Ticks (Parasitiformes: Ixodida: Ixodidae) parasites of wild Baird's tapirs (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Por:
Perez-Flores, Jonathan, Paredes-Leon, Ricardo
Publicada:
1 jul 2023
Ahead of Print:
1 jul 2023
Categoría:
Insect science
Resumen:
Tapirs are common hosts of ticks and an individual can be infested by up
to seven different tick species. We explored the parasitic tick fauna
associated with wild Baird's tapirs (Tapirus bairdii) from the Yucatan
Peninsula. A total of 326 ticks of 10 species of the Family Ixodidae
were collected from 15 tapirs. We found a range of one to six tick
species per host, but most of the tapirs were parasitized by two or
three tick species. We tested the relationship between body condition,
sex, and age classes of the tapirs versus the number of tick species on
each host. The most common tick species was Amblyomma mixtum found on
93% of the hosts. Amblyomma pecarium, Amblyomma tenellum, Ixodes
affinis and Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato were recorded for the
first-time parasitizing Baird's tapirs. We did not find a relationship
between body condition, sex, and age classes of tapirs versus the number
of parasitizing tick species. Our finding demonstrates that the richness
of ticks parasitizing tapirs does not depend on the biological
characteristics and health status of the host, but could be determined
by other factors such as habitat use and the rate of contact with
domestic animals.
Filiaciones:
Perez-Flores, Jonathan:
Consejo Nacl Human Ciencia & Tecnol, Mexico City, Mexico
Colegio Frontera, Dept Observac & Estudio Tierra, Atmosfera & Oceano, Chetmal, Mexico
Consejo Nacl Human Ciencia & Tecnol, Av Insurgentes 1582, Mexico City 03940, Mexico
Paredes-Leon, Ricardo:
Univ Nacl Autonoma Mex, Colecc Nacl Acaros, Inst Biol, Mexico City, Mexico
Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Fac Ciencias, Dept Biol Evolut, Mexico City, Mexico
Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Fac Ciencias, Dept Biol Comparada, Mexico City, Mexico
|