Artrópodes associados a ninhos de Columba livia Gmelin 1789 (Aves, Columbidae) coletados na área urbana de Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil

Abstract

Arthropods inhabit the most diverse environments, both natural and those constructed by humans. This study deals with the arthropods living in the nests of a bird that builds its nests in man-made buildings. The objective of the study was to assess how biotic and abiotic factors influence the composition of the arthropod fauna in nests of Columba livia Gmelin 1789. Fourteen nests of the urban pigeon C. livia were collected in nine districts of the built up area of the city of Manaus. Arthropods were extracted in a Berlese-Tulgren funnel for 12 days. A total of 10 328 arthropods representing 3 subphyla, 3 classes, 14 orders and 33 families were detected. Acari was the most abundant group with 7879 individuals. Mites of the genus Caloglyphus made up over 75 % of all arthropods collected. Most of the arthropods extracted are detrivorous and apterous. The diversity found in Manaus was lower than that reported for samples collected in the Palearctic Region, probably because C. livia is exotic in the Neotropical fauna. Of the total arthropods detected, 82.26 % can be considered as being of economic or public health interest, including the groups Lepisma, Psocoptera, Acari and Hymenoptera. The only variable tested which showed a strong influence on the composition of the nest fauna was the weight of the nest, other variables showing trends that were not statistically significant. The localization of the nest did not appear to have much influence, probably because most of the species encountered could have been transported by the bird.