Ixodid ticks on the coyote and gray fox at land between the lakes, Kentucky-Tennessee, and implications for tick dispersal.

Abstract

We examined 20 coyotes and 20 gray foxes for ticks at Land Between the Lakes, Tenn. from April to October 1986. Three coyotes and one gray fox were examined in 1984 and 1985. Amblyomma americanum, Dermacentor variabilis (Say), and Ixodes cookei infested both mammals. The highest mean intensities were of A. americanum on coyotes, with monthly half-body averages of 103 adults in May, 127 nymphs in June, and 5,075 larvae in September. Numbers of this tick on gray foxes were somewhat fewer than those on coyotes. Although A. americanum attached to all body regions, adults were more numerous on the head and neck, ventral body, and legs and tail, and immatures on the ventral body and legs and tail. D. variabilis and I. cookei were found in fewer numbers than A. americanum on both hosts, and they attached mostly to the ears and head and neck. The coyote's extensive home range suggests that it is important in the dispersal of ticks for which the coyote is a host.