Title
Preliminary study of ectoparasites in birds in the Bolivian Fauna Collection (CBF)
Author(s)
Belen Huanca; M. Isabel Gómez; Fabián Beltrán
Published
2021
Publisher
Boletín de la Asociación Boliviana de Ornitología
Abstract
Ectoparasites in birds can be found in the skin, feathers and respiratory tract, and can be lethal to their hosts, although some birds have a certain level of tolerance to the parasitic load they present. The study of ectoparasites in birds allows us to understand the ecology and evolution of the relationship between ectoparasites and hosts. In the present work we determined the richness, presence and quantity of ectoparasites in specimens of Zonotrichia capensis and Troglodytes aedon from the Bolivian Fauna Collection. An intensive search for ectoparasites was carried out in 78 specimens of Zonotrichia capensis and 26 specimens of Troglodytes aedon, and the presence (%) was quantified and the ectoparasite specimens were classified into morpho-types. In the skins of Zonotrichia capensis, eight individuals were found with ectoparasites, represented by the order: "Acari", with eight morphotypes that present a proportion of 10.25% and a total amount of 64 individuals. With respect to Troglodytes aedon, there was one individual with the presence of only one ectoparasite, represented by the order: "Acari" with a proportion of 3.86%. Our results have allowed us to have an estimation of the presence and quantity of ectoparasites that are kept in the skins of the scientific collections. In conclusion the morphotypes of the order "Acari" have been the predominant and the only ones found in the analyzed skins. These results allow us to learn more about the application of a technique that will estimate the presence and quantity of ectoparasites maintained in the skins of scientific collections for further ecological and evolutionary analysis.
Keywords
ectoparasite; ectoparasite; morphotype; birds; scientific collections

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PUB27328