Species of questing ixodid ticks on the vegetation of sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) enclosures and a surrounding multi-herbivore enclosure

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the species composition of questing ixodid ticks on the vegetation in intensive breeding enclosures for sable antelopes (Hippotragus niger), on which strategic tick control is practiced, and to compare it with that of questing ixodid ticks in a multi-species herbivore enclosure surrounding the breeding enclosures, and where no tick control is practiced. A total of eight ixodid tick species were collected namely, Amblyomma hebraeum, Amblyomma marmoreum, Haemaphysalis elliptica, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, Rhipicephalus decoloratus, Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, Rhipicephalus simus and Rhipicephalus zambeziensis. A. marmoreum was only collected in the intensive breeding enclosures and H. elliptica only in the multiple herbivore species enclosure, whilst the remaining tick species were collected in both enclosures. The study was also designed to determine the abundance, seasonal abundance and proportion of ixodid tick larvae collected in the sable antelope breeding enclosures as well as in the multi-species herbivore enclosure and to compare the population dynamics of tick species in the respective enclosures with particular emphasis on R. decoloratus. R. decoloratus accounted for 65.4% of the total number ticks collected in the sable enclosures, whilst it represented only 24.3% of the total number of ticks collected in the multi-species herbivore camp. R. decoloratus was more abundant than A. hebraeum and R. appendiculatus in the woodlands of the sable antelope enclosures whilst R. decoloratus and R. evertsi evertsi were more abundant in grassland habitats of the sable antelope enclosures than both A. hebraeum and R. appendiculatus. R. decoloratus larvae were collected throughout the year with peak collections in November 2012 and between October and December 2013 in the sable breeding enclosures, and in April and May 2012 and February and April 2013 in the multi-species herbivore enclosure. The numbers of R. decoloratus larvae collected in the sable breeding enclosures increased significantly during the study period (p≤0.020).