Ticks on birds in a savanna (Cerrado) reserve on the outskirts of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

We report tick infestations on birds, in the environment and on domestic animals in a non-forested phytophysiognomy, the savanna-like Cerrado sensu stricto, in a natural reserve on the outskirts of the urban area of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Overall, 238 birds within 50 species, 15 families and six orders were caught. Passeriformes were the most numerous, with 216 birds (90.75%), among which 22 had ticks (n = 31). Within this order, the prevalence of tick infestation was 10.2%, and the abundance and mean intensity were 0.14 and 1.41, respectively. Only immature ticks of the species Amblyomma nodosum were found on the birds. The tick species found both on animals (Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, Amblyomma cajennense and Dermacentor nitens) and in the environment (Amblyomma dubitatum, Rhipicephalus (B.) microplus and Amblyomma cajennense) were as expected. This difference in tick species between the environment and birds possibly occurred because the sampling of the environment was limited to the ground. This study also highlights the importance of the diverse microenvironments used by ticks and hosts in the same area and the complex ecology of bird-tick relationships. Ecological and epidemiological aspects of the findings are discussed.