Patterns of Knemidokoptes jamaicensis (Acari : Knemidokoptidae) infestations among eight new avian hosts in the Dominican republic

The ectoparasitic mite Knemidokoptes jamaicensis Turk burrows into the corn ified epithelium of the legs and feet of Passeriform birds and has been rep orted from 12 species of North American birds. Here we establish new host a nd distribution records for K. jamaicensis from eight species of birds from three habitats in the Dominican Republic. These species include Hispaniola n pewee (Contopus hispaniolensis Bryant), northern mockingbird (Mimus polyg lottos L.), Cape May warbler (Dendoica tigrina Gmelin), prairie warbler (De ndroica discolor Vieillot), palm warbler (Dendroica palmarum Gmelin), green -tailed warbler (Microligea palustris Gory), black-crowned palm tanager (Ph aenicophilus palmarum L.), and Greater Antillean bullfinch (Loxigilla viola cea L.). Rates of infestation were as great as 18.2% but varied between spe cies and habitats. Mites were far more common in the dry desert thorn scrub than they were in higher elevation and more moist habitats, despite the fa ct that many of the affected species had distributions that spanned multipl e habitat types. Results suggest that the abundance of scaley-leg mites is controlled by the abundance of suitable host species and by specific ecolog ical conditions that promote transmission.