Abiotic and biotic determinants of tick burdens in the eastern rock sengi (Elephantulus myurus)

dc.contributor.authorLutermann, Heike
dc.contributor.authorMedger, Katarina
dc.contributor.authorHorak, Ivan Gerard
dc.contributor.emailhlutermann@zoology.up.ac.zaen
dc.date.accessioned2012-02-14T05:33:09Z
dc.date.available2013-01-31T10:07:45Z
dc.date.issued2012-09
dc.description.abstractTicks are important vectors of pathogens of medical and veterinary importance worldwide. Despite their economic importance our current knowledge about the factors affecting tick prevalence and abundance in tropical and subtropical regions is rather limited. Both abiotic (e.g. temperature) as well as biotic variables (e.g. host sex) have been identified as key determinants of distributions. Eastern rock sengis or elephant shrews (Elephantulus myurus, Thomas & Schwann) are widely distributed throughout Africa and can harbour a large number of tick species and substantial tick burdens. In the current study we evaluated the contribution of climate and host factors on tick burdens of sengis. Throughout the year sengis carried high abundances of immature stages of a single tick species, Rhipicephalus sp. near warburtoni. There was no evidence that host parameters affected tick burdens. However, larval abundance decreased with increasing ambient temperatures and both larvae and nymphs were negatively affected by rainfall two months prior to the sampling month. In addition, nymphal burdens decreased with increasing minimum temperatures. Our results suggest that climate factors are the largest constraint for the immature stages of R. sp. near warburtoni and that eastern rock sengis could play a crucial role in the dynamics of tick-borne diseases due to the large tick burdens they can sustain.en
dc.description.librarianab2012en
dc.description.sponsorshipKM was supported by a doctoral grant from the NRF and HL by a Research Fellowship from the University of Pretoria. IGH acknowledges funding from the University of Pretoria and the NRF.en
dc.description.urihttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2915en
dc.identifier.citationLutermann, H, Medger, K & Horak IG 2012, 'Abiotic and biotic determinants of tick burdens in the eastern rock sengi (Elephantulus myurus)', Medical and Veterinary Entomology, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 255-262.en
dc.identifier.isbn1365-2918 (online)
dc.identifier.issn0269-283X (print)
dc.identifier.other10.1111/j.1365-2915-2011.01002.x
dc.identifier.other7102989086
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/18114
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherWiley-Blackwellen
dc.rightsWiley-Blackwell. The definite version is available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2915en
dc.subjectMacroscelideaen
dc.subjectTick burdenen
dc.subjectTick-borne disease (TBD)en
dc.subject.lcshElephant shrewsen
dc.subject.lcshRhipicephalusen
dc.subject.lcshTicks as carriers of diseaseen
dc.titleAbiotic and biotic determinants of tick burdens in the eastern rock sengi (Elephantulus myurus)en
dc.typePostprint Articleen

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