Wing-feather mite (Acari: Proctophyllodidae) abundance correlates with body mass of passerine hosts: a comparative study

Data from a 4-year study in Portugal describing the abundance of wing feather mites on Passerines (Behnke et al. 1995. Exp. Appl. Acarol. 19: 443-458.), were used to investigate whether avian body mass influences the abundance of mites. Using 17 host species as statistically independent observations, mite infestation score correlates positively with avian body mass. This correlation is not a phylogenetic artefact, having been also found when controlling for avian phylogeny. Three non-exclusive hypotheses might explain this finding: (1) larger birds may provide larger ‘habitat islands’ enabling more mites to coexist; (2) larger birds may provide more topographic refugia for mites to evade host preening; (3) larger birds may provide a greater longevity of ‘habitat islands’ thus reducing the decimating effects of transmission.