Piolhos mastigadores em aves silvestres de fragmentos de Mata Atlântica em Minas Gerais

Abstract

Despite the great diversity of wild birds in Brazil, there are few studies on their ectoparasites. Information on chewing lice species (Phthiraptera: Amblycera andIschnocera) occurring on the tanager (Tangarasayaca) and thrushes (Turdus genus) are scarce, hindering the comprehension of the parasitary relations of these animals. On this sense, in the first chapter, we aimed to verify the presence of louse in T. sayaca in different forest fragments in Zona da Mata, Minas Gerais state. We collected 39 T. sayacaindividuals, and 25 of these were parasitized by louse (64.10%). Brueeliasayacaewas recorded for the first time in T. sayacain Brazil, while Ricinussubangulatus andMachaerilaemustangaraewere related for the first time on the species. Aside from these new records, the species Myrsideaseminuda was also found on T. sayaca, making it the second record for this association in Brazil. In the second chapter, our goal was to identify the louse on birds of the Turdusgenus captured at the Botanic Garden of Federal University of Juiz de Fora in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais state, and to analyze the population dynamics of such parasites during the dry and the rainy seasons. Birds were captured between the March 2013 and December 2015 through mist nets. Four species of Turdus were captured: Turdusalbicolis,Turdusflavipes, Turdusleucomelas andTurdusrufiventris, totaling 146 individuals, of which 77 were parasitized by louse. Five species of Phthiapterawere found: Brueelia sp.,Sturnidoecussarwatae, Sturnidoecusrehanae, Myrsidearegiusand Menacanthuseurysternus, totaling 1023 sampled specimens. Turdusrufiventris was the species the highest number of captured individuals. Myrsidearegius represents the first parasitary record for T. lecomelas and T. albicolis in Brazil. For T. flavipes, all three species of lice found in our study are new parasitary records. Sturnidoecusrehanae is not only a first host record in T. flavipes but also a first record in Brazil. Our work widens the parasites’ known geographic distribution and shows their parasitary dynamic in wild birds in Atlantic Forest fragments in Minas Gerais.