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Rhinonyssidae (Acari: Gamasida) in Ardeidae (Aves: Pelicaniformes) in Brazil

The order of Pelecaniformes is composed of families Ardeidae (Leach, 1820), Thereskiornithidae (Poche, 1904), and Pelecanidae (Rafinesque, 1891) (CRBRO, 2011). The family Ardeidae gathers more than 60 species of herons, egrets and bitterns being one of the largest and more representative with characteristics adapted to wetlands (Sick, 1997SICK, H., 1997. Ornitologia Brasileira, Rio de Janeiro: Editora Nova Fronteira. 862 p.). In the State of Rio Grande do Sul, 13 species are recorded Botaurus pinnatus (Wagler, 1829), Ixobrychus involucris (Vieillot, 1823), Nycticorax nycticorax (Linnaeus, 1758), Butorides striata (Linnaeus, 1758), Bubulcus ibis (Linnaeus, 1758), Ardea cocoi Linnaeus, 1766, Egretta thula (Molina, 1782), Syrigma sibilatrix (Temminck, 1824), Ixobrychus exilis (Gmelin, 1789), Tigrisoma lineatum (Boddaert, 1783), Nyctanassa violacea (Linnaeus, 1758), Egretta caerulea (Linnaeus, 1758), and Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 (Bencke et al., 2010BENCKE, GA., DIAS, RA., BUGONI, L., AGNES, CE., FONTANA, CS., MAURÍCIO, GN. and MACHADO, DB., 2010, Revisão e atualização da lista das aves do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Iheringia, vol. 100, no. 4, p. 519-556.).

Nasal mites are endoparasites that inhabit the respiratory system of birds. They can be found mainly in the membrane lining nasal turbinates. They can also be found in the anterior portion of the nostrils, larynx, trachea, lungs, conjunctival and air sacs (Amaral and Rebouças, 1974aAMARAL, V. and REBOUÇAS, MM., 1974a. Métodos para o estudo de ácaros Rinonissídeos. São Paulo: Instituto Biológico de São Paulo. 31 p.). The Ardeidae are commonly parasitized by species of nasal mites that make up the genus Tinaminyssus Strandtmann and Wharton, 1958 (Rhinonyssidae) (Bregetova, 1950BREGETOVA, NG., 1950, New species of endoparasitic acarina of the family Rhinonyssidae (Gamasoidea, Acarina). Akad. Nauk SSSR Dok. vol. 71, p. 1005-1008. apud Pence, 1975PENCE, DB., 1975. Keys, Species and Host List, and Bibliography for Nasal Mites of North American Birds (Acarina: Rhinonyssidae, Turbinoptinae, Speleognathinae and Cytoditidae). Special Publications the Texas Tech Press, vol. 8, p. 148 p.; Zumpt and Till, 1955ZUMPT, F., TILL, WM., 1955. Nasal mite of birds hitherto unknown from the Ethiopian region with keys and descriptions of nine new species (Acarina: Laelaptidae). Journal of the Entomological Society of South Africa, vol. 18, p. 60-92. apud Pence, 1972PENCE, DB., 1972. The nasal mites of birds from Louisiana. I. Dermanyssids (Rhynonyssidae) from shore and marsh birds. The Journal of Parasitology, vol. 58, no. 1, p. 153-168.; Fain, 1956FAIN, A., 1956. Les acariens de la famille Rhinonyssidae Vitzthum 1935 parasites des fosses nasals des oiseaux au Ruanda-Urundi (Note préliminaire). Revue de zoologie et de botanique africaines, vol. 53, p. 131-157. apud Pence, 1972PENCE, DB., 1972. The nasal mites of birds from Louisiana. I. Dermanyssids (Rhynonyssidae) from shore and marsh birds. The Journal of Parasitology, vol. 58, no. 1, p. 153-168.; Pence, 1972PENCE, DB., 1972. The nasal mites of birds from Louisiana. I. Dermanyssids (Rhynonyssidae) from shore and marsh birds. The Journal of Parasitology, vol. 58, no. 1, p. 153-168.; Amaral and Rebouças, 1974bAMARAL, V. and REBOUÇAS, MM., 1974b. Notas sobre ácaros rinonissídeos de aves brasileiras (Mesostigmata: Rhinonyssidae). O Biológico, vol. 40, p. 52-56.). In this context, the study aimed to report the occurrence of nasal mites from birds of the family Ardeidae in Brazil, contributing to the knowledge of biodiversity of the nasal mites in this country.

The species of birds examined were Tigrisoma lineatum, Nycticorax nycticorax, Ixobrychus involucris, Butorides striata, Bubulcus ibis, Ardea alba, Ardea cocoi, Syrigma sibilatrix, and Egretta thula, a total of 30 birds from the municipalities of Pelotas, Rio Grande and Capão do Leão, in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. The animals were donated, after death, by Núcleo de Reabilitação da Fauna Silvestre and Centro de Triagem de Animais Silvestres of Universidade Federal de Pelotas (NURFS-CETAS/UFPel). For collecting the mites, a cut was made from one of the nostrils until reaching the external orifice of the correspondent ear, repeating the process on the opposite side. Next, the nasal turbinates were cut lengthwise and the top of the head was bent backwards until it forms a right angle with the lower part (Fain, 1957 apud Amaral and Rebouças, 1974aAMARAL, V. and REBOUÇAS, MM., 1974a. Métodos para o estudo de ácaros Rinonissídeos. São Paulo: Instituto Biológico de São Paulo. 31 p.). After the cavity was washed with water jet through a 150 µm sieve, and the resulting content, as well as the nasal cavity, were examined under a stereomicroscope.

The mites were fixed in ethanol 70° GL and clarified in lactophenol, and mounted on a slide with a coverslip in Hoyer's. The identification was based on morphological characteristics according to Pence (1972)PENCE, DB., 1972. The nasal mites of birds from Louisiana. I. Dermanyssids (Rhynonyssidae) from shore and marsh birds. The Journal of Parasitology, vol. 58, no. 1, p. 153-168. and Pence (1975)PENCE, DB., 1975. Keys, Species and Host List, and Bibliography for Nasal Mites of North American Birds (Acarina: Rhinonyssidae, Turbinoptinae, Speleognathinae and Cytoditidae). Special Publications the Texas Tech Press, vol. 8, p. 148 p.. The parameters evaluated were prevalence and mean intensity according to Bush et al. (1997)BUSH, A., LAFFERTY, K., LOTZ, J. and SHOSTAK, A., 1997. Parasitology meets ecology on its own terms: Margolis et al. revisited. The Journal of Parasitology, v. 83, p. 575-583.. The specimens were deposited in the Arthropoda Collection of the Laboratory of Parasitology for Wild Animals of Biology Institute, Federal University of Pelotas (n° 444-467).

The prevalence was 23% of the total number of birds examined. The species positive for mites were Nycticorax nycticorax, Butorides striata, Bubulcus ibis, Syrigma sibilatrix, and Egretta thula. The mites were identified as belonging to Tinaminyssus (Gamasida: Rhinonyssidae), and two species, Tinaminyssus sp. and Tinaminyssus belopolskii Bregetova, 1950BREGETOVA, NG., 1950, New species of endoparasitic acarina of the family Rhinonyssidae (Gamasoidea, Acarina). Akad. Nauk SSSR Dok. vol. 71, p. 1005-1008., were found (Table 1).

Table 1
- Rhinonyssidae in Ardeidae in Brazil, their incidence, mean intensity, and sex ratio, respectively.

Tinaminyssus belopolskii was described in Russia in Ardea cinerea (Linnaeus, 1758) (Bregetova, 1950BREGETOVA, NG., 1950, New species of endoparasitic acarina of the family Rhinonyssidae (Gamasoidea, Acarina). Akad. Nauk SSSR Dok. vol. 71, p. 1005-1008. apud Pence, 1975PENCE, DB., 1975. Keys, Species and Host List, and Bibliography for Nasal Mites of North American Birds (Acarina: Rhinonyssidae, Turbinoptinae, Speleognathinae and Cytoditidae). Special Publications the Texas Tech Press, vol. 8, p. 148 p.), other Ardeidae reported for this nasal mite were Egretta caerulea (Linnaeus, 1758), Butorides virescens (Linnaeus, 1758), Egretta thula (Molina, 1782), and Egretta tricolor (Statius Müller, PL, 1776), in the State of Louisiana, United States of America (Pence, 1972PENCE, DB., 1972. The nasal mites of birds from Louisiana. I. Dermanyssids (Rhynonyssidae) from shore and marsh birds. The Journal of Parasitology, vol. 58, no. 1, p. 153-168.). Tinaminyssus bubulci Zumpt and Till, 1955ZUMPT, F., TILL, WM., 1955. Nasal mite of birds hitherto unknown from the Ethiopian region with keys and descriptions of nine new species (Acarina: Laelaptidae). Journal of the Entomological Society of South Africa, vol. 18, p. 60-92. was reported in Bubulcus ibis (Linnaeus, 1758) in Central Africa (Zumpt and Till, 1955ZUMPT, F., TILL, WM., 1955. Nasal mite of birds hitherto unknown from the Ethiopian region with keys and descriptions of nine new species (Acarina: Laelaptidae). Journal of the Entomological Society of South Africa, vol. 18, p. 60-92. apud Pence, 1972PENCE, DB., 1972. The nasal mites of birds from Louisiana. I. Dermanyssids (Rhynonyssidae) from shore and marsh birds. The Journal of Parasitology, vol. 58, no. 1, p. 153-168.) and in North America (Pence, 1972PENCE, DB., 1972. The nasal mites of birds from Louisiana. I. Dermanyssids (Rhynonyssidae) from shore and marsh birds. The Journal of Parasitology, vol. 58, no. 1, p. 153-168.). Tinaminyssus ixobrychi Fain, 1956FAIN, A., 1956. Les acariens de la famille Rhinonyssidae Vitzthum 1935 parasites des fosses nasals des oiseaux au Ruanda-Urundi (Note préliminaire). Revue de zoologie et de botanique africaines, vol. 53, p. 131-157. was reported in Africa in Ixobrychus minutus (Linnaeus, 1766) (Fain, 1956FAIN, A., 1956. Les acariens de la famille Rhinonyssidae Vitzthum 1935 parasites des fosses nasals des oiseaux au Ruanda-Urundi (Note préliminaire). Revue de zoologie et de botanique africaines, vol. 53, p. 131-157. apud Pence, 1972PENCE, DB., 1972. The nasal mites of birds from Louisiana. I. Dermanyssids (Rhynonyssidae) from shore and marsh birds. The Journal of Parasitology, vol. 58, no. 1, p. 153-168.). Tinaminyssus neoixobrychi Pence, 1972PENCE, DB., 1972. The nasal mites of birds from Louisiana. I. Dermanyssids (Rhynonyssidae) from shore and marsh birds. The Journal of Parasitology, vol. 58, no. 1, p. 153-168. was reported in Ixobrychus exilis (Gmelin, JF, 1789), in North America (Pence, 1972PENCE, DB., 1972. The nasal mites of birds from Louisiana. I. Dermanyssids (Rhynonyssidae) from shore and marsh birds. The Journal of Parasitology, vol. 58, no. 1, p. 153-168.). In Brazil, Tinaminyssus belopolskii was reported for the first time by Amaral and Rebouças (1974b)AMARAL, V. and REBOUÇAS, MM., 1974b. Notas sobre ácaros rinonissídeos de aves brasileiras (Mesostigmata: Rhinonyssidae). O Biológico, vol. 40, p. 52-56., in the State of São Paulo, parasitizing heron species of the genus Ardea, but their species were not identified by the authors of the paper.

The Ardeidae Butorides striata, Bubulcus ibis, Syrigma sibilatrix and Egretta thula are recorded as new hosts for Tinaminyssus belopolskii, in Brazil, and Nycticorax nycticorax is a new host for Tinaminyssus sp.. This report extends the geographic distribution of T. belopolskii to the State of Rio Grande do Sul, it is therefore the southernmost record of this species.

We thank to CAPES, Coordenadoria de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, Brazil) for financial support and the the Center for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Center and Screening of Wild Animals, Federal University of Pelotas (NURFS-CETAS, UFPel) for kindly donating the material to the Laboratory of Parasitology of Wild Animals, so that the work could be done.

Referências

  • AMARAL, V. and REBOUÇAS, MM., 1974a. Métodos para o estudo de ácaros Rinonissídeos. São Paulo: Instituto Biológico de São Paulo. 31 p.
  • AMARAL, V. and REBOUÇAS, MM., 1974b. Notas sobre ácaros rinonissídeos de aves brasileiras (Mesostigmata: Rhinonyssidae). O Biológico, vol. 40, p. 52-56.
  • BENCKE, GA., DIAS, RA., BUGONI, L., AGNES, CE., FONTANA, CS., MAURÍCIO, GN. and MACHADO, DB., 2010, Revisão e atualização da lista das aves do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Iheringia, vol. 100, no. 4, p. 519-556.
  • BREGETOVA, NG., 1950, New species of endoparasitic acarina of the family Rhinonyssidae (Gamasoidea, Acarina). Akad. Nauk SSSR Dok. vol. 71, p. 1005-1008.
  • BUSH, A., LAFFERTY, K., LOTZ, J. and SHOSTAK, A., 1997. Parasitology meets ecology on its own terms: Margolis et al. revisited. The Journal of Parasitology, v. 83, p. 575-583.
  • CRBRO - Comitê Brasileiro de Registros Ornitológicos, 2011. Listas das aves do Brasil. 10th ed. 37 p.
  • FAIN, A., 1956. Les acariens de la famille Rhinonyssidae Vitzthum 1935 parasites des fosses nasals des oiseaux au Ruanda-Urundi (Note préliminaire). Revue de zoologie et de botanique africaines, vol. 53, p. 131-157.
  • PENCE, DB., 1972. The nasal mites of birds from Louisiana. I. Dermanyssids (Rhynonyssidae) from shore and marsh birds. The Journal of Parasitology, vol. 58, no. 1, p. 153-168.
  • PENCE, DB., 1975. Keys, Species and Host List, and Bibliography for Nasal Mites of North American Birds (Acarina: Rhinonyssidae, Turbinoptinae, Speleognathinae and Cytoditidae). Special Publications the Texas Tech Press, vol. 8, p. 148 p.
  • SICK, H., 1997. Ornitologia Brasileira, Rio de Janeiro: Editora Nova Fronteira. 862 p.
  • ZUMPT, F., TILL, WM., 1955. Nasal mite of birds hitherto unknown from the Ethiopian region with keys and descriptions of nine new species (Acarina: Laelaptidae). Journal of the Entomological Society of South Africa, vol. 18, p. 60-92.

Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    Aug 2013

History

  • Received
    24 July 2012
  • Accepted
    17 Sept 2012
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