Habitat-dependent Culicoides species composition and abundance in blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nests.

ABSTRACT: Wild birds are hosts of Culicoides from as early on as the nesting stage when constrained to their nests. However, the environmental factors which determine the abundance and composition of Culicoides species within each bird nest are still understudied. We sampled Culicoides from Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nests found in 2 types of forests located in southern Spain. Firstly, we monitored the abundance of Culicoides species in bird nests from a dry Pyrenean oak deciduous forest and a humid mixed forest comprising Pyrenean and Holm oaks throughout 2 consecutive years. During the 3rd year, we performed a cross-fostering experiment between synchronous nests to differentiate the role of rearing environment conditions from that of the genetically

SUBMITTER: Garrido-Bautista J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10090578 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature