BARRETO Mauricio Rafael, Colombia

Abstract (as taken from original proposal)

Mites are one of the most diverse groups of Arachnida, with a great number of families, genera and species. Many species of mites are parasites of vertebrates, especially mammals and birds. Colombia is a very rich country in the last two taxa, but information regarding parasitic mites of wild animals is scattered in different journals. Besides, there are no checklists of parasitic mites of wild Colombian mammals and birds. This project will generate, for the first time, basic lists of mites associated with wild mammals and birds present in Colombia. At the same time, this project will allow to identify parasitic mites found in our collection. The new knowledge will be available through the National Biodiversity Information System, SiB Colombia.

 Training location: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels.

Read Dr Baretto's GTI report to learn more on his capacity building visit.

To further assist Dr Baretto, the Belgian GTI has taken the initiative to make the impressive reprint collection of the late Dr A. Fain, reknown acarian taxonomist of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, available. To find out more click here.