Ennen Joshua R, Qualls Carl P
United States Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, c/o Northern Arizona University, Applied Research & Development Building, Suite 150 P.O. Box 5614, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011, USA.
J Parasitol. 2011 Apr;97(2):202-6. doi: 10.1645/GE-2599.1. Epub 2010 Nov 8.
The distribution of the gopher tortoise tick ( Amblyomma tuberculatum ) has been considered intrinsically linked to the distribution of its primary host, gopher tortoises ( Gopherus polyphemus ). However, the presence of G. polyphemus does not always equate to the presence of A. tuberculatum . There is a paucity of data on the ecology, habitat preferences, and distribution of A. tuberculatum . The goals of this study were to assess the distribution of A. tuberculatum in southern Mississippi and to determine which, if any, habitat parameters explain the distribution pattern of A. tuberculatum . During 2006-2007, we examined 13 G. polyphemus populations in southern Mississippi for the presence of A. tuberculatum , and we measured a suite of habitat parameters at each site. Only 23% of the G. polyphemus populations supported A. tuberculatum , suggesting a more restricted distribution than its host. The results of our multivariate analyses identified several habitat variables, e.g., depth of sand and percentage of sand in the topsoil and burrow apron, as being important in discriminating between sites with, and without, A. tuberculatum. Amblyomma tuberculatum was only found at sites with a mean sand depth of > 100 cm and a mean percentage of topsoil and burrow apron sand composition > 94.0 and 92.4, respectively. Thus, environmental factors, and not just its host's range, seem to influence the distribution of A. tuberculatum.
地鼠陆龟蜱（Amblyomma tuberculatum）的分布一直被认为与其主要宿主地鼠陆龟（Gopherus polyphemus）的分布有着内在联系。然而，地鼠陆龟的存在并不总是意味着地鼠陆龟蜱的存在。关于地鼠陆龟蜱的生态学、栖息地偏好和分布的数据匮乏。本研究的目的是评估地鼠陆龟蜱在密西西比州南部的分布情况，并确定哪些栖息地参数（如果有的话）可以解释地鼠陆龟蜱的分布模式。在2006 - 2007年期间，我们检查了密西西比州南部的13个地鼠陆龟种群，以确定是否存在地鼠陆龟蜱，并在每个地点测量了一系列栖息地参数。只有23%的地鼠陆龟种群有地鼠陆龟蜱存在，这表明其分布比其宿主更为受限。我们的多变量分析结果确定了几个栖息地变量，例如，沙层深度以及表土和洞穴围裙中沙子的百分比，这些变量对于区分有和没有地鼠陆龟蜱的地点很重要。地鼠陆龟蜱仅在平均沙层深度大于100厘米、表土和洞穴围裙沙子成分的平均百分比分别大于94.0和92.4的地点被发现。因此，似乎是环境因素而非仅仅其宿主的分布范围影响着地鼠陆龟蜱的分布。
