Patterns of Knemidokoptes jamaicensis (Acari: Knemidokoptidae) infestations among eight new avian hosts in the Dominican Republic.

Abstract

The ectoparasitic mite Knemidokoptes jamaicensis Turk burrows into the cornified epithelium of the legs and feet of Passeriform birds and has been reported from 12 species of North American birds. Here we establish new host and distribution records for K. jamaicensis from eight species of birds from three habitats in the Dominican Republic. These species include Hispaniolan pewee (Contopus hispaniolensis Bryant), northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos L.), Cape May warbler (Dendoica tigrina Gmelin), prairie warbler (Dendroica discolor Vieillot), palm warbler (Dendroica palmarum Gmelin), green-tailed warbler (Microligea palustris Cory), black-crowned palm tanager (Phaenicophilus palmarum L.), and Greater Antillean bullfinch (Loxigilla violacea L.). Rates of infestation were as great as 18.2% but varied between species and habitats. Mites were far more common in the dry desert thorn scrub than they were in higher elevation and more moist habitats, despite the fact that many of the affected species had distributions that spanned multiple habitat types. Results suggest that the abundance of scaley-leg mites is controlled by the abundance of suitable host species and by specific ecological conditions that promote transmission.