Ectoparasite of Tupaia glis (Scandentia: Tupaiidae) from Lingai agricultural area, Terengganu

Deforestation in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia has increased significantly in the past few years to accommodate the growing population of Cameron Highlands. This led to a rapid urbanisation in Cameron Highlands which increased anthropogenic activities, causing degradation of the natural environment. Such environmental changes highlight the necessity of wildlife and resource inventories of available forested areas to improve existing conservation and management plans, especially for threatened taxa such as the non-volant small mammals. However, very few studies are known to focus on the effect of deforestation on non-volant small mammals, especially in the adjacent forest. This survey aimed to document non-volant small mammals from four habitat types (restoration areas, boundary, disturbed and undisturbed areas) of Terla A and Bertam, and undisturbed forest of Bukit Bujang Forest Reserve, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. Samplings were conducted in two phases between August 2020 to January 2021. A total of 80 live traps were deployed along the transect lines in all three study sites, and 10 camera traps were set randomly in each forested area. Results demonstrated that species diversity (H’) is higher at Terla A Forest Reserve compared to Bertam and Bukit Bujang Forest Reserve. In contrast, species diversity in the boundary area (S = 8, H’ = 2.025) and disturbed forest area (S = 8, H’ = 1.992) had similar number of species (S) compared to others study habitat; restoration area had the lowest species diversity (S = 3, H’ = 0.950). Berylmys bowersi was the most captured species from trappings and Lariscus insignis was the most frequently recorded species from camera trappings for all study sites. The results of the survey provided new information on non-volant small mammals in Cameron Highlands for future research, conservation, and management.

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“…2016 ) as they have high tolerance to habitat disturbance ( Nur Syazana et al . 2013 ; Muhammad Hafiz et al 2015 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species Diversity and Distribution of Non-volant Small Mammal between Restoration, Boundary, Disturbed and Undisturbed Area in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Baharudin

Tah

Zulkifli

et al. 2023

tlsr

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“…Thus, the chance of getting infested with ectoparasite, especially in the nymph stage and contact with other mammal hosts are lower, resulting in a low infestation rate (Nicholson et al 2019). Meanwhile, the lack of ectoparasite loads on T. glis (ground squirrel) could be due to high frequency of grooming activities, which was established as the most effective way in reducing the prevalence of ectoparasite on this species (Sulaiman et al 2016). Moreover, Maaz et al (2018) stated that the absence of ectoparasites on host species could be due to the survival of ectoparasite itself in the surrounding, low rate of infestation, and low host specificity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small mammal assemblages and their ectoparasite prevalence (Acarina) in mangrove forests of Peninsular Malaysia

2021

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The mangrove forest is located in the coastal intertidal zone and plays a vital role in buffering against erosion from storm surges, currents, waves, and tides. This ecosystem also serves for ecotourism due to its heterogeneous habitats, which supported a high diversity of plants and animals. Small mammals are among the abundant but poorly recognised inhabitants in mangrove forests. Apart from their role as primary consumer and prey, they are host to various ectoparasites, which potentially become the primary vector for tick-borne diseases among visitors. Therefore, this study aims to determine the small mammal assemblages and their ectoparasite prevalence in mangroves forests of Peninsular Malaysia. The capture-release method was applied for small mammal sampling, and each captured individual was screened and collected for ectoparasites before released. DNA barcoding using CO1 genes was performed for small mammal species verification, whereby ectoparasite identification was based on morphological identification and molecular verification using 16S rDNA genes. A total of 94 small mammals from 6 species were captured across sites, dominated by Rattus tiomanicus (n=74). From this number, 15 individuals (16% prevalence) were infested by ticks, 22 individuals (23%) were infested by mites, whereas 4 individuals (4%) were infested by both ticks and mites. Five species of ticks and one mite species were identified; Amblyomma cordiferum, Ixodes granulatus, Haemaphysalis hystricis, Dermacentor auratus, Dermacentor atrosignatus, and Laelaps echidninus. This study reveals a relatively poor diversity of small mammals in the mangroves forest, of which highly infested with a diversity of ectoparasites, elucidating the relationship of hostectoparasite associations in the riparian zone. This information is crucial to inform visitors to these areas, ultimately safeguard against ectoparasite-borne disease.

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Morphological and molecular identification of medically important questing Dermacentor species collected from some recreational areas of Peninsular Malaysia

et al. 2021

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Ectoparasite of Tupaia glis (Scandentia: Tupaiidae) from Lingai agricultural area, Terengganu

Cited by 4 publications

References 15 publications

Species Diversity and Distribution of Non-volant Small Mammal between Restoration, Boundary, Disturbed and Undisturbed Area in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Species Diversity and Distribution of Non-volant Small Mammal between Restoration, Boundary, Disturbed and Undisturbed Area in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Small mammal assemblages and their ectoparasite prevalence (Acarina) in mangrove forests of Peninsular Malaysia

Morphological and molecular identification of medically important questing Dermacentor species collected from some recreational areas of Peninsular Malaysia

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