Birds are important hosts for the development of the immature stages of several tick species that are vectors for disease-causing microorganisms in animals and humans. Colombia has the highest number of bird species worldwide; however, there is scarce data on the role of birds in the circulation of ticks and their associated pathogens, such as rickettsiae. The department of Arauca has a high diversity of resident and migratory (boreal and austral) birds and ticks associated with the transmission of
Rickettsia
. The objective of this research was to identify tick species parasitizing birds and to detect
Rickettsia
species in these ectoparasites. We conducted samplings in the municipalities of Arauca, Cravo Norte, and Tame between November of 2018 and August of 2019. Birds were captured using mist nets and examined for the presence of tick species. The collected ticks were morphologically and molecularly identified. Furthermore, we detected rickettsiae in ticks by amplifying fragments of the citrate synthase (
gltA
) and outer membrane protein (
ompB)
genes. We captured 606 birds belonging to 25 families and 115 species. Tick infestation rate was 3.3% (20/606) in the birds captured and eight new associations between wild birds and ticks are reported for the American continent. We identified four tick species:
Amblyomma nodosum, Amblyomma longirostre
,
Amblyomma mixtum
, and
Amblyomma
sp.. Moreover, we confirmed the presence of
Rickettsia parkeri
strain Atlantic rainforest in
A. nodosum
, a medically-relevant rickettsia due to cases of rickettsiosis in the American continent. This finding manifests the importance of wild birds as hosts and dispersal agents of ticks infected with pathogenic rickettsiae, as well as the need to monitor migratory birds in the Orinoquia and other regions of Colombia and America.
En las regiones tropicales se han identificado los aportes y limitaciones de los agroecosistemas en el contexto de la conservación de la diversidad de las aves. Se ha sugerido que los agroecosistemas pueden presentar un valor diferente para la conservación, de acuerdo con la complejidad estructural de la vegetación (e.g., mayor número de estratos de la vegetación, diversidad de las especies cultivadas, entre otros). En este sentido, los agroecosistemas de una menor área (e.g., minifundios), pueden ser claves en el desarrollo de estrategias encaminadas a la conservación de la avifauna. Con el objetivo de establecer el aporte de diferentes tipos de agroecosistemas a la conservación de las aves en el departamento de Caldas (Colombia), se comparó la riqueza, abundancia y similitud de las aves asociadas a tres tipos de hábitats: (1) agroecosistemas tipo I (monocultivos con suelo limpio), (2) agroecosistemas tipo II (cultivos mixtos, potreros enmalezados con árboles dispersos y plantaciones con sotobosque) y (3) bosques secundarios. Los agroecosistemas tipo II no difirieron en la riqueza y en la similitud de las aves con respecto a los bosques secundarios, además se registraron especies con alta sensibilidad a la perturbación (Zentrygon frenata, Phaetornis guy, Phaetornis syrmatophorus, Lepidocolaptes lacrymiger y Sphenopsis frontalis). Adicionalmente en este tipo de agroecosistemas se registró una especie de interés para la conservación global (Chloropipo flavicapilla) y cuatro especies migratorias (Catharus ustulatus, Parkesia noveboracensis, Setophaga fusca y Setophaga striata). Los agroecosistemas tipo II no son hábitats completamente negativos para la avifauna y podrían desempeñar un rol importante dentro de las estrategias para la conservación en paisajes rurales.
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