specimen VPI:VTEC:000005141 Rallicola sp. Volumetric Image Series 2024-03-13 Open Download  
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