Spatial distribution of Gasterophilus pecorum (Diptera) eggs in the desert steppe of the Kalamaili Nature Reserve (Xinjiang, China).

ABSTRACT:

Background

The dominant Gasterophilus species in the desert steppe (Xinjiang, China) Gasterophilus pecorum poses a serious threat to the reintroduced Przewalski's horses. We investigated the distribution pattern of G. pecorum eggs in June 2017.

Methods

Two sampling methods, transect and grid, were used, and the results were analyzed via geostatistics by semivariance. The nest quadrat was used to determine the optimal quadrat size.

Results

Eggs were found in 99 quadrats (63.1%) and 187 clusters (1.5%) of Stipa caucasica on the steppe. The mean oviposition count of a cluster was 3.8 ± 1.6. Three-eggs is the mode of which females oviposit on each ovigerous S. caucasica (22.0%). Semivariogram analysis revealed that the distance of spatial dependence for eggs was 921 m, 12

SUBMITTER: Huang H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8422714 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature