EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Galapagos Flycatcher

Galapagos Flycatcher (Myiarchus magnirostris), Family Tyrannidae
Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Explanation:  Here is an isolated species of New World flycatcher -- the bold Galapagos Flycatcher of Santa Cruz Island of the Galapagos Archipelago of Ecuador.

More than just an insectivore, studies have shown this species to be an important long-distance disperser of viable seeds of native plants.  

Other studies reveal that the louse and mite ecoparasite species currently borne by this bird likely arrived on the islands with the ancestor of the flycatcher and persisted to this day.  But ... one parasite -- a parasitic fly, Philornis downsi -- might be a threat to Darwin's finch species of the islands and potentially (and inadvertently) transmitted by the flycatcher.  

Information:
     Fessl, B. and S. Tebbich.  2002.  Philornis downsi - a recently discovered parasite on the Galapagos archipelago - a threat for Darwin's finches?  Ibis 144(3):445-451.  
     Guerrero, A.M. and A. Tye.  2011.  Native and introduced birds of Galapagos as dispersers of native and introduced plants.  Ornitologia Neotropical 22:207-217. 
     Lincango, P., C. Causton, D. Cadeno, J. Castaneda, A. Hillstrom, and D. Freund.  2015.  Interactions betwen the avian parasite, Philornis downsi (Diptera: Muscidae) and the Galapagos Flycatcher, Myiarchus magnirostris Gould (Passeriformes: Tyrannidae).  Journal of Wildlife Diseases 51(4):907-910.
     Sari, E.H.R., H. Klompen, and P.G. Parker.  2012.  Tracking the origins of lice, haemosporidian parasites and feather mites of the Galapagos flycatcher (Myiarchus magnirostris).  Journal of Biogeography 40(6):1082-1093.