<p align="center">Mite fauna associated with bird nests in Southern Brazil

Abstract

Interactions between birds and mites have allowed mites to act as ectoparasites or to be associated with the micro-environments of nests. The aim of this study was to identify the mite fauna associated with wild bird nests in the rural and urban zones of different environments, and analyze the importance of birds as potential carriers of these organisms to households or poultry houses. In the rural zone, the following environments were assessed: Countryside (C), Forest (F), Aquatic (A), Orchards (O), and Residential (R), and in the urban zone, a similar division was used (C, O, R), with absence of environments (A) and (F). Apart from the Suborder Oribatida found in the 52 bird nests sampled in both zones, a total of 24,274 mites were collected and identified as 67 species in 34 families. There was a predominance of mites in the rural zone (90%), with higher richness in (C) of both zones and higher abundance in (R) and (A) of the rural zone and (O) of the urban zone. Mite species of medical-veterinary importance with the highest abundance were Ornithonyssus bursa in nests of Certhiaxis cinnamomeus and Columbina picui; Tyrophagus putrescentiae in nests of Columbina picui and Pitangus sulphuratus; and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus in nests of Troglodytes musculus and Pitangus sulphuratus. This study showed that the wild bird nests are depositories of mites, including ectoparasites of medical-veterinary importance.