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20 October 2015 A Preliminary Investigation on Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) Infesting Birds in Kızılırmak Delta, Turkey
Adem Keskin, Kiraz Erciyas-Yavuz
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Abstract

Ticks are mandatory blood-feeding ectoparasites of mammals, birds, reptiles, and even amphibians. Turkey has a rich bird fauna and is located on the main migration route for many birds. However, information on ticks infesting birds is very limited. In the present study, we aimed to determine ticks infesting birds in Kızılırmak Delta, Turkey. In 2014 autumn bird migration season, a total of 7,452 birds belonging to 79 species, 52 genera, 35 families, and 14 orders were examined for tick infestation. In total, 287 (234 larvae, 47 nymphs, 6♀) ticks were collected from 54 passerine birds (prevalence = 0.72%) belonging to 12 species. Ticks were identified as Amblyomma sp., Dermacentor marginatus (Sulzer), Haemaphysalis concinna Koch, Haemaphysalis punctata Canestrini and Fanzago, Hyalomma sp., Ixodes frontalis (Panzer), and Ixodes ricinus (L). The most common tick species were I. frontalis (223 larvae, 23 nymphs, 6♀) followed by I. ricinus (3 larvae, 12 nymphs) and H. concinna (4 larvae, 6 nymphs). Based on our results, it can be said that Erithacus rubecula (L.) is the main host of immature I. frontalis, whereas Turdus merula L. is the most important carrier of immature stages of some ticks in Kızılırmak Delta, Turkey. To the best of our knowledge, most of the tick–host associations found in this study have never been documented in the literature.

© The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com
Adem Keskin and Kiraz Erciyas-Yavuz "A Preliminary Investigation on Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) Infesting Birds in Kızılırmak Delta, Turkey," Journal of Medical Entomology 53(1), 217-220, (20 October 2015). https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjv149
Received: 22 July 2015; Accepted: 9 September 2015; Published: 20 October 2015
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KEYWORDS
avian ectoparasite
Bird
host association
Kızılırmak Delta
tick
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