Ecology and Host Specificity of Laelapine Mites (Acari: Laelapidae) of Small Mammals in an Atlantic Forest Area of Brazil

Martins-Hatano, Fernanda; Gettinger, Donald; Bergallo, Helena Godoy

doi:10.2307/3285387

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Members of the parasitic mite genus Laelaps complete the majority of their life cycle in the nest of the host (Radovsky ), while adult female mites occur mostly on the host (Radovsky ; Martins‐Hatano et al . ). Adult males (and other life stages) remain primarily in the nests of hosts explaining their near absence from the fur of host individuals (Martins‐Hatano et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Limited dispersal in an ectoparasitic mite,Laelaps giganteus, contributes to significant phylogeographic congruence with the rodent host,Rhabdomys

et al. 2016

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To explore how biogeography, parasite life history and host vagility influences evolutionary codivergences, we followed a comparative phylogeography approach using a host-specific nonpermanent mite, Laelaps giganteus, that occurs on four rodent species within the genus Rhabdomys. A mtDNA COI haplotype network derived for 278 parasite specimens showed marked phylogeographic congruence with host distributions. Analysis of the less variable nuclear intron Tropomyosin was in part consistent with these results. Although distance-based cophylogenetic analyses in axparafit failed to support significant mtDNA codivergences (P ≥ 0.02), event-based analyses revealed significant cophylogeny between sampling localities of Rhabdomys and Laelaps using core-pa (P = 0.046) and jane (P = 0.026; P = 0.00). These findings, in conjunction with the weak congruence previously reported among the permanent ectoparasitic lice Polyplax and Rhabdomys, suggest that host-parasite intimacy is not the most important driver of significant codivergence in our study system. Instead, the more restricted dispersal ability of L. giganteus, when compared to Polyplax, resulted in stronger spatial structuring and this could have resulted in significant codivergence. Host switching occurred predominantly on the edges of host distributions and was probably facilitated by climate-induced range shifts. When host ranges shift, the phylogeographic structure of L. giganteus is not reflecting the host movements as most of the nest bound parasites do not disperse with the host (they miss the boat) and the genetic contribution of the few dispersing mite individuals is often overwhelmed by the large number of individuals already present in nests within the new environment (causing them to drown on arrival).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Adult males (and other life stages) remain primarily in the nests of hosts explaining their near absence from the fur of host individuals (Martins‐Hatano et al . ). For L. giganteus , Matthee et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Limited dispersal in an ectoparasitic mite,Laelaps giganteus, contributes to significant phylogeographic congruence with the rodent host,Rhabdomys

et al. 2016

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“…Mites of the genus Laelaps (Mesostigmata: Laelapidae) are common ectoparasites of small mammals, particularly rodents (Jameson 1965). Although some neotropical laelapines might not feed on blood (Martins-Hatano et al 2002), other species such as Laelaps echidninus and Laelaps nuttalli are hematophagous parasites of humans and rodents (Wharton and Cross 1957;Jameson 1965;Krantz and Walter 2009) that might be capable of transmitting diseases among wild animals and humans (Wharton and Cross 1957;Valiente Moro et al 2005). However, studies on Laelaps mites and their role as disease vectors remain very limited, despite some rickettsiae having recently been detected (though vector competence in pathogen transmission was not demonstrated) in Laelaps mites.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular detection of Rickettsia species and host associations of Laelaps mites (Acari: Laelapidae) in Taiwan

2020

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Various rickettsiae have recently been detected in Laelaps mites (Acari: Laelapidae), which are common ectoparasites of rodents; however, investigations on this topic remain very scarce, particularly in Asia. In the present study, shrews and rodents were trapped from 2006 to 2010 in eight lowland regions of Taiwan (< 500 m in elevation) to collect associated Laelaps mites, from which Rickettsia-a group of emerging pathogens-were detected and identified by assaying the gltA and ompB genes. A total of 853 Laelaps mites of at least four species were collected from a sample of 1004 small mammals that included one shrew and 10 rodent species. Rattus losea was the most common species (44.9% of total hosts) and hosted the highest percentage of mites (76.6% of total mites). Laelaps nuttalli was the most abundant mite species (51.7% of total mites), followed by Laelaps echidninus (24.2%), Laelaps sedlaceki (23.1%), and Laelaps myonyssognathus (0.2%). Notably, Rickettsia species with the highest similarity to spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae were identified from seven of the 72 pools of Laelaps mites. The presence of SFG rickettsiae in hematophagous Laelaps mites, particularly including species that are closely associated with commensal rodents in frequent contact with humans, calls for further investigation on the competence of Laelaps mites in transmitting rickettsiae.

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“…One explanation for this is that ectoparasites of small mammals spend substantial time off host, so interspecific interactions may occur not only on the host body but also in its burrow or nest. Moreover, Martins‐Hatano et al (2002) found that laelapine gamasids collected from bodies of small mammals in Brazil were mainly or solely females, suggesting that a substantial portion of a mite population resided in the host's shelter. A burrow may be occupied or visited by several host individuals or species (which is the case with many colonial rodents), so interactions at the level of component and compound communities may occur.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body size and coexistence in gamasid mites parasitic on small mammals: null model analyses at three hierarchical scales

et al. 2012

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We studied body size ratio in gamasid mites (Acari: Mesostigmata) parasitic on Palearctic small mammals at 3 hierarchical scales, namely infracommunities (an assemblage of mites harboured by an individual host), component communities (an assemblage of mites harboured by a host population), and compound communities (an assemblage of mites harboured by a host community). We used null models and asked a) whether body size distributions in these communities demonstrate non‐random patterns; b) whether these patterns indicate segregation or aggregation of body sizes of coexisting species; and c) whether patterns of body size distribution are scale‐dependent, that is, differ among infracommunities, component communities, and compound communities. In most mite assemblages, the observed pattern of body size distribution did not differ from that expected by chance. However, meta‐analyses demonstrated that component and compound communities of gamasid mites consistently demonstrated a tendency to reduced body size overlap, while we did not find any clear trend in mite body size distribution across infracommunities. We discuss reasons for scale‐dependence of body size distribution pattern in parasite communities and propose ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that allowed the reduced body size overlap in component and compound communities of ectoparasites to arise.

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Ecology and Host Specificity of Laelapine Mites (Acari: Laelapidae) of Small Mammals in an Atlantic Forest Area of Brazil

Cited by 5 publications

References 3 publications

Limited dispersal in an ectoparasitic mite,Laelaps giganteus, contributes to significant phylogeographic congruence with the rodent host,Rhabdomys

Limited dispersal in an ectoparasitic mite,Laelaps giganteus, contributes to significant phylogeographic congruence with the rodent host,Rhabdomys

Molecular detection of Rickettsia species and host associations of Laelaps mites (Acari: Laelapidae) in Taiwan

Body size and coexistence in gamasid mites parasitic on small mammals: null model analyses at three hierarchical scales

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