Ticks on birds caught on the campus of the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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.

Additional information about tick parasitism in Passeriformes birds in an Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil

“…Because different tick species occupy different microhabitats, generalist birds can be more susceptible to parasitism by more than one tick species, which might have contributed to the high parasite intensity values. In comparison with other studies carried out in Atlantic Forest areas, Santolin et al (2012) found higher prevalence of ticks in omnivorous birds that feed in the soil, while Marini et al (1996) found greater prevalence in insectivorous birds. In relation to vertical vegetation strata, high parasite intensities were associated with the understory, while the midstory was associated with low intensity or no parasitism; but opposing results have been published by Lugarini et al (2014) who have not found any relationship between host trophic category or foraging strata and prevalence of A. longirostre and A. nodosum.…”

“…A particularity of Fazenda Continente is the high prevalence and intensity of ticks infesting birds in relation to other areas studied in Brazil (Ogrzewalska et al 2009a(Ogrzewalska et al , 2010(Ogrzewalska et al , 2011aTolesano-Pascoli et al 2010;Luz et al 2012;Santolin et al 2012;Pascoal et al 2013;Sanches et al 2013). This is probably due to its ecological characteristics because the forest fragment is small (about 56 ha) and is surrounded by extensive pastures, with abrupt interruption of vegetation into the grazing area.…”

Transmission dynamics and control of Rickettsia rickettsii in populations of Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris and Amblyomma sculptum

“…In most BSF-endemic areas, the only medium-to large-sized animal species is the capybara; therefore it is the only host for the A. sculptum adult stage, and consequently, the only suitable host species to sustain an A. sculptum population in the area [7, 10, 38]. However, there have been some previous reports of A. sculptum immature stages (larvae and nymphs) on small animals (wild mice, marsupials, birds) which usually share the same habitat with capybaras [39, 40]. Nevertheless, comparing to capybaras, the amount of larvae or nymphs that feed on these animals is minimal; i.e., while hundreds to thousands larvae and nymphs are commonly found feeding on a single capybara [41], we usually find less than 10, or exceptionally a few dozen A. sculptum ticks on individual small animals [39–41].…”

<p><strong>Ticks of the genus <em>Amblyomma</em> (Acari: Ixodidae) on wild birds in the Brazilian Amazon</strong></p>

“…For the most part, however, studies have reported the occurrence of immature stages (larvae and nymphs) of Amblyomma spp. on wild birds that were captured in different areas of the Brazilian Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes (Marini et al 1996, Neves et al 2000, Storni et al 2005, Labruna et al 2007, Ogrzewalska et al 2008, 2011b, Tolesano-Pascoli et al 2010, Santolin et al 2012, Pacheco et al 2012, Amaral et al 2013, Pascoal et al 2013, Sanches et al 2013, Torga et al 2013. Within the Amazon biome, only a single Brazilian study, in the State of Pará, has systematically evaluated wild birds for ticks .…”