Valcárcel F, González J, Tercero-Jaime J M, Olmeda A S
Departamento de Reproducción Animal (INIA), Grupo de Parasitología, 28040, Madrid, Spain.
Finca "La Garganta" Villamagna SA, Villanueva de Córdoba, Spain.
Exp Appl Acarol. 2017 Aug;72(4):439-447. doi: 10.1007/s10493-017-0166-2. Epub 2017 Aug 24.
Tick abundance depends heavily on host density, so reducing access to the host should reduce tick populations in a determined area. In this study we compared the Parasitic Index (PI = average number of ticks per rabbit) of two wild rabbit populations separated 16 years ago by a fence keeping ungulates from moving freely. Two areas were selected (closed and open) wherein 50 wild rabbits per area were sampled for ticks. The PI in the open area (PI = 989.62) was significantly higher than in the closed area (PI = 515.40). Hyalomma lusitanicum Koch was globally the most abundant species, followed by Rhipicephalus pusillus Gil Collado, Rhipicephalus bursa Canestrini and Fanzago, Haemaphysalis hispanica Gil Collado, Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. Latreille and Ixodes ventalloi Gil Collado. Differences between areas varied depending on the species. The number of H. hispanica, R. bursa and R. pusillus were significantly more abundant on rabbits in the closed area, whereas H. lusitanicum predominated in the open area. Ungulates in the open area may have played an important role as the main or alternative host for ticks and/or drawing some tick species away from rabbits. In the closed area other reasons such as inter-specific competition could have influenced the tick abundance. These results show a clear reduction in tick abundance for at least 16 years as well as influenced species distribution.
蜱虫的数量在很大程度上取决于宿主密度，因此减少与宿主的接触应该会降低特定区域内的蜱虫数量。在本研究中，我们比较了两个野生兔种群的寄生指数（PI = 每只兔子身上蜱虫的平均数量），这两个种群在16年前被一道防止有蹄类动物自由活动的围栏隔开。我们选择了两个区域（封闭区域和开放区域），每个区域采集50只野兔身上的蜱虫样本。开放区域的PI（PI = 989.62）显著高于封闭区域（PI = 515.40）。在全球范围内，卢氏璃眼蜱（Hyalomma lusitanicum Koch）是数量最多的物种，其次是微小扇头蜱（Rhipicephalus pusillus Gil Collado）、囊形扇头蜱（Rhipicephalus bursa Canestrini and Fanzago）、西班牙血蜱（Haemaphysalis hispanica Gil Collado）、血红扇头蜱指名亚种（Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. Latreille）和文氏硬蜱（Ixodes ventalloi Gil Collado）。不同区域之间的差异因物种而异。西班牙血蜱、囊形扇头蜱和微小扇头蜱在封闭区域兔子身上的数量显著更多，而卢氏璃眼蜱在开放区域占主导地位。开放区域的有蹄类动物可能作为蜱虫的主要或替代宿主，和/或把一些蜱虫种类从兔子身上吸引走，发挥了重要作用。在封闭区域，种间竞争等其他原因可能影响了蜱虫数量。这些结果表明，蜱虫数量至少在16年内明显减少，同时也影响了物种分布。
