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Biotic and abiotic predictors of tick (Dermacentor variabilis) abundance and engorgement on free-ranging raccoons (Procyon lotor)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 August 2007

R. J. MONELLO  and
M. E. GOMPPER
R. J. MONELLO*
Affiliation:
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, 302 Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
M. E. GOMPPER
Affiliation:
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, 302 Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Tel: +011 573 882 8099. Fax: +011 573 884 5070. E-mail: [email protected]
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Summary

We examined the relative importance of abiotic and biotic factors on the ability of adult Dermacentor variabilis ticks to attach and engorge with blood across 10 populations of free-ranging raccoons (Procyon lotor). We developed a priori models that represented explicit hypotheses based on the literature and tested the ability of these models to explain non-replete and replete (fully engorged with blood) tick infestation using generalized linear models and Akaike's Information Criterion. Abiotic models that included month and site of collection clearly provided a better fit for non-replete tick abundance data, while biotic models with host age and sex covariates best fit the replete tick data. Abiotic models of non-replete abundance were superior to biotic models because of large seasonal and site fluctuations in non-replete abundance that masked differences due to host characteristics. Conversely, best-fitting models of replete tick abundance included only age and sex and suggest that once a tick has reached a host, host-parasite interactions are the primary determinant of engorgement by female ticks. Host population structure may have a large influence on potential cohort size of ticks by reducing or increasing the total number and proportion that can become engorged and moult or lay eggs.

Keywords

Dermacentor variabilisProcyon lotormodel selectiontickinfestation
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 134 , Issue 14 , December 2007 , pp. 2053 - 2062
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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