title: Repeatability of feather mite prevalence and intensity in passerine birds.
abstract: Understanding why host species differ so much in symbiont loads and how this depends on ecological host and symbiont traits is a major issue in the ecology of symbiosis. A first step in this inquiry is to know whether observed differences among host species are species-specific traits or more related with host-symbiont environmental conditions. Here we analysed the repeatability (R) of the intensity and the prevalence of feather mites to partition within- and among-host species variance components. We compiled the largest dataset so far available: 119 Paleartic passerine bird species, 75,944 individual birds, ca. 1.8 million mites, seven countries, 23 study years. Several analyses and approaches were made to estimate R and adjusted repeatability (R(adj)) after controlling for potential confounding factors (breeding period, weather, habitat, spatial autocorrelation and researcher identity). The prevalence of feather mites was moderately repeatable (R = 0.26-0.53; R(adj) = 0.32-0.57); smaller values were found for intensity (R = 0.19-0.30; R(adj )= 0.18-0.30). These moderate repeatabilities show that prevalence and intensity of feather mites differ among species, but also that the high variation within species leads to considerable overlap among bird species. Differences in the prevalence and intensity of feather mites within bird species were small among habitats, suggesting that local factors are playing a secondary role. However, effects of local climatic conditions were partially observed for intensity.
authors.affiliation: Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain; Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal. Universidade de Vigo, Campus As Lagoas Marconsende, Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Diaz-Real
authors.affiliation: Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Serrano
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Zoología y Antropología Física. Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain; Grupo Ornitológico SEO-Monticola. Unidad de Zoología. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pérez-Tris
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Zoología y Antropología Física. Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Sofía
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fernández-González
authors.affiliation: Grupo Ornitológico SEO-Monticola. Unidad de Zoología. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bermejo
authors.affiliation: Grupo Ornitológico SEO-Monticola. Unidad de Zoología. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain; Departamento Biología Animal, Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Calleja
authors.affiliation: Grupo Ornitológico SEO-Monticola. Unidad de Zoología. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De la Puente
authors.affiliation: Grupo Ornitológico SEO-Monticola. Unidad de Zoología. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: De Palacio
authors.affiliation: Grupo Ornitológico SEO-Monticola. Unidad de Zoología. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: José L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.affiliation: Grupo Ornitológico SEO-Monticola. Unidad de Zoología. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Rubén
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moreno-Opo
authors.affiliation: Grupo Ornitológico SEO-Monticola. Unidad de Zoología. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain; Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Jose Gutiérrez Abascal, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ponce
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Jose Gutiérrez Abascal, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Óscar
authors.initials: Ó
authors.lastname: Frías
authors.affiliation: Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain.
authors.forename: José L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Tella
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, CNRS UMR 8079, Université Paris-Sud 11, Bâtiment 362, Orsay, France.
authors.forename: Anders P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Møller
authors.affiliation: Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Figuerola
authors.affiliation: Evolutionary Ecology Group, Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania; MTA-DE "Lendület" Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
authors.forename: Péter L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Pap
authors.affiliation: 'Milvus Group' Bird and Nature Protection Association, Târgu Mureş, Romania.
authors.forename: István
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kovács
authors.affiliation: Evolutionary Ecology Group, Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Csongor I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Vágási
authors.affiliation: Unidad Mixta de Investigacion en Biodiversidad. Instituto Cantábrico de Biodiversidad (CSIC-Universidad de Oviedo), Oviedo, Spain.
authors.forename: Leandro
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Meléndez
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Jose Gutiérrez Abascal, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Blanco
authors.affiliation: Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aguilera
authors.affiliation: Unidad Asociada de Ecología Evolutiva y del Comportamiento, Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Barcelona (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Senar
authors.affiliation: Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain.
authors.forename: Ismael
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Galván
authors.affiliation: Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Valencia, Paterna, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Atiénzar
authors.affiliation: Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Valencia, Paterna, Spain.
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Barba
authors.affiliation: Parque Natural del Carrascal de la Font Roja, Alcoi, Spain.
authors.forename: José L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Cantó
authors.affiliation: Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Valencia, Paterna, Spain.
authors.forename: Verónica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cortés
authors.affiliation: Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Valencia, Paterna, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Monrós
authors.affiliation: Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Valencia, Paterna, Spain.
authors.forename: Rubén
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Piculo
authors.affiliation: Federal Office for the Environment FOEN, Species, Ecosystems, Landscape Division, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vögeli
authors.affiliation: Unidad Asociada de Ecología Evolutiva y del Comportamiento, Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Barcelona (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Borràs
authors.affiliation: Profesor Gonzalo Sanchez Vazquez, Sevilla, Spain.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Ecology, University of Valencia, Burjassot, Spain.
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mestre
authors.affiliation: Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jovani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D017753:Ecosystem; D005241:Feathers / Q000469:parasitology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D008924:Mite Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008925:Mites / Q000472:pathogenicity; D046109:Passeriformes / Q000469:parasitology; D013045:Species Specificity; D013559:Symbiosis