Feather mite abundance constraints

Data and code for analyses for a study on the allometry of symbiont abundance by investigating feather mites (Acariformes: Analgoidea, Pterolichoidea) on 26,604 individual birds from 106 European passerine species. We parameterized metabolic theory equations to predict how bird species’ body size and the mean body size of their feather mite species relate to feather mite abundance according to potential energy (uropygial gland size, microbial abundance) and space constraints (wing area, total length of barbs, and number of feather barbs). We compared these theoretical predictions with the empirical allometry of feather mite abundance across bird species (using phylogenetic modelling and quantile regression). Methods Methods are described in related papers.