Ixodid tick diversity on wild mammals, birds and reptiles in and around Etosha National Park, Namibia

Turner, Wendy C.; Küsters, Martina; Versfeld, Wilferd; Horak, Ivan G.

doi:10.1111/aje.12369

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 22 publications

(40 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The vulture-tick interaction has been poorly studied, despite records of ticks from these avian hosts were reported in tick surveillance studies (Turner et al 2017; Hutcheson et al 2020). The lack of such discussion could be due to the lack of animal sampling and the decline of the vulture population due to carrion poisoning, health crisis and power source development (Naidoo et al 2009; Carrete et al 2012; Naidoo et al 2017; Hernández et al 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A checklist of the tick of vultures, with the first record of the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus linnaei (Acari: Ixodidae) from the Indian vulture, Gyps indicus (Falconiformes: Accipitridae)

Kazim

Low

Houssaini

et al. 2023

saa

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We report the presence of multiple brown dog ticks (Rhicephalus linnaei) from the Indian vulture Gyps indicus. This paper constitutes the first report of this tick species from the vulture, and also the first documentation of ectoparasites from vultures in Malaysia. Additionally, we have conducted a literature review on ticks from vultures worldwide, resulting in 21 tick species consisted of six genera (Argas, Ornithodoros, Amblyomma, Hyalomma, Ixodes and Rhipicephalus) recorded from eight Old World vultures and two New World vultures. The lists of ticks infesting both vulture groups, along with pathogens detected from some of these ticks, are provided in this paper.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A checklist of the tick of vultures, with the first record of the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus linnaei (Acari: Ixodidae) from the Indian vulture, Gyps indicus (Falconiformes: Accipitridae)

Kazim

Low

Houssaini

et al. 2023

saa

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…All collared animals were part of resident populations, living in the Moremi Game Reserve and surroundings all year, but zebra elsewhere in northern Botswana perform migrations [47], including the longest in Africa [48]. Wildebeest in East Africa are highly mobile and have large population sizes [49], but historically large wildebeest migrations in Botswana have mostly died out [50], with the exception of the Makgadikgadi Pans, where their numbers are far below those of zebra (Statistics Botswana 2014, unpublished report). Wildebeest in Botswana therefore appear to be highly sensitive to disturbances that restrict their movements, including fences and artificial water provision [50].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wild dog tend to run until they encounter prey opportunistically [32], whereas lion will target prey, often at night, that is easy to catch [52]. Wildebeest in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana, rarely move far from artificial water sources, and are frequently predated by lion hunting predictable prey [50].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Possible causes of divergent population trends in sympatric African herbivores

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sympatric herbivores experience similar environmental conditions but can vary in their population trends. Identifying factors causing these differences could assist conservation efforts aimed at maintaining fully functional ecosystems. From 1996–2013, tsessebe and wildebeest populations in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, declined by 73% and 90%, respectively, whereas zebra populations remained stable. These sympatric, medium sized herbivores are exposed to similar natural and anthropogenic pressures, but apparently differ in their responses to those pressures. To identify factors that could cause these differences, we fitted GPS-enabled collars to six zebra, eight tsessebe and seven wildebeest in the Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. We calculated utilisation distributions (UDs) from GPS data, and used 95% isopleths to compare seasonal home range size between species. We calculated utilisation intensity (UI) from the UDs and generated spatial layers representing resources and disturbances, and then used model averaging to identify factors affecting UI for each species. We calculated second and third order habitat selection ratios to determine whether species were habitat specialists or generalists. Zebra occupied larger home ranges than tsessebe and wildebeest, showed weaker responses to spatial variables and displayed no third order habitat selection; zebra social systems are also more fluid, allowing for information exchange between stable harems. Herbivore species that are sedentary, occupy small home ranges, are habitat specialists and exist in relatively isolated groups are likely to be less resistant and resilient to the rapid pace of environmental change forecast by climate change scenarios. Resources contained within existing protected areas are unlikely to maintain populations of such species at sufficiently high levels, potentially leading to functional extinction. Special precautions may be needed to ensure that such species can persist in the wild, such as buffer zones around existing protected areas, which would allow greater potential for adaptive movement should current environmental conditions change.

show abstract

“…In a review of the ticks of the Central African Republic, Uilenberg, Estrada-Peña and Thal (2013) recorded a number of historic as well as recent collections of Amblyomma astrion, Amblyomma cohaerens, A. tholloni, Amblyomma variegatum, D. circumguttatus and Rhipicephalus longus from elephants. In Namibia, 8 of 45 elephants examined in the Etosha National Park harboured only Hyalomma truncatum , while no ticks were collected from the remaining elephants (Turner et al 2017). In South Africa, Horak et al (2018) recorded 32 collections from elephants, of which one animal was infested with a solitary Amblyomma hebraeum female, 23 with A. tholloni and eight with R. maculatus .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ixodid ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) collected from African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) and African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis)

Kariuki

Kutima

Kock³

et al. 2019

Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Eight ixodid tick species were collected from 173 African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Kenya, northern Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and two species were collected from six African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) in the Republic of Congo. A new host record is reported for Amblyomma eburneum. A list of ticks collected from elephants in various African countries, and stored in the United States National Tick Collection, is supplied as well as an annotated checklist of the 27 ixodid tick species that have been collected from African elephants. The geographic distributions and alternative hosts of the various tick species collected from elephants are briefly discussed.

show abstract

Ixodid tick diversity on wild mammals, birds and reptiles in and around Etosha National Park, Namibia

Cited by 10 publications

References 22 publications

A checklist of the tick of vultures, with the first record of the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus linnaei (Acari: Ixodidae) from the Indian vulture, Gyps indicus (Falconiformes: Accipitridae)

A checklist of the tick of vultures, with the first record of the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus linnaei (Acari: Ixodidae) from the Indian vulture, Gyps indicus (Falconiformes: Accipitridae)

Possible causes of divergent population trends in sympatric African herbivores

Ixodid ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) collected from African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) and African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About