Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, 7602 Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Parasitology. 2020 Aug;147(9):1038-1047. doi: 10.1017/S0031182020000748. Epub 2020 May 4.
Chigger mites (Trombiculidae) are temporary habitat-specific ectoparasites that often occur on rodents. Little ecological data are available on chiggers associated with rodents in South Africa. The study aims were to (1) record the chigger species associated with rodents in the savanna, (2) assess if chigger species display parasitope preference on the rodent body and (3) compare the distribution of chigger species in natural, agricultural and urban habitats. Rodents (n = 314) belonging to eight genera were trapped in the savanna biome during 2014 and 2015. Twelve chigger species, of which five are recently described species, were recorded from 161 rodent hosts. The data include three new country locality records. Microtrombicula mastomyia was the most prevalent species across sampling seasons and habitat types. Significant parasitope preference was recorded for two species, with the ear, face and tail base some of the preferred attachment sites. Sampling season and habitat type had a significant effect on chigger communities with summer and agricultural habitats recording the highest species richness, while the highest species diversity was recorded in natural habitats. The study contributes to our current knowledge regarding rodent-associated chigger diversity and distribution in South Africa and further highlights the importance of environmental characteristics in shaping chigger communities.
恙螨（恙螨科）是临时栖息地特异性的外寄生虫，通常出现在啮齿动物上。有关南非啮齿动物相关恙螨的生态数据很少。本研究的目的是：（1）记录与稀树草原啮齿动物有关的恙螨种类，（2）评估恙螨种类是否对啮齿动物身体表现出寄生虫偏好，以及（3）比较自然、农业和城市栖息地中恙螨种类的分布。在 2014 年和 2015 年期间，在稀树草原生物群落中捕获了属于八个属的 314 只啮齿动物。从 161 只啮齿动物宿主中记录了 12 种恙螨，其中 5 种是最近描述的物种。该数据包括三个新的国家地理位置记录。在整个采样季节和栖息地类型中，Microtrombicula mastomyia 是最普遍的物种。有两种物种记录到明显的寄生虫偏好，耳朵、脸和尾巴基部是一些首选的附着部位。采样季节和栖息地类型对恙螨群落有显著影响，夏季和农业栖息地记录到的物种丰富度最高，而自然栖息地记录到的物种多样性最高。该研究有助于我们了解南非与啮齿动物相关的恙螨多样性和分布情况，并进一步强调了环境特征在塑造恙螨群落方面的重要性。
