Global Studies of the Host-Parasite Relationships between Ectoparasitic Mites of the Family Syringophilidae and Birds of the Order Columbiformes

Abstract

The quill mites belonging to the family Syringophilidae (Acari: Prostigmata: Cheyletoidea) are obligate ectoparasites of birds. They inhabit different types of the quills, where they spend their whole life cycle. In this paper, we conducted a global study of syringophilid mites associated with columbiform birds. We examined 772 pigeon and dove individuals belonging to 112 species (35% world fauna) from all zoogeographical regions (except Madagascan) where Columbiformes occur. We measured the prevalence (IP) and the confidence interval (CI) for all infested host species. IP ranges between 4.2 and 66.7 (CI 0.2–100). We applied a bipartite analysis to determine host–parasite interaction, network indices, and host specificity on species and whole network levels. The Syringophilidae–Columbiformes network was composed of 25 mite species and 65 host species. The bipartite network was characterized by a high network level specialization H2′ = 0.93, high nestedness N = 0.908, connectance C = 0.90, and high modularity Q = 0.83, with 20 modules. Moreover, we reconstructed the phylogeny of the quill mites associated with columbiform birds on the generic level. Analysis shows two distinct clades: Meitingsunes + Psittaciphilus, and Peristerophila + Terratosyringophilus.