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Community of arthropod ectoparasites of two species of Turdus Linnaeus, 1758 (Passeriformes: Turdidae) in southern Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

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Abstract

This study was aimed at describing the community of arthropod ectoparasites associated with sympatric populations of Turdus amaurochalinus and Turdus rufiventris and analyzing the aggregation patterns of the chewing lice species, during reproductive and nonreproductive periods, of both Turdus species in three areas of the Atlantic forest in southern Rio Grande do Sul state (RS), Brazil. Altogether, we captured 36 specimens of T. amaurochalinus and 53 specimens of T. rufiventris. We identified two families of chewing lice, Menoponidae and Philopteridae, with Myrsidea and Brueelia as the most prevalent and abundant on both host birds. The lowest aggregation levels of chewing lice Myrsidea and Brueelia occurred during the reproductive period of both host species, suggesting a reproductive synchronization and a dispersion period. The most prevalent feather mite on T. amaurochalinus was Proctophyllodes weigoldi, and on T. rufiventris, Trouessartia serrana. Analges sp. and Pteronyssoides sp. were not observed on T. rufiventris. We identified three species of ticks; Ixodes auritulus was the most prevalent and abundant on the birds. Ornithoica vicina was the only hippoboscid fly collected, and only on T. amaurochalinus. The richness of ectoparasites was greater on T. amaurochalinus than on T. rufiventris. For T. amaurochalinus, the mean richness was lesser in winter compared to spring and autumn; however, we observed no variation in the mean richness of ectoparasites for T. rufiventris during the same seasons.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Michel Paiva Valim for the help in the identification of species of chewing lice and feather mites as well as comments on this manuscript, Ph.D student of the Graduate Program in Parasitology (UFPel), Carolina Silveira Mascarenhas, for helping in the identification of chewing lice and gender determination, and Ph.D. Jason Weckstein (FMNH), Dr. Demétrio Luis Guadagnin (UFSM), and Dr. Ana Beatriz Barros de Moraes (UFSM) for their comments and suggestions to this study. Financial support was provided by a Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) granted to H. L. da C. Amaral.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Cidade Universitária, Avenida Roraima, s/n°, Bairro Camobi, CEP 97105-900, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Hugo Leonardo da Cunha Amaral

  2. Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Campus Carreiros, Avenida Itália, km 8, CEP 96201-900, Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Fabiane Borba Bergmann

  3. CEMAVE, SNA, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Paulo Roberto Silveira dos Santos

  4. Instituto de Biologia, Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Campus Universitário, s/n°, CEP 96010-900, Capão do Leão, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Rodrigo Ferreira Krüger

  5. Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Cidade Universitária, CEP 79070-900, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

    Gustavo Graciolli

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  1. Hugo Leonardo da Cunha Amaral
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  2. Fabiane Borba Bergmann
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Correspondence to Hugo Leonardo da Cunha Amaral.

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da Cunha Amaral, H.L., Bergmann, F.B., dos Santos, P.R.S. et al. Community of arthropod ectoparasites of two species of Turdus Linnaeus, 1758 (Passeriformes: Turdidae) in southern Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Parasitol Res 112, 621–628 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-012-3174-5

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