Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae, Argasidae) associated with wild birds in Argentina

T.iota e aim of this st..d/ was to izpari tick infestatiuns o ; wild birds from iour : hytogeographic :`ra.inces of Argentina. A total of 1085 birds was captured (124 species, 97 genera, r9 fannilies and 13 ordem), and ticks were collected from 265 birds (48 species, 40 genera and five ordeis). A total of 1469 ticks (1102 larvae, 363 nymphs and 4 females) belonging to 15 tick species (Atablyonuna calcaratuni, Arnblyonuna dubitatton. Arnblyonuna .-Wt o..u pi l, Atablyonuna ovale, Amblyonuna par. urn, Aniblyonuna sculptunt Arablyonuna tizrtum, Amblyonuna tiste, HaenraptrySaliS juxtaKochi, tmetnaphpalis wporbpalustis, Ixodes awitulus sensu lato, ixodcs pa. aricinus, ixodei, silvanus, lxodes sp. cf i. affinis and Omithodoros sp. cf. 0. mimon). Eighty-one new associations between bird species and stages of tick species are detected. The families Thamnophilidae, Turclidae, Thraupidae, Passerellidae, Funailidae and Troglodytidae were the most prevalent. According to the Phytogeographic Provinces invol.ed in this study, the prevalence of infection for each of them in birds was: (1) Chaco: 28.2% (11 tick species); (2) Vungas: 22.0% (8 tick species); (3) Espinal: 11.1% (2 tick species); and (4) Pampa: 3.9% (1 tick species). This study pro center dot, ided infmmation on the divemity of tick species that parasitize wild birds, the variability of the specific tick-bird associations between the different Phytogeographic Provinces and the relevance of some families of birds as hosts of different tick species.