Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) on Small Mammals in Kootenay National Park, British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

Two hundred and ninety-one ticks (i.e., 185 larvae, 72 nymphs, and 34 adults) were removed from 153 small mammals comprising six species collected in Verdant Forest, Numa Forest, and Marble Canyon within Kootenay National Park, British Columbia, Canada. Morphological examination and molecular analyses (i.e., polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism [PCR-SSCP] and DNA sequencing of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene) of the ticks revealed that most individuals were Ixodes angustus Neumann. All life cycle stages of I. angustus were found primarily on southern red-backed voles, Clethrionomys gapperi (Vigors). Two Dermacentor andersoni Stiles females were also found on these small mammals. The results of the molecular analyses also revealed that there were three 16S haplotypes of I. angustus and two 16S haplotypes of D. andersoni. A comparison of available sequence data suggests genetic divergence between I. angustus near the western and eastern limits of the species distributional range in North America. Additional studies are needed to determine whether there are genetic differences between I. angustus from North America, Japan, and Russia, and whether there is geographical variation in the ability of ticks to transmit pathogens to their mammalian hosts.

The Biological Survey of Canada: A Personal History

“…The large range and apparent lack of host specificity have resulted in this tick being reported frequently in the literature from many host species, mostly rodents and insectivores (e.g., Bishopp and Trembley 1945;Judd 1950;Gregson 1956;Martell et al 1969;Whitaker and French 1982;Barker et al 1992;Durden and Keirans 1996;Nieto et al 2007;Anstead et al 2013). Despite being regularly encountered, it is seldom collected in large numbers, and there are limited data from field studies on its natural history.…”

“…It is most abundant in cool, moist boreal, montane, and riparian habitats (Robbins and Keirans 1992; Sorensen and Moses 1998), where it has been reported to exhibit limited host specificity based on factors presumed to influence overlap with its hosts. Sorensen and Moses (1998) and Anstead et al (2013) found that it was most prevalent on the red-backed vole (Myodes gapperi (Vigors)) in north-central Alberta and Kootenay National Park, British Columbia, respectively, while Murrell et al (2003) found Peromyscus keeni Merriam to be most heavily infested in Alaska. Juveniles and females of I. angustus were active in north-central Alberta at least from May to the end of August (Sorensen and Moses 1998); Furman and Loomis (1984) reported activity during all months of the year in California.…”

Discovery of Novel Rickettsiella spp. in Ixodid Ticks from Western Canada

“…A total of 469 ticks (Table 1) representing four species-Ixodes angustus, I. kingi, I. sculptus, and Dermacentor andersoni-were collected from small mammals at three localities in western Canada (37)(38)(39). Total genomic DNA (gDNA) was extracted and purified from each tick using a DNeasy Blood & Tissue kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany), but with the modifications described previously (40,41).…”

Genetic variation in the mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA gene of Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae)

“…This is likely given that 15 (29%) of the haplotypes can be considered as rare because only one tick of each of these haplotypes was detected in the present study. Nucleotide diversities within established populations of I. scapularis were low (0.002-0.004), while haplotype diversities were relatively high (0.60-0.79) compared to those of some other species of Ixodes in North America [48][49][50][51]. For example, only 1-4 haplotypes of the mt 16S rRNA gene have been detected within populations of Ixodes angustus, Ixodes kingi and Ixodes sculptus [48][49][50][51] compared to the 7-14 haplotypes among individuals in populations of I. scapularis.…”