They are the host for the little white worms that get in fish here. I hope they all fly somewhere else.
Prob’ly common knowledge in these parts that herons host species of tapeworms where the alternate hosts are small fishes. In the fish the tapeworm larvae lodges in the brain. An affected minnow, still able to feed and survive, will periodically spin as it swims, making it highly visible and easy to catch.
Such that a significant proportion of fish caught by a heron or egret are these afflicted fish. In the heron the tapeworms regulate their own numbers so as not to kill the host.
An entire predator/prey dynamic regulated and driven by the parasite.
It is my understanding that the various spoons and spinners used by fishermen actually mimic parasitized fish.
