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Ecological implications on the aggregation of Amblyomma fuscum (Acari: Ixodidae) on Thrichomys laurentius (Rodentia: Echimyidae), in northeastern Brazil

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Abstract

We investigated the Amblyomma fuscum load on a pullulating wild rodent population and the environmental and biological factors influencing the tick load on the hosts. One hundred and three individuals of Thrichomys laurentius were caught in an Atlantic forest fragment in northeastern Brazil, as part of a longitudinal survey on ticks infesting non-volant small mammals. Ticks (n = 342) were found on 45 individuals and the overall mean intensity of infestation was 7.6 ticks per infested rodent. Ticks were highly aggregated in the host population and the negative binomial distribution model provides a statistically satisfactory fit. The aggregated distribution was influenced by sex and age of the host. The microhabitat preference by T. laurentius probably increases contact opportunities between hosts and aggregated infesting stages of the ticks and represents important clues about the habitat suitability for A. fuscum.

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Acknowledgments

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, CNPq (grant 478.229/2007-0 to JCRS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Alβan Program fellowship to FMA, Instituto Brasileiro para Medicina da Conservação—Tríade.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Population Environnement Développement, Université de Provence, Case 10, 13331, Cedex 3, Marseille, France

    Filipe Martins Aléssio, Marie-Hélène Lizée & Jean-François Mauffrey

  2. Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica e Zootecnia, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari, Str. Prov. per Casamassima km 3, 70010, Valenzano, Bari, Italy

    Filipe Dantas-Torres

  3. Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n Dois Irmãos, Recife, PE, 52171-900, Brazil

    Daniel Barreto Siqueira & Jean Carlos Ramos Silva

  4. Instituto Brasileiro para Medicina da Conservação—Tríade, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Maria Fernanda Vianna Marvulo

  5. Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva e Saúde Animal, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, Cidade Universitária São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 05508-270, Brazil

    Thiago Fernandes Martins & Marcelo Bahia Labruna

Authors
  1. Filipe Martins Aléssio
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  2. Filipe Dantas-Torres
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  3. Daniel Barreto Siqueira
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  4. Marie-Hélène Lizée
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  5. Maria Fernanda Vianna Marvulo
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  6. Thiago Fernandes Martins
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  7. Marcelo Bahia Labruna
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  8. Jean Carlos Ramos Silva
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  9. Jean-François Mauffrey
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Correspondence to Filipe Martins Aléssio.

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Aléssio, F.M., Dantas-Torres, F., Siqueira, D.B. et al. Ecological implications on the aggregation of Amblyomma fuscum (Acari: Ixodidae) on Thrichomys laurentius (Rodentia: Echimyidae), in northeastern Brazil. Exp Appl Acarol 57, 83–90 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-012-9531-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-012-9531-3

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