Similarity in ixodid tick communities harboured by wildlife and livestock in the Albany Thicket Biome of South Africa.

ABSTRACT: South Africa has a diverse fauna of ixodid tick species, several of which are of medical or veterinary importance. Elucidation of which host or environmental characteristics determine the composition and abundance of tick assemblages is, therefore, highly relevant to disease management and wildlife conservation efforts. Here, we analysed the similarity in ixodid tick assemblages of three wildlife and three livestock species in a natural (Great Fish River Reserve) and anthropogenic (an adjacent farm) habitat in South Africa. We compared tick infracommunities of three wild host species between the reserve and the farm; of three wild host species within the reserve and of wild and livestock species on the farm (considering body size). Hosts examined in this study harboured the adults and imma

SUBMITTER: Horak IG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11010466 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature