Continuous and asymmetric dorsal-ventral abundance associations along the wing in feather mite communities

TAKAGI Masaoki KATOH Toru

Department of Biological Sciences

Oct. 23, 2026

ノゴマCalliope calliopeとノゴマの羽に生息する 2種類のウモウダニ分布の様子と顕微鏡写真 （a～c）羽の上面に分布するTrouessartia calliope （d～f）羽の下面に分布するProctophyllodes sp.

Joint press release (in Japanese) by Hokkaido University and Hokkaido University of Education

Abstract
Feather mites are permanent ectosymbionts that occupy discrete feather microhabitats; however, little is known about how associations between dorsal and ventral taxa vary along continuous wing gradients. We examined feather-level spatial abundance associations between dorsal and ventral feather mites along the proximodistal axis of the wing in the Siberian Rubythroat (Calliope calliope) via nonlinear mixed-effects models. Dorsal feather mites (Trouessartia calliope) were largely absent from distal outer remiges (flight feathers) and increased toward proximal body-side remiges, whereas ventral feather mites (Proctophyllodes sp.) exhibited a positional gradient along the wing. When averaged across positions, the dorsal and ventral abundances showed only weak overall associations. However, position-specific analyses revealed…

Read more on The Science of Nature – Naturwissenschaften –

Article Information:
Masaoki Takagi, Miho Iwasaki, Naoya Yasuda, So Shiraiwa, Toru Katoh & Gen Takaku, Continuous and asymmetric dorsal-ventral abundance associations along the wing in feather mite communities, The Science of Nature – Naturwissenschaften – ,113, 137 (2026)
DOI：10.1007/s00114-026-02182-4