Levantamento da ectoparasitofauna das aves do Parque Zoobotânico do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi

Abstract

Birds have a high temperature and a large amount of feathers that together form a favorable microclimate for numerous ectoparasites. Little is known about the biology and pathogenic power of ectoparasites from captive birds. The purpose of this study is to inventory the ectoparasitofauna, analyzing the specificity, diversity and parasite load in birds from the Zoological Botanical Park of the Emílio Goeldi Museum of Pará. The birds examined comprise the families Psittacidae, Turdidae, Rhamphastidae, Cracidae, Anatidae, Ciconiidae, Psophiidae and Ardeidae. Feather samples were taken from feathers infested with mites and lice. Of the 21 samples collected, 14 were positive to examination and 7 were negative. Of the 14 positives, 4 were infested only by mites of the family Proctophyllodidae, 6 by the family Analgidae, 1 by both families, I by lice of the suborder Ischnocera, and 3 were infested by mites and lice of the suborder Amblycera. A comparison between the data of Caraciolo (1997), analyzing the ectoparasitofauna of free-living birds in Belém and Caxiuanã, and Cortês (1993), on elements and mechanisms of spread of transmissible diseases, allows us to conclude that the environmental conditions present in captivity propitiate an increase in the load and variability of ectoparasites in birds kept in this mode of rearing.