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Hard Ticks (Ixodidae) from Wildlife in Liguria, Northwest Italy: Tick Species Diversity and Tick-Host Associations

Authors :
Annalisa Accorsi
Irene Schiavetti
Valeria Listorti
Monica Dellepiane
Chiara Masotti
Carlo Ercolini
Lisa Guardone
Elisabetta Razzuoli
Source :
Insects, Vol 13, Iss 2, p 199 (2022)
Publication Year :
2022
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2022.

Abstract

Hard ticks’ geographical distribution and abundance are influenced by wildlife population. This work presents the results of the identification of ticks retrieved from wild animals in the framework of a Regional Plan of Monitoring and Surveillance of Wildlife health. The frequency of distribution of ticks in different hosts and their geographical patterns were also investigated. Ticks were collected from game animals (Sus scrofa, Capreolus capreolus, Dama dama, and Rupicapra rupicapra) during two hunting seasons (2018–2019 and 2019–2020) in the four provinces of the Liguria region in northwest Italy. In the same period, ticks were also collected from carcasses of Vulpes vulpes, Canis lupus, Meles meles, and Asio otus received for necropsy. Tick species were identified according to taxonomic keys. A total of 819 ticks, removed from 259 animals, were found and identified. Overall, Ixodes ricinus was the dominant species (62.6%), followed by Dermacentor marginatus (24.5%), Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (12.5%), Haemaphysalis punctata (0.2%), and Ixodes hexagonus (0.1%). I. ricinus was also the prevalent species in roe deer and in fallow deer and the only species collected from the three wolf carcasses examined. In contrast, D. marginatus was the dominant species in S. scrofa. This last tick species was also more frequent in one province (Imperia), whereas Ixodes spp. were more common in another one (Savona). Wild animals proved to be useful for characterizing and monitoring tick population.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20754450
Volume :
13
Issue :
2
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Insects
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.140752efb343669b3ad279d641b094
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13020199