Abstract
Life histories can influence the degree of parasite infestations on a host. Pressures exerted on hosts based on age and sex convey varying degrees of parasite prevalence due to differences in host lifestyles, but it is not known how interactions between different host traits affect tick numbers. The objective of this study was to determine if host characteristics (e.g., age, sex, weight, and their interactions) affect the mean number of ticks found on small mammals regardless of host species or habitat. Sherman live traps were placed in forest and grass/forb habitats representative of the southeastern United States. After capture, host characteristics were recorded, and hosts were then searched for ticks. A total of 281 small mammals (148 Peromyscus leucopus, 34 P. maniculatus, 76 Sigmodon hispidus, 16 Microtus pinetorum, and 7 Ochrotomys nuttalli) and 610 ticks (488 Dermacentor variabilis, 114 Ixodes scapularis, 1 Amblyomma americanum, and 7 A. maculatum) were collected in this study. Host's age, sex, and weight affected the number of ticks collected from small mammals and significant interaction effects between host traits occurred (weight by sex, weight by age, and sex by age). For instance, female subadult rodents had significantly more ticks compared to female adults, male subadults had significantly fewer ticks compared to male adults, and the number of ticks on a host increased as host body mass increased. These results support the hypothesis that the number of ticks vary on rodent hosts based on life histories and trait interactions. Therefore, understanding the behavioral mechanisms of a host can aid in the management of parasites in the environment.
Highlights
Ticks are obligate parasites that cause direct damage to their vertebrate hosts by blood feeding, or indirectly when they transmit infectious agents that affect animal health (Gulia-Nuss et al, 2016)
Dermacentor variabilis was the most abundant tick identified, but it was the only tick collected from all five rodent species examined
The least abundant tick species was A. americanum, and it was collected on a single O. nuttalli
Summary
Ticks are obligate parasites that cause direct damage to their vertebrate hosts by blood feeding, or indirectly when they transmit infectious agents that affect animal health (Gulia-Nuss et al, 2016). Understanding host susceptibility to tick infestation is important to elucidate the links that underlie the ecology of tickborne disease (TBD) in human and animal populations. Variation in parasite burden has been reported for different host classes (Klein, 2004). Host age has been shown to be significant in parasite burden (Hämäläinen et al, 2014; Izhar and Ben-Ami, 2015; Lesniak et al, 2017). Studies have varied in the numbers of parasitic infestations between differing age groups; some have found parasites favoring older hosts, and others found preferences for younger hosts (Cichoń et al, 2003; Tinsley et al, 2012)
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