Absence of positive correlation between fluctuating asymmetry and parasitism in the Rock Pigeon

Abstract

We evaluated the relationship between the intensity of parasites (the chewing lice Columbicola columbae and Campanulotes bidentatus, and the haematozoon Haemoproteus columbae) and the magnitude of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of their Rock Pigeon Columba livia hosts. We measured the length of four morphological traits of 91 Rock Pigeons (both left and right sides) in Singapore between June and September 1996: wing, tail, tarsus and third digit. FA was either detected or assumed, after statistical correction, in the tail, tarsi and third digits of both sexes and in the wings of males. Correlations between parasite intensity (either ectoparasite or blood parasite) and FA in each measured trait were not significant (P> 0.150. We suggest that one of the possible reasons for the lack of a relationship between parasitism and FA in the Rock Pigeon is that the parasites studied may have little effect on the four host traits examined.