Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Ectoparasite diversity in the eastern rock sengis (Elephantulus myurus): the effect of seasonality and host sex

Ectoparasite diversity in the eastern rock sengis (Elephantulus myurus): the effect of... Globally small mammals are important hosts of ectoparasite vectors of pathogens of medical, veterinary and economic importance. Insectivores are currently understudied as hosts of pathogen vectors. However, data are needed on the diversity of such vectors before we can investigate the underlying factors affecting ectoparasite distribution. Abiotic (e.g. temperature and rainfall) and biotic (e.g. host sex) factors have been identified as the main determinants of host–parasite interactions. The present study describes the ectoparasite community of insectivorous eastern rock sengis (Elephantulus myurus) in a nature reserve in the Gauteng province, South Africa, and how it varies with season and host sex. A total of 81 sengis were examined for the presence of ticks, mites, fleas and lice between April 2010 and April 2011. The ectoparasite assemblage comprised 11 groups of tick species, a single mite family, one louse and two flea species, with ticks and mites being the most numerous ectoparasites recovered. The prevalence and/or abundance of two commonly collected ticks (Ixodes spp. and Rhipicephalus warburtoni/arnoldi) and chigger varied with season. In addition, female-biased tick burdens were apparent for one ectoparasite species possibly due to reproductive investment. The mechanisms causing the observed patterns should be addressed in future studies. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png African Zoology Taylor & Francis

Ectoparasite diversity in the eastern rock sengis (Elephantulus myurus): the effect of seasonality and host sex

Download PDF
9 pages

Ectoparasite diversity in the eastern rock sengis (Elephantulus myurus): the effect of seasonality and host sex

Abstract

Globally small mammals are important hosts of ectoparasite vectors of pathogens of medical, veterinary and economic importance. Insectivores are currently understudied as hosts of pathogen vectors. However, data are needed on the diversity of such vectors before we can investigate the underlying factors affecting ectoparasite distribution. Abiotic (e.g. temperature and rainfall) and biotic (e.g. host sex) factors have been identified as the main determinants of host–parasite...
Loading next page...
 
/lp/taylor-francis/ectoparasite-diversity-in-the-eastern-rock-sengis-elephantulus-myurus-z6scYKRUIN
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2015 Zoological Society of Southern Africa
ISSN
2224-073X
eISSN
1562-7020
DOI
10.1080/15627020.2015.1021173
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Globally small mammals are important hosts of ectoparasite vectors of pathogens of medical, veterinary and economic importance. Insectivores are currently understudied as hosts of pathogen vectors. However, data are needed on the diversity of such vectors before we can investigate the underlying factors affecting ectoparasite distribution. Abiotic (e.g. temperature and rainfall) and biotic (e.g. host sex) factors have been identified as the main determinants of host–parasite interactions. The present study describes the ectoparasite community of insectivorous eastern rock sengis (Elephantulus myurus) in a nature reserve in the Gauteng province, South Africa, and how it varies with season and host sex. A total of 81 sengis were examined for the presence of ticks, mites, fleas and lice between April 2010 and April 2011. The ectoparasite assemblage comprised 11 groups of tick species, a single mite family, one louse and two flea species, with ticks and mites being the most numerous ectoparasites recovered. The prevalence and/or abundance of two commonly collected ticks (Ixodes spp. and Rhipicephalus warburtoni/arnoldi) and chigger varied with season. In addition, female-biased tick burdens were apparent for one ectoparasite species possibly due to reproductive investment. The mechanisms causing the observed patterns should be addressed in future studies.

Journal

African Zoology – Taylor & Francis

Published: Apr 3, 2015

Keywords: ectoparasites; host sex; Macroscelididae; seasonality

References

  • Seasonality and the dynamics of infectious diseases
  • Redescription of Haemaphysalis (Rhipistoma
  • Ectoparasite burdens of the common mole-rat (Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus) from the Cape Provinces of South Africa
  • Fleas of elephant shrews (Mammalia, Macroscelididae), and a new host and locality record for Macroscelidopsylla albertyni De Meillon & Marcus, 1958 (Siphonaptera, Chimaeropsyllidae
  • Meeting the challenges of on-host and off-host water balance in blood-feeding arthropods
  • Personality, space use and tick load in an introduced population of Siberian chipmunks Tamias sibiricus
  • Parasitology meets ecology on its own terms: Margolis et al revisited
  • Variation in intensity of a parasitic mite (Spinturnix myoti) in relation to the reproductive cycle and immunocompetence of its bat host (Myotis myotis
  • Sequential feeding of Ixodes rubicundus on its natural host
  • Arthropod parasites of elephant-shrews, with particular reference to ticks
  • Hosts, seasonal occurrence and life cycle of Rhipicentor nuttalli (Acari: Ixodidae
  • The relative importance of rock elephant shrews Elephantulus myurus and Namaqua rock mice Aethomys namaquensis for economically important ticks
  • Elephant shrews as hosts of immature ixodid ticks
  • Detection of Anaplasma bovis in an undescribed tick species collected from the eastern rock sengi Elephantulus myurus
  • Differential feeding success of two paralysis-inducing ticks
  • Arthropod parasites of springbok, gemsbok, kudus, giraffes and Burchell and Hartman zebras in the Etosha and Hardap Nature Reserves, Namibia
  • Small mammals as hosts of immature ixodid ticks
  • Natural hosts of the larvae of Nuttalliella sp. (N. namaqua?) (Acari: Nuttalliellidae
  • Ticks of four-toed elephant shrews and Southern African hedgehogs
  • Testosterone depresses innate and acquired resistance to ticks in natural rodent hosts: a force for aggregated distributions of parasites
  • Sex-biased parasitism is not universal: evidence from rodent-flea associations from three biomes
  • Blood-sucking lice (Anoplura) of small mammals: true parasites
  • Hormonal and immunological mechanisms mediating sex differences in parasite infection
  • Spatial variation in gender-biased parasitism: host-related, parasite-related and environment-related effects
  • Tick-borne viruses
  • Abiotic and biotic determinants of tick burdens in the eastern rock sengi (Elephantulus myurus
  • Effects of life-history traits on parasitism in a monogamous mammal, the eastern rock sengi (Elephantulus myurus
  • Seasonal changes in vertebrate immune activity: mediation by physiological trade-offs
  • Epifaunistic arthropod parasites of the four-striped mouse
  • Parasite-specific variation and the extent of male-biased parasitism; an example with a South African rodent and ectoparasitic arthropods
  • Seasonal reproduction in the eastern rock elephant-shrew: influenced by rainfall and ambient temperature?
  • Parasites as a viability cost of sexual selection in natural populations of mammals
  • Off-host physiological ecology of ixodid ticks
  • Tick ecology: processes and patterns behind the epidemiological risk posed by ixodid ticks as vectors
  • Social organization of the eastern rock elephant-shrew (Elephantulus myurus): the evidence for mate guarding
  • Effects of life-history traits on parasite load in grey squirrels
  • Taxonomy, life cycles and the origin of parasitism in trombiculid mites
  • The vegetation ecology of Ezemvelo Nature Reserve, Bronkhorstspruit, South Africa
  • A contribution to the knowledge of African Ixodidae. The genus Rhipicentor
  • The role of host traits, season and group size on parasite burdens in a cooperative mammal
  • Heterogeneities in macroparasite infections: patterns and processes