Species quantification and seasonal abundance of ticks (Acarina: Ixodidae) in the eastern province of Zambia: Ticks from cattle

Mulilo, Jonathan B.

doi:10.1080/09670878509370983

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…In agreement with our data, Mulilo (1985) found that during a heavy rainfall year in Zambia the number of R. appendiculatus adults on cattle increased while there was a corresponding decrease in the number of B. microplus (congener of B. decoloratus). No correlation was found between the abundance of this species and monthly rainfall.…”

Section: Boophilus Decoloratussupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Field studies have shown a distinct seasonal activity pattern for R. appendiculatus adults, with the number of ticks on host animals increasing markedly with the onset of the rains, remaining high throughout the wet season, and decreasing to very low levels during the dry season (Kaiser et at., 1991;McCulloch et al, 1968;Minshull and Norval, 1982;Mulilo, 1985;Pegram et al, 1986;Rechav, 1982;Short and Norval, 1981 a;Smith, 1969;Wilson, 1946). In the wet season, adults were more abundant during 1991 than during the drought year of 1992, whereas there was no difference between years for the larvae or nymphs.…”

Section: Rhipicephalus Appendiculatusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While high rainfall and relative humidity may create climatic conditions that favour the increase of tick numbers and their parasitic activity for species such as R. appendiculatus, high rainfall could have the opposite effect on other tick species (Mulilo, 1985). Understanding the influence that rainfall regime has on the abun "dance of different tick species is important for anticipating potential tick problems and effectively controlling tick populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The effect of rainfall on tick challenge at Kyle Recreational Park, Zimbabwe

Mooring

Mazhowu²,

Scott

1994

Exp Appl Acarol

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The effect of rainfall pattern on tick challenge was investigated at Kyle Recreational Park, Zimbabwe, from 1991 to 1992 using drag and removal plot methods to sample environmental tick density. The abundance of adults and nymphs of the brown ear-tick Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and larvae of the bont tick Amblyomma hebraeum was positively correlated with monthly rainfall, whereas no relationship with rainfall was revealed for larval R. appendiculatus, adults of the red-legged tick R. evertsi, or larvae of the blue tick Boophilus decoloratus. A comparison between 1991 (490 mm rainfall) and the drought year of 1992 (161 mm) revealed significant differences in the abundance of R. appendiculatus, A. hebraeum, and B. decoloratus. During the wet season, R. appendiculatus adults were 2-3 times more numerous in the environment during the higher rainfall year of 1991. A. hebraeum larval abundance exhibited a similar pattern to that of R. appendiculatus adults, but B. decoloratus larvae were more abundant in the drought year of 1992 during both the wet and dry seasons. Comparable tick abundance data collected at Kyle during the above-average rainfall years of 1975-1977 (mean = 1029 mm) were compared with tick challenge during the below-average rainfall years of 1991-1992 (mean = 326 mm). In grassland sand habitat and all habitats combined R. appendiculatus adults, nymphs, and larvae were much more abundant during the high rainfall years. In contrast, larvae of B. decoloratus were more numerous during the drier years. A hebraeum larvae were also more abundant during the drier years. The strong positive correlation of adult R. appendiculatus abundance with rainfall and the coincidence of increased adult tick challenge with increased rainfall indicate that adult R. appendiculatus tick burden on hosts would be heaviest during the wet season and high rainfall years.

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Section: Boophilus Decoloratussupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Rhipicephalus Appendiculatusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The effect of rainfall on tick challenge at Kyle Recreational Park, Zimbabwe

Mooring

Mazhowu²,

Scott

1994

Exp Appl Acarol

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“…In addition to obtaining nutritional benefits, oxpeckers use their hosts as mobile perches and sources of nesting material. Ungulates, in turn, reap the benefits of ectoparasite removal by associated oxpeckers, which includes the prevention of blood loss, appetite suppression, tick toxicosis, and skin, bacterial and protozoan diseases (Little, ; O'kelly & Seifert, ; Seebeck, Spingell & O'kelly, ; Williams, Hair & Mcnew, ; Price, ; Mulilo, ; Norval et al ., ; Hart, Hart & Mooring, ; Oorebeek & Kleindorfer, ). Because of this cleaning behaviour, the oxpecker–ungulate interaction is generally categorized as mutualistic, an interspecific interaction in which each species receives a net benefit (Bronstein, ,b, , ; Holland & Deangelis, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding preferences of the red‐billed oxpecker, Buphagus erythrorhynchus: a parasitic mutualist?

et al. 2012

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The oxpecker-ungulate association of sub-Saharan Africa is an example of a complicated interspecific association subject to variation in outcome. Oxpeckers (Buphagus spp.) are unusual birds because they not only glean ticks from an array of African ungulates, but they are one of the few avian species known to wound-feed from their living hosts. The conditions under which oxpeckers wound-feed and the mechanisms generating variation in this association are unclear. We took a unique approach to studying the relationship by conducting a series of feeding preference experiments on twelve captive red-billed oxpeckers (B. erythrorhynchus). We assessed how oxpecker feeding behaviour is influenced by changes in tick abundance and tick type. In cafeteria-style experiments, oxpeckers fed equally on ticks and liquid bovine blood. In experiments using donkeys as the host animal, oxpeckers spent more time wound-feeding when a less-preferred tick type was available and when tick abundance was low compared to when a preferred tick type was available and when tick abundance was high. However, oxpeckers still wound-fed even when offered a large number of the ticks they prefer. Additional experiments incorporating tick species of different stages and multiple ungulate species are necessary to fully reveal the dynamics of this association.

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“…shown (Biguezoton, 2016;Fantahun, 2012;Farougou, 2006Farougou, , 2007Keesing et al, 2018;Mattioli et al, 1997;Mulilo, 1985). This pattern is most characteristic for two or three-host tick species (Amblyomma spp.…”

Section: Knowledge Of Herders On Cattle Tick Seasonalitymentioning

confidence: 96%