Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae, Argasidae) associated with wild birds in Argentina

Abstract

The aim of this study was to report tick infestations on wild birds from four Phytogeographic Provinces of Argentina. A total of 1085 birds was captured (124 species, 97 genera, 29 families and 13 orders), and ticks were collected from 265 birds (48 species, 40 genera and five orders). A total of 1469 ticks (1102 larvae, 363 nymphs and 4 females) belonging to 15 tick species (Amblyomma calcaratum, Amblyomma dubitatum, Amblyomma nodosum, Amblyomma ovale, Amblyomma parvum, Amblyomma sculptum, Amblyomma tigrinum, Amblyomma triste, Haemaphysalis juxtakochi, Haemaphysalis leporispalustris, Ixodes auritulus sensu lato, Ixodes pararicinus, Ixodes silvanus, Ixodes sp. cf. I. affinis and Ornithodoros sp. cf. O. mimon). Eighty-one new associations between bird species and stages of tick species are detected. The families Thamnophilidae, Turdidae, Thraupidae, Passerellidae, Furnariidae and Troglodytidae were the most prevalent. According to the Phytogeographic Provinces involved in this study, the prevalence of infection for each of them in birds was: (1) Chaco: 28.2% (11 tick species); (2) Yungas: 22.0% (8 tick species); (3) Espinal: 11.1% (2 tick species); and (4) Pampa: 3.9% (1 tick species). This study provided information on the diversity of tick species that parasitize wild birds, the variability of the specific tick-bird associations between the different Phytogeographic Provinces and the relevance of some families of birds as hosts of different tick species.