Gordon B. Thompson

Bio: Gordon B. Thompson is an academic researcher from British Museum. The author has contributed to research in topics: Mallophaga & Genus. The author has an hindex of 6, co-authored 37 publications receiving 131 citations.

LXIII.—A list of the type-hosts of the Mallophaga and the lice described from them

Abstract: (1947). LXIX.—A list of the type-hosts of the Mallophaga and the lice described from them. Annals and Magazine of Natural History: Vol. 14, No. 119, pp. 737-767.

Association of Hippoboscids with Lice

Abstract: ON July 2 a Song Thrush was captured in the Vicarage Garden, North Mimms, Herts, by Messrs. D. Buxton and J. F. Shillito. The bird was a young one and in a very weak condition, being unable to stand up for more than a few seconds at a time when it was caught. It was noticed that there were at least twenty specimens of a Hippoboscid on the bird. Four of these were caught, the rest escaped. The Hippoboscids together with the bird were brought to the British Museum and Dr. F. W. Edwards determined the Hippoboscids as Ornithomyia avicularia Linn., a widely distributed parasite of many passerine and raptorial birds.

Dermacentor reticulatus : a vector on the rise

Abstract: Dermacentor reticulatus is a hard tick species with extraordinary biological features. It has a high reproduction rate, a rapid developmental cycle, and is also able to overcome years of unfavourable conditions. Dermacentor reticulatus can survive under water for several months and is cold-hardy even compared to other tick species. It has a wide host range: over 60 different wild and domesticated hosts are known for the three active developmental stages. Its high adaptiveness gives an edge to this tick species as shown by new data on the emergence and establishment of D. reticulatus populations throughout Europe. The tick has been the research focus of a growing number of scientists, physicians and veterinarians. Within the Web of Science database, more than a fifth of the over 700 items published on this species between 1897 and 2015 appeared in the last three years (2013–2015). Here we attempt to synthesize current knowledge on the systematics, ecology, geographical distribution and recent spread of the species and to highlight the great spectrum of possible veterinary and public health threats it poses. Canine babesiosis caused by Babesia canis is a severe leading canine vector-borne disease in many endemic areas. Although less frequently than Ixodes ricinus, D. reticulatus adults bite humans and transmit several Rickettsia spp., Omsk haemorrhagic fever virus or Tick-borne encephalitis virus. We have not solely collected and reviewed the latest and fundamental scientific papers available in primary databases but also widened our scope to books, theses, conference papers and specialists colleagues’ experience where needed. Besides the dominant literature available in English, we also tried to access scientific literature in German, Russian and eastern European languages as well. We hope to inspire future research projects that are necessary to understand the basic life-cycle and ecology of this vector in order to understand and prevent disease threats. We conclude that although great strides have been made in our knowledge of the eco-epidemiology of this species, several gaps still need to be filled with basic research, targeting possible reservoir and vector roles and the key factors resulting in the observed geographical spread of D. reticulatus.

Worldwide distribution and diversity of seabird ticks: implications for the ecology and epidemiology of tick-borne pathogens.

Abstract: The ubiquity of ticks and their importance in the transmission of pathogens involved in human and livestock diseases are reflected by the growing number of studies focusing on tick ecology

A list of the parasitic protozoa, helminths and arthropoda recorded from species of the family Anatidae (ducks, geese and swans).

Abstract: The following list, compiled during my tenure of a grant given by the Nuffield Foundation to the Wildfowl Trust, Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, records species of Protozoa, helminths and Arthropoda found in anatid birds, either by the authors of the papers listed in the References, or by others to whose work these authors refer. It will be seen that there are, after the names of all the parasites, numbers which indicate, by reference to the corresponding numbers in the References, the authors and publications in which the species concerned are recorded. Thus Cotylurus brevis (142, 145*) means that this trematode was recorded from Aix galericulata, the Mandarin Duck, by Dubois (1953) and that Dubois & Rausch (1950a) reported an experimental infection of this duck with it.

Some problems in the evolution of a group of ectoparasites.

Abstract: The Mallophaga are a group of ectoparasitic insects found on birds and mammals. Their complete life-cycle from egg to egg is spent on the same host form, away from which, under natural conditions, they cannot feed nor live for more than a short time. This group is of especial interest in that a large number of species may be found on one host. Most bird groups have five or six species of Mallophaga and some many more. Twelve species of Mallophaga belonging to eight genera and three families have been recorded from one species of Tinamidae (Tinamous), Crypt'urellus obsoletus punensis, and fifteen species belonging to twelve genera and three families from another, Tinamus major. In this paper the various factors which may have been responsible for speciation in this group of parasites are discussed and comparison made with the process of speciation in free-living animals.