Host-parasite interactions between ticks and wild species are important for examining the ecology and distribution of ticks, as well as the consequences of these interactions for hosts and diseases. Ticks have medical importance because they are vectors of microorganisms and pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, and protozoa, that can be transmitted to humans and other animals, causing serious disease. Like other anuran species, Rhinella marina also harbors a wide variety of parasites. This occurs mainly because of its large body size and because it occupies terrestrial environments, but also because it has direct contact with aquatic environments (larval and reproductive stages), thus presenting several opportunities for parasitic infections. This work has as main objective to describe the occurrences of host-parasite interactions between the species Rhinella marina (Linnaeus, 1758) and Amblyomma rotundatum (Koch, 1844) geographically expanding their occurrence in the Amazon rainforest through the Madeira River. During a herpetofauna survey, the first individual of R. marina was observed at 08:37 PM on September 20, 2020. The location is near a transect within a primary forest. This individual was parasitized by a single tick identified as Amblyomma rotundatum. On a second expedition, a second individual of R. marina was observed at 11:38 PM on January 5, 2021. The location is rural road C-01 in the municipality of Porto Velho-RO, which passes within a primary forest and deforested private properties. This individual was parasitized by nine ticks identified as Amblyomma rotundatum. An important observation to be made is that the occurrences of A. rotundatum parasitizing R. marina are 57 km apart and cross an important geographical barrier, the Madeira River of the Amazon basin. This work geographically expands the occurrence of A. rotundatum parasitism on R. marina and describes the natural histories of this host-parasite interaction of these species.
Informamos de la depredación oportunista de Coptotermes testaceus (Rhinotermitidae) por Rupornis magnirostris (Accipitridae). Este comportamiento depredador fue observado durante un estudio de la avifauna en el municipio de Candeias do Jamari, Rondônia, Brasil, en el suroeste de la Amazonia brasileña. Había una gran abundancia de formas aladas de C. testaceus debido a las fuertes lluvias. Es el momento en que las colonias de C. testaceus producen formas aladas en gran número para fundar nuevas colonias. El aguilucho permaneció en su percha y capturó termitas aladas con poco gasto de energía. El ave en cuestión parecía aprovechar el vuelo de apareamiento de las termitas para alimentarse de forma oportunista de las abundantes termitas aladas durante los vuelos de apareamiento. Aunque la alimentación de insectos por parte de R. magnirostris es bien conocida, ésta es la primera documentación de alimentación de termitas aladas.
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