Rhipicephalus sanguineus on dogs: relationships between attachment sites and tick developmental stages

Abstract

The brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, is the most widespread tick in the world and infests primarily domestic dogs. Studies on the bio-ecology of R. sanguineus have been carried out worldwide, but little is known of the on-dog relationships of tick developmental stages and their possible role on tick feeding performance, reproduction and pathogen transmission. We studied the relationships between different developmental stages of R. sanguineus on particular body areas of naturally infested dogs. In addition, we assessed whether these relationships could vary according to sex and breed of the dogs. Over 2,200 tick records were analyzed and the results showed that attachment sites of males and females are strongly positively correlated whereas attachment sites of nymphs and adults tend to be negatively correlated. Our findings indicate that adult ticks generally feed on sites (e.g., ears) that make it difficult for dogs to remove them, whereas immatures feed on lower areas of the dog's body (e.g., belly, rump, and hind legs), probably because of their more limited mobility. Further research on the possible on-dog interactions of adult and immature ticks is needed to better understand why their attachment sites tend to be negatively correlated and to assess their possible implications for pathogen transmission.

Tick infestation patterns in free ranging African buffalo (Syncercus caffer): Effects of host innate immunity and niche segregation among tick species

“…different stages of Ixodes ricinus on roe deer, Kiffner et al, 2011; and sheep, Ogden et al, 1998; Ixodes scapularis on white-tailed deer, Schmidtmann et al, 1998; I. rubicundus on different cattle breeds, Fourie and Horak, 1993; Rhipicephalus sanguineus on dogs, Dantas-Torres and Otranto, 2011), though seldom in the context of coinfestation by multiple tick species (but see Fourie and Kok, 1995: Hyalomma truncatum and H. marginatum on sheep; Vathsala et al, 2008: four tick species on sheep and goats; Jacobs et al, 2001: R. sanguineus and Haemaphysalis leachi on dogs). Niche segregation of ticks has been primarily studied in terms of environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity, as they relate to tick geographic distributions and potential responses to climate change (e.g.…”

Incidence of Cercopithifilaria bainae in Dogs and Probability of Co-Infection with Other Tick-Borne Pathogens

“…This area has a high prevalence of canine tick-borne pathogens and dogs maintained in this shelter were constantly exposed to ticks [9], [10].…”

Hepatozoon canis infection in ticks during spring and summer in Italy

“…Indeed, the dogs maintained in this shelter are constantly exposed to ticks, mainly during the summer, R. sanguineus being the only tick species present Dantas-Torres and Otranto 2011). Putignano has a typical Mediterranean climate, which greatly favors the occurrence of dog ticks.…”

“…Part of the ticks (n=267) tested was collected from 34 dogs between March and May 2009 (springtime), during a previous study on the ecology of R. sanguineus in southern Italy Dantas-Torres and Otranto 2011). Importantly, each dog was examined for a variable period of time, typically ranging from 20 min to 1 h, being the inspection time directly dependent on tick load.…”