Drivers of tick community structure in a rhinoceros meta-population in Kenya.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the structure and drivers of parasite communities including species assembly patterns, diversity, abundance, and aggregation is crucial in assessing the health of wild populations and the dynamics of host-parasite interactions within ecosystems. This study analyzed tick communities parasitizing the critically endangered black rhinoceros and the near threatened white rhinoceros metapopulation in twelve sanctuaries in Kenya. A total of 14,302 ticks from 20 tick species across four genera, Dermacentor (1 species), Rhipicephalus (8 species), Amblyomma (8 species) and Hyalomma (3 species) were sampled from 372 rhinoceroses. The most dominant species included Amblyomma gemma (23.28 %), Amblyomma sparsum (22.28 %) and Rhipicephalus pulche

SUBMITTER: King'ori EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12856993 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature