60 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS VOL. 39, NO. 1

ogia de los bosquesnativos de Chile. Editorial Univ., REYES,C. 1992. Clave para la identificaci6n de los 6rde- Santiago,Chile. nes de aves chilenas: microestructura de los nodos de -- •t•,•DL.A. GONZAI•EZ.1986. Regulation of numbers las b•trbulas.M.S. thesis,Univ. Lagos,Osorno, Chile in two neotropical rodent speciesin southern Chile. SHULL,A.M. 1986. Final rule; listing of the Aplomado Rev. Chil. Hist. Nat. 59:193-200. Falcon as endangered. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, PERSON, O. 1995. Annotated keys for identifying small Federal Register 51:6686-6690, Washington, DC mammals living in or near Nahuel Huapi National U.S.A. Park or Lanin National Park, southern Argentina. SILVEI•, L., A.T.A. J•COMO, EH.G. RODmGU•S,^ND P.G. Mastozool.Neotrop. 2:99-148. C•WSH^W,J•t.1997. Hunting associationbetween the P•F4^, L. 1986. Introducci6n a los insectos de Chile. Ed- Aplomado Falcon (Falcofemoralis)and the maned wolf itorial Univ., Santiago,Chile. (Chrysocyonbrachyurus) in EmasNational Park, central PgP,ZZ, cJ., PJ. ZW^NI•,•t•,•D D.W. SMITH.1996. Survival, Brazil. Condor 99:201-202. movements,and habitat use of Aplomado Falconsre- TREJO, A., S. SEIJ^S,aND M. SAHORES.2003. Liolaemus h- leasedin southernTexas. J. RaptorRes. 27:175-182. neomaculatuspredation. Herpetol. Rev. 34:145. REPOBLICADE CHILE.1996. Ley de CazaN ø 19473:Diario W^LT•P,S,J.R. 1990. Anti-predatorybehavior of lapwings' oficial, 4 de septiembrede 1996. Ministerio de Agri- field evidence of discriminate abilities. Wilson Bull cultura, Santiago,Chile. 102:49-70. --. 1998. Reglamento de la Ley de Caza, D.S. N Q5, Diario Oficial, 7 de diciembre de 1998. Ministerio de Received13 February 2004; accepted6 September2004 Agricultura, Santiago, Chile. Associate Editor: Michael I. Goldstein

j RaptorRes. 39(1):60-65 ¸ 2005 The Raptor ResearchFoundation, Inc.

MESOSTIGMATICMITES (AcAm: MESOSTIGMATA)IN WHITE-TAILED SEA EAGLENESTS ( HALIAF•TUSALBICILLA )

DAmUSZJ. GWIAZDOW•CZ• Departmentof Forest and EnvironmentProtection, August Cieszkowski Agricultural University, ul. WojskaPolskiego 71c, 60-625 Poznan, Poland

JERZYBLOSZYK Departmentof Animal Taxonomyand Ecology,Adam Mickiewicz University, ul. Szamarzewskiego91A, 60-569 Poznan, Poland

TADEUSZ MIZERA Departmentof Zoology,August Cieszkowski Agricultural University, ul. WojskaPolskiego 71c, 60-625 Poznan, Poland

PIOTR TRYJANOWSKI Departmentof BehaviouraIEcology, Adam MickiewiczUniversity, ul. Umultowska89, 61-614 Poznan, Poland

KEY WORDS: White-tailedSea Eagle;, Haliaeetus albicilla; quate. Recently,the acarofaunaof small passerinenests nestbiology; mites; Mesostigmata; Poland. have been studied including detailed studies on Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalusarundinaceus), Reed Warbler Although studieson mites living in bird nestswere first (A. scirpaceus),Penduline Tit (Remizpendulinus),and Red- carried out 70 yr ago (Nordberg 1936), knowledgeon backed Shrike (Lanius collurio;Matan and Kri•tofik 1995, mite communities in this microhabitat is largely inade- Kriitofik et al. 2001, Tryjanowskiet al. 2001). However, information about mites occurring in bird nests is still fragmentary,especially in reference to the acarofaunaof 1Emaih [email protected] raptor nests (e.g., Philips 1981, 2000, Philips et al. 1983, MARCH 2005 SHORT COMMUNiGATiONS 61

Gwiazdowicz et al. 1999, 2000, Gwiazdowicz and Mizera assemblagewere calculatedand tested according to Ma- 2OO2). guran (1988). The collected mites were deposited in the In contrastto passerines,many raptor speciesuse their Invertebrates Databank (Department of Animal Taxono- my and Ecology,Adam MickiewiczUniversity, Poznan, Po- nestsfor severalsuccessive years, which allow communi- land). ties of invertebratesto develop.In addition, the relatively long period over which raptor nestsare used allowsfor RESULTS AND DISCUSSION temporal changesin acarofaunacomposition and popu- lation dynamicsto be observed.Here, we comparedthe Mite communities recorded in the two nests differed compositionof the mite communityof the order Meso- from one another both in generic composition and rel- stigmataoccurring in two different nestsof White-tailed ative abundanceof mite species(Table 1). Those differ- SeaEagle (Haliaeetusalbicilla) in Polandover 6 yr (1997- enceswere clearlyvisible in samplesfrom both nestsand 2002). Our work representsthe first multi-yearobserva- in the subsequentyears of the survey.Even within one tions of mites using raptor nests. nest, there waswide variation in the apparent abundance of mites and the variety of speciesthat were represented MATERIALS AND METHODS between samples.Samples collected from the Bytnica Nest material was collected during visits to occupied nest included 11 (2001) to 419 (2002) mite specimens, nestswithin the ranges of two pairs of White-tailed Sea- and 5 (2000) to 15 (2002) species.The Podanin nests Eagle between9 May and 2June 1999-2002.Unlike the contained 11 (2000) to 334 (1998) specimens,and 4 nestsof passerines,in which the entire nest is collected (2000) to 10 (1998) species.The total number of species and analyzed after fledging, we collected only ca. 250- 330 g of the lining materialfrom the nest cup (<0.1% of Mesostigmatamites in the Bytnica nest was 29 (696 of the entire nest mass). specimens),while the number of speciesin the Podanin The sampleswere collected from both nests.One was nestswas only 15 (364 specimes). built in a Scotchpine (Pinussylvestris) in a forest cluster Out of 35 mite speciesidentified, only 9 (25.7%) were of about 120 yr of age in the Bytnica forest district found in both nests.The Sorensensimilarity index (cal- (52ø00'N, 15ø10'E). The nest was 1.5 m high, 1.8 m in culated from paired samplescollected in 1998-2000) was diameter and weighed ca. 500 kg. The area around the very low (similarity = 25%), suggestingthat the mite nest comprisedmoss and boggyground on the northwest communities in these two nests were distinct from one side and a large pine forest in other directions.Samples another. Uroseiusinfirmus was the most common species from this nest were collected for 6 yr on the following dates:21 May 1997, 22 May 1998, 6 May 1999, 2 June in the Bytnicanest in 1997 (D = 53%) and 1999 (D = 2000, 28 May 2001, and 29 May 2002. The nest was oc- 34%). In 1998 Macrochelesmerdarius was most common cupied in all yearsby a pair of White-tailedSea Eagles, (78%); in 2000 Androlaelapscasalis was most dominant and broodsfledged successfullywith the exceptionof the (74%); while in 2001 there were no dominants; and in year 2000, when eggswere laid but did not hatch. 2002 three species were dominant: Parasitusfimetorum The second nest was located in Podanin forest district (32%), Alliphissiculus (20%), and Macrochelesancyleus (53ø00'N, 16ø50'E)and wasbuilt in an oak (Quercussp.) (12%). Alliphissiculus (87%) wasdominant in the Podan- within a beech-dominated forest (Fagussylvatica). This in nest in 1998, Nenteriapandioni (53%) in 1999, and in nest was one of the largest sea eagle nests in western 2000 there were no dominants. Over the 6 yr of survey, Poland (ca. 2.30 m deep and 2.0 m wide, weighing ca. 700 kg), and was built from mostlybeech boughswith the most commonlyidentified speciesin the Bytnicanest some pine and oak branches (Mizera 1999). The cup- was Parasitusfimetorum, which was also one of the most lining material wascomprised of dry grassthat probably common in the Podanin nest (examined for 3 yr). The had been collectedfrom within the forest.Samples from second most numerous speciesin the Bytnica nest was this nest were collected during 3 yr on the following Alliphissiculus, which appeared"super-dominant" in the dates:9 May 1998, 11 May 1999, and 20 May 2000. In all Podaninnest, comprising 80% of all mites.However, the years,fledglings were produced. third and fourth most numerous speciesin the Bytnica The mites were extracted in a Tullgren funnel (Karg 1993) and preservedin 75% ethanol.Prior to identifi- nest (i.e., Uroseiusinfirmus and Macrochelesmerdarius) were cation the specimenswere kept in lactophenol. Mites totally absentfrom the Podanin nest (Table 1). were identified with Axioscop 2 Zeiss microscope Zoocenologicanalysis was also based on frequencycal- equipped with Nomarskycontrast (Zeiss,Oberkochen, culations.It appearedthat Uroseiusinfirmus (100%) and Germany). Trichouropodaovalis (83%), classifiedas euconstants, were The speciescompositions between the two nestsand the most frequent mites in the Bytnica nest. We classified among the different yearswere compared. Zoocenologi- Alliphissiculus (67%) and Ascanova (67%) as constants. cal analysisof the mite communitywas based on numer- Nenteriapandioni (100%) was the most frequent in the ical speciespercentage dominance (dominancy = D) and Podanin nest. We noted that only two speciesof Uropo- frequency in samples.Dominant specieswere taken as thosewith proportionsover 10% of the mite community. dina suborder (Nenteria pandioni, Trichouropodaovalis), The most frequently occurred specieswere divided into were commonlyfound in both nests(56-78%) and oc- two groups;30-50% and >50%. The Sorensensimilarity curred regularlyin all years.Apart from the two Uropo- index and the Shannon diversityindex (/-/') of the mite dina species,the lack of a pattern in speciescomposition 62 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS VOL. 39, NO. 1

Table 1. List of mite speciesin two nestsof the White-tailed Sea Eagle from Poland. F = female, M = male, D = deutonymph,P = protonymph,and L = larva.

NEST FROM BYFNICA FOREST DISTRiCT

SPECIES 1997 1998 1999 2000 a 2001

Sejina Sejustogatus Gamasina Alliphissiculus 7F, 2M 5F, 1M 1F Androlaelapscasalis 18F, 8M Amblyseiussp. IF 1F, 1M Ameroseius corbiculus Ameroseiuselegans Asca nova 3F 1F 1F Cornigamasuslunaris Dendrolaelapslatior 11F, 1M IF, 1D Dendrolaelapswengrisae 1F, 1M Dendrolaelapssp. 1D Gamasellodes bicolor 1F 1F Halolaelapssp. 5F, 4D 1F 1D Iphidozercongibbus Lasioseiussp. Leioseiussp. Macrochelesancyleus Macrochelesglaber Macrochelesmerdarius 55F, 25M Macrocheles tridentinus 1F Neojordensiasinuata Paragamasusvagabundus 1F 1F 1F Parasituscoleoptratorum Parasitusfimetorum Pergamasusmediocris 3F, 2M Proctolaelapspygnnaeus Prozercon kochi 1F Typhlodromuspyri 1F Vulgarogamasuskreaepelini 1D 1F, 1M, 16D Zercon curiosus Zercontriangularis Zerconzelavaiensis 1F, 1M Uropodina Nenteriapandioni IF, 1M, 1D iF, 2D Trichouropodaovalis 4M 1M 3M, 2D, 1L 2D Uroobovellamarginata 1D Uroseiusinfirmus 24F, 13M, 2M, 1D 4F, 10M, 3D, 1F 1F, 1D, 1P 1D, 2P 1P Numberof species 10 9 10 5 7 Number of specimens 75 103 53 35 11 a No nestlingsproduced in 2000. MARCH 2005 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS 63

Table 1. Extended.

NEST FROM BYrNICA FOREST DISTRICT NEST FROM PODANIN FOREST DISTRICT

TOTAL DOMI- TOTAL DOMI-

SPECI- NANCY SPECI- NANCY 2OO2 MENS [%] 1998 1999 2000 MENS (%)

1F I 0.14

43F, 14M, 27D lOO 14.37 152F, 87M, 51D 1M 291 79.95 13F, 2M 41 5.89 IF, 1D 2 0.55 IF 1 O.27 3 0.43 3F 3 0.82 1F 6 0.86 2F, 18D 20 2.87 1D 1 O.27 14 2.ol 2 0.29 1 o.14 2M 0.55 2 0.29 11 1.58 3F, 1M 4 o.57 1F 0.27 1M 1 o.14 46F, 4M 5o 7.18 35F, 11M, 2D 48 6.90 6F 86 12.36 1 o.14 1F 1 0.27 0.43 IF, 1M, 1D 3 0.82 6F, 2M, 128D 136 19.54 3F, 16D IF, 1D 21 5.77 IF 6 0.86 1F 1 o.14 1 o.14 1 o.14 19 2.73 1D 0.27 2F 0.55 1F O.27 0.29

6 0.86 4F, 1M, 4D, 8P 6F, 3M, 1D IF, 1M, 3D 32 8.79 17F, 9M 39 5.6o 1M 1D 2 0.55 1 o.14 7F, 5M, 13D 90 12.93

15 29 10 6 4 15 419 696 334 19 11 364 64 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS VOL. 39, NO. 1 suggeststhat the occurrenceand abundanceof mite spe- 2000, Gwiazdowicz2003). However,preliminary compar- cies may be influenced by stochasticfactors. We suggest isonswith White Stork (Cic0niaciconia) and small passer- that the mite communitiesin these nestswere highly in- ines from nest boxes (Gwiazdowicz2003, J. Bloszykun- stable,and that the generic compositionswere the result publ. data) suggestdifferences from these kinds of nests of random factors.Changes in the number of generaob- For example, in White Stork nestsAlliphis siculus (a dom- served over the years were clearly correlated with the inant speciesin White-tailed Sea Eagle nests), was not changesof mite numbers (r = 0.81; P < 0.01). found. In contrastAndrolaelaps casalis was detected as a The Shannon diversityindex differed betweenyears in dominant speciesin nestboxes but wasrare and uncom- both nests (Bytnicanest, /4' = 1.709 _+0.816; Podanin mon in White-tailed Sea Eagle nests. nest/4' = 1.082 + 0.444) and probablywas related upon The resultspresented here are preliminaryand further whether or not the nest was successful, because the lowest researchis needed, especiallyto examine potential rela- speciesdiversity (/4' = 0.828) was recordedin the nest tionshipsbetween mite fluctuationsand features of the with no nestlings.The generic diversityrecorded in the nest. nestwhen no nestlingwas reared differed significantly(t = 2.42, df = 5, P = 0.05) from that recorded in the same •CA•OS(AcAm: MESOSTIGMATA) PRESENTES ENDos NIDOS nest in successfulyears. DE HALIAEETUS ALBICILLA Variation in the number of mite speciesand abun- RESUMEN.--Se estudiaron los acaros del suborden Mesos- dance during this surveysupport the hypothesisof high variability of the Mesostigmatacommunity in the unsta- tigmata en dos nidos de Haliaeetusalbicilla. Las muestras ble microhabitat of White-tailed Sea Eagle nests.Howev- del primer nido fueron colectadasa lo largo de seisaftos er, our resultswere basedon only two nests.Also, we do y las del segundoa lo largo de tres aftos.Los grupos de not know whether our removing of sampleseach year acarosde los dos nidos presentarondiferencias marcadas may have affected the mite community that was present en cuanto a composici6ngen6rica y abundanciarelativa. the following year. En el primer nido se registraron29 especiesy 696 espe- Three speciesof the Uropodina suborder,Nenteriapan- cimenes,mientras queen el segundos61o se encontraron dioni, Uroseiusinfirmus, and Trichouropodaorbicularis, 15 especiesy 364 especimenes.En total, en los dos nidos seemed to be typical nidicoles associatedwith White- se encontraron 35 especies,de las cualess61o nueve fue- tailed Sea Eagle nests.All three speciesare phoretically ron abundantesen ambosnidos. Las especiesdominan- transferredby insects.However, the most consistently-oc- tes en el primer nido fueron Parasitus fimetorum curring speciesin the microhabitat of the eagle nests (19.54%), Alliphissiculus (14.37%) y Uroseiusinfirmus among Gamasinawere Alliphissiculus, Asca nova, Perga- (12.93%), yen el segundo dominaron Alliphissiculus masusvagabundus, and Parasitusfimetorum. (79.95%) y Nenteriapandioni (8.79%). Becauseeagle nestsare reusedyear after year and mite [Traducci6n del equipo editorial] speciescan persistfrom one year to the next, the year to ACKNOWLEDGMENTS year variety of mites that might be available to populate A grant by the August CieszkowskiAgricultural Uni- a nest may be masked.The eagle nest mite populations versityof Poznan and Adam MickiewiczUniversity (Re- did not showregular, seasonal changes, but rather chang- search Project No. 5/L/15/WJ/03) funded this work. eswere irregular with no distincttrends. We suggestthat Thanks also to MJ. McGrady,J. Phillips, and two anony- eagle nest mite occurrence and abundance depends mous referees who reviewed and improved this manu- mainly on changesin climatic conditionsthroughout the script. year and the microclimateinside the nest, and is related LITERATURE CITED to nest specific differences (e.g., nest success,nest-lining composition,amount and type of prey remains, and the GWIAZDOWICZ,DJ. 2003. Mites (Acari, Mesostigmata)ap- amount of excrement). Importantly,the availabilityof po- pearing in Poland, in the bird's nestsof Passeriformes, tential prey for the mites depends on the presenceof Falconiformesand Strigiformesorders. Pages562-572 zn decayingflesh (mainly fish and water birds) in the nest, A.T. Miler [ED.], Ksztattowanie i ochrona grodowiska and the amount of eagle excrement. Fluctuationin rap- leõnego. WydawnictwoAkademii Rolniczej, Poznan, torial-mite numbers may also be influenced by the oc- Poland. currence of nematodes,and the eggsand larvae of some •AND T. MIZERA.2002. Preliminary research on insectsupon which the mites feed. mites (Acari, Gamasina)occurring in the pellets of Our results on the speciesstructure of mesostigmatic birds of prey and owls.Anim. Sci.J. 4:117-125. mites recorded in White-tailed Sea Eagle nestswere sim- , --, AND M. SKORUPSKI.1999. Mites in Greater fiat to resultson acarofaunafound in other raptor nests, SpottedEagle nests.J. RaptorRes. 33:257-260. •ncludingthe SpottedEagle (Aquilaclanga), Lesser Spot- , --, AND --. 2000. Mites (Acari, Gamasz- ted Eagle (A. pomarina),Osprey (Pandionhaliaetus), Red ha) from the nestsof birds of prey in Poland. Buteo Kite (Milvus milvus),Black Kite (3//. migrans),and Com- 11:97-100. mon Buzzard (Buteo lmteo) (Gwiazdowicz et al. 1999, FOmG,W. 1993. Acari (Acarina), Milben Parasitiformes MARCH 2005 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS 65

(Anactinochaeta), Cohors Gamasina Leach. Fischer gen fiber die Vogelnidicolen. Acta Zool. Fenn. 21:1- Verlag, Jena, Germany. 168. K•TOFIKJ.,P. M•AN, AND Z. •USTV.K.2001. Mites (Acari), ProLIPS,J.R. 1981. Mites (Acarina) from nest of Norwe- beetles (Coleoptera),and fleas (Siphonaptera)in the gian birds of prey. Fauna Nor. Set.B. 28:44-47. nestsof Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalusarundinac- ß2000ß A review and checklistof the parasiticmites beus)and Reed Warbler (A. scirpaceus).Biologia (Bra- (Acarina) of the Falconiformesand Strigiformes.J. Raptor tislava) 56:525-536. Res. 34:210-231. M^GUR•N,A.E. 1988. Ecologicaldiversity and its measure- , M. ROOT, AND P. DESIMONE.1983. Arthropods merit. Croom Helm, London, U.K. from a Saw-whetOwl (Aegoliusacadicus) nesting m Connecticut. Entomol. News. 94:60-64. MAMN, P. ANDJ.KRI•TOFm. 1995. Mesostigmatidmites (Ac- TRYJANOWSrd,P., E. BARANIAK,R. BAJACZYK,D.J. GWIAZDOW- arina: Mesostigmata)in the nests of Penduline Tit (Re- ICZ, S. KONWERSKI,Z. OLSZANOwSKI,AND P. SZYMKOWIAK. mizpendulinus) . Biologia(Bratislava) 50:481-485. 2001. Arthropods in nests of the Red-backed Shrike MIZ•;RA,T. 1999. Bielik. Wydawnictwo Lubuskiego Klubu (Lanius collurio)in Poland. Belg.J. Zool.131:69-74. Przyrodnikow, Swiebodzin, Poland. NORDBERG,S. 1936. Biologisch-6kologische untersuchun- Received 16 February 2004; accepted25 October 2004

j. RaptorRes. 39(1):65-69 ¸ 2005 The Raptor Research Foundation, Inc.

VERTEBRATEPREY OF THE B•N OWL ( T•TO ALBA)IN SUBTROPICALWETLANDS OF NORTHEASTERN ARGENTINA AND EASTERN PARAGUAY

ULYSESF.J. PARDIlqAS AND PABLO TETA 1 CentroNacional PataKalnico, Casilla de Correo128, 9120 PuertoMadryn, Chubut,Argentina

SOFIA HEINONEN FORTABAT Administracidnde Parques Nacionales, Delegacidn T•cnica Regional Nordeste. Avenida Victoria Aguirre 66, 3370, Iguaz•, Misiones,Argentina

KEYWORDS: Barn Owl;Tyto alba;Iberd-Jqreembuc• Wet- mosaicof marshes,"embalsados" (massive carpet of float- lands;diet, prey biomass; Argentina; Paraguay. ing vegetation, mostly composedof accumulated,dead, and decomposing plant material). These wetlands are in- termixed with extensivepalms of Coperniciaalba and gal- In South America, the diet of the Barn Owl ( Tytoalba) lery forest, and have remained mostlyunmodified by hu- has been studiedprimarily in temperateand arid regions man activities (Carnevali 1994). The climate is humid of Argentina and Chile (Jaksic 1996, Pardifiasand Cir- subtropical (according to K6ppen's [1931] classification lgnoli 2002). In the vast tropical and subtropical-humid scheme), with a mean annual temperature of 23øC and areas this owl is poorly known (e.g., Motta-Junior1996, mean annual precipitation of nearly 1350 mm (Carnevali Bellocq 2000, Vargas et al. 2002). Here, we describe the 1994). vertebrate prey consumed by Barn Owls in the subtropi- calwetlands of the Iberfi-lqeembucfisystem (Argentina METHODS and Paraguay). The owl-pelletsamples (N = 14) were collectedduring the breeding seasonsof 2001-02 and 2002-03 (Septem- STUDY AREA ber-December) from human buildings at 11 localitiesin The Esterosdel Iberfi (GorrientesProvince, Argentina) theIberfi-•eembucfi wedands (Fig. 1A). Because of the is a Ramsarsite of 13000 km2, makingit one of th_elarg- humid environment, pellets rapidly disintegrated (<1 est wetlands in South America. The Esteros del Neem- ~ mo). Therefore, the precise number of pellets included bucfi (Neembucfi Department, Paraguay),with ca. 4000 was undetermined. We also included two samplesof peb km2, coveran extensiveregion on the left bank of Para- let debris (localities of Ensenadita and Desaguadero) guay River. Both wetlands (Fig. 1A) displaya complex from the westborder of Ibefft, at a site previouslystudrod by Massoiaet al. (1988, 1990). Only vertebrateswere considered in this study; inver- 1 Email: [email protected] tebrates (mainly insects)were also present in some sam-