No abstract

The prevalence of parasitic infections, particularly those caused by ectoparasites, may influence the biology and ecology of wild birds. The aim of this study was to investigate occurrences and identify the species of ticks collected from wild birds caught on the campus of the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro. The birds were caught using mist nets between October 2009 and December 2010. In total, 223 birds were caught, represented by 53 species and 19 families in nine orders. Nineteen birds (n = 7 species) were parasitized by immature ticks (prevalence of 8.5%). Forty-four ticks were collected, of which 23 were nymphs and 21 were larvae. There were associations between parasitism by ticks and non-Passeriformes birds, and between parasitism and ground-dwelling birds, which was possibly due to the presence (or inclusion among the captured birds) of Vanellus chilensis (Charadriiformes: Charadriidae). All the nymphs collected were identified as Amblyomma cajennense. In general terms, we must emphasize that wild birds in the study area may play the role of dispersers for the immature stages of A. cajennense, albeit non-preferentially.

Aves silvestres são hospedeiras de uma diversidade de parasitos e o comportamento migratório aumenta a dispersão dos arasitos e consequentemente a ocorrência de enfermidades em diversas localidades do mundo. Com o objetivo de conhecer a fauna parasitológica de aves silvestres de uma Reserva Biológica do estado do Rio de Janeiro, 43 aves pertencentes às ordens Passeriformes e Columbiformes foram capturadas e amostras de fezes colhidas. A prevalência parasitária das aves capturadas foi de 9,3% (4/43). Foram encontrados nas amostras de fezes, ovos de trematódeo do gênero Tanaisia e oocistos de coccídeos pertencentes ao gênero Isospora.Abaixa prevalência parasitária em aves silvestres encontrada no presente estudo pode ser um indicador de qualidade ambiental, pois a reserva é uma área conservada que possui pouca interferência humana. Destacamos, também, que o uso da técnica de coleta das fezes através de swab anal, revelou-se eficaz para fins de diagnóstico.

Birds are an important component of the life histories and bioecology of a number of tick species and of some tick associated pathogens. An examination of the data concerning bird/tick associations in the Neotropics, showed that the tick Haemaphysalis leporispalustrisis (Packard, 1869) was rarely recorded infesting birds. The current study reports parasitism by H. leporispalustris in wild birds collected from Atlantic rain forest environments in the states of Rio de Janeiro (4LL) and Minas Gerais (17LL, 1NN), Brazil. All ticks were identified morphologically to the genus level; total DNA was extracted from each Haemaphysalis tick and examined by PCR and nucleotide sequencing of fragments of the eukaryotic genes encoding 16S rRNA and 12S rRNA. The bird species Arremon semitorquatus, Corythopis delalandi, Fluvicola nengeta, Troglodytes musculus, and Volatinia jacarina were recorded as hosts for H. leporispalustris for the first time in South America, and Turdus rufiventris represented a new record for Brazil.