Ticks on birds in a savanna (Cerrado) reserve on the outskirts of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil Carrapatos em aves de uma reserva do Cerrado na periferia de Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brasil

We report tick infestations on birds, in the environment and on domestic animals in a non-forested phytophysiognomy, the savanna-like Cerrado sensu stricto, in a natural reserve on the outskirts of the urban area of Uberl&#226;ndia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Overall, 238 birds within 50 species, 15 families and six orders were caught. Passeriformes were the most numerous, with 216 birds (90.75%), among which 22 had ticks (n = 31). Within this order, the prevalence of tick infestation was 10.2%, and the abundance and mean intensity were 0.14 and 1.41, respectively. Only immature ticks of the species Amblyomma nodosum were found on the birds. The tick species found both on animals (Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, Amblyomma cajennense and Dermacentor nitens) and in the environment (Amblyomma dubitatum, Rhipicephalus (B.) microplus and Amblyomma cajennense) were as expected. This difference in tick species between the environment and birds possibly occurred because the sampling of the environment was limited to the ground. This study also highlights the importance of the diverse microenvironments used by ticks and hosts in the same area and the complex ecology of bird-tick relationships. Ecological and epidemiological aspects of the findings are discussed.<br>Nesse trabalho relatam-se infesta&#231;&#245;es de carrapatos em aves, meio ambiente e em animais dom&#233;sticos em uma fitofisionomia n&#227;o florestal, o Cerrado stricto sensu, de uma reserva natural na periferia da &#225;rea urbana de Uberl&#226;ndia, Minas Gerais, Brasil. Para tal, 238 aves de 50 esp&#233;cies foram capturadas, pertencentes a 15 fam&#237;lias e seis ordens. Passeriforme foi a mais numerosa, com 216 indiv&#237;duos (90,75%), dos quais 22 estavam parasitados com 31 carrapatos. Nos Passeriformes a preval&#234;ncia de infesta&#231;&#227;o de carrapatos foi de 10,2%, a abund&#226;ncia e intensidade m&#233;dia foi de 0,14 e 1,41, respectivamente. Apenas carrapatos imaturos da esp&#233;cie Amblyomma nodosum foram encontrados em aves. As esp&#233;cies de carrapatos encontradas tanto em animais (Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, Amblyomma cajennense, Dermacentor nitens) como no ambiente (Amblyomma dubitatum, Rhipicephalus (B.) microplus, Amblyomma cajennense) foram aquelas j&#225; esperadas. Esta diferen&#231;a de esp&#233;cies de carrapatos entre ambiente e de aves possivelmente ocorreu porque a amostragem do ambiente se restringiu ao solo. Esse estudo tamb&#233;m destaca a import&#226;ncia dos diversos microambientes usados por carrapatos e hospedeiros em uma mesma &#225;rea e a complexa ecologia das rela&#231;&#245;es ave-carrapato. Aspectos ecol&#243;gicos e epidemiol&#243;gicos dos achados s&#227;o discutidos.