Golezardy_81-85.indd In addition to the Kruger National Park, which is ap- proximately 2 million ha in size, there are numerous smaller national and provincial nature reserves in South Africa. Besides the mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, arthropods and vegetation that are protected within these reserves the parasites of the various biota are coincidentally conserved with their hosts. The larger reserves are not only important from the conservation aspect, but also because of the op- portunity they afford for studies in an environment in which there has been minimal human disturbance or pesticide usage. During the past 80 years several inventories of the arthropod and helminth parasites infesting wildlife in South Africa have been published. Bedford (1932, 1936) and Haeselbarth, Segerman & Zumpt (1966) have listed the arthropods infesting domestic and wild animals, Zumpt (1961) the mites, Theiler (1962), Walker (1991) and Walker, Keirans & Horak (2000) the ticks, Zumpt (1965) the myiasis-producing flies, Round (1968) the helminths, Ledger (1980) the lice, and Segerman (1995) the fleas. In recent times, particular host species and nature reserves have been targeted for the collection of para sites. A number of these studies have been con- ducted in the Cape Province (now subdivided into the Western Cape Province, the Eastern Cape Prov- ince, and the Northern Cape Province). During these surveys animals in the Mountain Zebra National Park, the Bontebok National Park and the Addo Ele- 81 Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research, 74:81–85 (2007) RESEARCH COMMUNICATION Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) collected from animals in three western, semi-arid nature reserves in South Africa H. GOLEZARDY1 and I.G. HORAK2* ABSTRACT GOLEZARDY, H. & HORAK, I.G. 2007. Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) collected from animals in three western, semi-arid nature reserves in South Africa. Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research, 74:81–85 The objective of this study was to make an inventory of the ixodid tick species infesting wild animals in three western, semi-arid nature reserves in South Africa. To this end 22 animals in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, 10 in the West Coast National Park and 16 in the Karoo National Park were exam- ined. Fourteen tick species were recovered, of which Hyalomma truncatum, Rhipicephalus exoph thal- mos and Rhipicephalus glabroscutatum were each present in two reserves and the remainder only in one. The distributions of two of the 14 tick species recovered, namely Rhipicephalus capensis and Rhipicephalus neumanni, are virtually confined to the western semi-arid regions of southern Africa. Hyalomma truncatum, R. capensis and R. glabroscutatum were the most numerous of the ticks recov- ered, and eland, Taurotragus oryx, were the most heavily infested with the former two species and gemsbok, Oryx gazella, and mountain reedbuck, Redunca fulvorufula, with R. glabroscutatum. Keywords: Geographic distribution, hosts, ixodid ticks, semi-arid nature reserves, wildlife * Author to whom correspondence is to be directed. E-mail: ivan.horak@up.ac.za 1 Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Vet- erinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, 0110 South Africa 2 Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Vet- erinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, 0110 South Africa, and Division of Parasitology, ARC-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Onderstepoort, 0110 South Africa Accepted for publication 15 September 2006—Editor 82 Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) collected from animals in nature reserves in South Africa phant National Park were examined (Horak, Sheppey, Knight & Beuthin 1986; Horak, Fourie, Novellie & Wil- liams 1991a; Horak, Boomker, Spickett & De Vos 1992; Knapp, Krecek, Horak & Penzhorn 1997), as well as animals in the Andries Vosloo Kudu Reserve (Knight & Rechav 1978; Horak, Spickett, Braack & Williams 1991b; Horak & Fourie 1991; Horak et al. 1992), and the Thomas Baines Nature Reserve (Horak, Potgieter, Walker, De Vos & Boomker 1983; Petney, Horak, Howell & Meyer 2004). The present paper provides an inventory of the ixodid ticks collected from wildlife in three semi-arid nature reserves in the erstwhile Cape Province, two in the region now known as the Western Cape Prov- ince and one in the now named Northern Cape Prov- ince. The helminths recovered from antelopes in two of these reserves have been recorded in a separate publication (Boomker, Horak, Watermeyer & Booyse 2000). The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, that now incorpo- rates the former Kalahari Gemsbok National Park (24°45’–26°28’ S, 20°00’–20°50’ E), which lay with- in the borders of South Africa, is located in a semi- arid region in the northern part of Northern Cape Prov ince and extends into the neighbouring country of Botswana. The vegetation consists of a mosaic of lightly wooded grassland on the dune crests, pure grassland in shallow depressions between the dunes, and Rhigozum trichotomum shrubby grass- land in deeper hollows where the underlying cal- crete is close to the surface (White 1983; Acocks 1988). During October 1984 22 animals were exam- ined for ticks in the central region of the former Kalahari Gemsbok National Park. The West Coast National Park (33°06’–33°20’ S; 17°58’–18°11’ E), which incorporates the former Langebaan Nature Reserve is situated in a semi-arid region on the western coast of the Western Cape Province and comprises an area of 24 779 ha. The vegetation is classified as Strandveld and isolated patches of Coastal Fynbos (White 1983; Acocks 1988). The park lies within the winter rainfall region of South Africa in which summers are hot and dry, and winters cold and wet. Ten animals were exam- ined during February 1990 in this park. The Karoo National Park (32°12’–32°20’ S; 22°18’– 22°39’ E), comprises an area of 17 706 ha near the town of Beaufort West in the north-eastern part of the Western Cape Province. It is a semi-arid region with hot summers and cold winters, and occasional snow on the higher mountain peaks. The vegetation consists of Karroid Broken Veld (Acocks 1988). Sixteen animals were examined for ticks in this park during February 1991. The species and numbers of animals examined are summarized in Table 1. The animals were either shot or chemically immobilized. The larger species that were shot were processed for ectoparasite re- covery as described by Horak et al. (1992) for great- er kudus and the smaller animals as described by Horak et al. (1986) for scrub hares. The animals that were immobilized were carefully scrutinized for ticks. The ticks collected from the processed material, or directly from the immobilized animals, were stored in 70 % alcohol for later identification and counting under a stereoscopic microscope. A total of 14 ixodid tick species were recovered in this way. Only four tick species were recovered from the 22 animals examined in the South African portion of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (Table 2), and in- dividual burdens were small. No ticks were collected from the single red hartebeest and the two spring- bok examined. The species collected, namely Hya- lomma marginatum rufipes, Hyalomma truncatum, Rhipicephalus exophthalmos and Rhipicephalus theileri are all adapted to harsh climatic conditions (Howell, Walker & Nevill 1978; Walker et al. 2000). The preference of R. exophthalmos for scrub hares and R. theileri for Cape ground squirrels is evident from the collections made from these animals. The latter tick is also common on yellow mongooses, Cyn ictis penicillata, and meercats, Suricata suricatta, which share warrens with ground squirrels (Horak, Chap parro, Beaucournu & Louw 1999; Walker et al. 2000). The species and numbers of ticks collected from animals in the West Coast National Park are sum- marized in Table 3. Six ixodid tick species were col- lected from the ten animals examined, and large numbers of H. truncatum, Rhipicephalus capensis and Rhipicephalus glabroscutatum were recovered. The distribution of R. capensis is virtually confined to the western winter rainfall region of the Western Cape Province, while R. glabroscutatum occurs not only here and in the southern Karoo, but also in the non-seasonal rainfall regions of the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces and in the Valley Bushveld of the latter province (Walker et al. 2000). The eland, probably because of their larger size, harboured considerably more adult H. truncatum and R. cap- ensis than the gemsbok (Gallivan & Horak 1997). Conversely the gemsbok carried larger burdens of all stages of development of the two-host ticks Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi and R. glabroscutatum. All stages of the latter tick attach around the feet 83 H. GOLEZARDY & I.G. HORAK TABLE 1 Mammals examined for ticks in three western, semi-arid nature reserves in South Africa Host species Scientific name Number examined Red hartebeest Black wildebeest Blue wildebeest Bontebok Springbok Steenbok Eland Gemsbok Grey rhebok Mountain reedbuck Rock hyrax Cape ground squirrel Scrub hare Smith’s red rock rabbit Alcelaphus buselaphus caama Connochaetes gnou Connochaetes taurinus Damaliscus pygargus dorcas Antidorcas marsupialis Raphicerus campestris Taurotragus oryx Oryx gazella Pelea capreolus Redunca fulvorufula Procavia capensis Xerus inauris Lepus saxatilis Pronolagus rupestris 1 2 3 2 8 1 4 10 2 2 4 3 4 2 TABLE 2 Ixodid ticks collected from mammals in the South African part of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park Tick species Tick life stage Host species (total number of ticks collected) Hyalomma marginatum rufipes Hyalomma truncatum Rhipicephalus exophthalmos Rhipicephalus theileri Adult Adult Adult All Eland (5) Blue wildebeest (3), eland (39), gemsbok (62) Steenbok (2), gemsbok (2), scrub hares (28) Cape ground squirrels (11) TABLE 3 Ixodid ticks collected from mammals in the West Coast National Park, South Africa Tick species Tick life stage Host species (total number of ticks collected) Hyalomma truncatum Larva Adult Rock hyrax (1) Eland (609), gemsbok (131) Ixodes pilosus group Adult All Eland (16) Gemsbok (12) Rhipicephalus capensis Adult Bontebok (4), eland (1 898), gemsbok (234) Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi Immature All Bontebok (16), springbok (2) Eland (68), gemsbok (246) Rhipicephalus gertrudae Adult Eland (6), gemsbok (2) Rhipicephalus glabroscutatum Immature All Springbok (4) Eland (25), gemsbok (7 960) TABLE 4 Ixodid ticks collected from mammals in the Karoo National Park, South Africa Tick species Tick life stage Host species (total number of ticks collected) Amblyomma marmoreum Larvae Springbok (4), grey rhebok (58) Hyalomma glabrum Adult Black wildebeest (21) Rhipicephalus arnoldi Immature Rock hyrax (29), scrub hare (3), red rock rabbit (9) Rhipicephalus distinctus All Rock hyrax (129) Rhipicephalus exophthalmos Adult Springbok (22), grey rhebok (2), mountain reedbuck (13) Rhipicephalus glabroscutatum Immature All Rock hyrax (7) Grey rhebok (274), mountain reedbuck (4 916) Rhipicephalus neumanni Adult Black wildebeest (2), springbok (2), grey rhebok (2), mountain reedbuck (2) 84 Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) collected from animals in nature reserves in South Africa and on the lower legs of their hosts (MacIvor & Horak 1987). One of the bontebok harboured four adult R. capensis, and one of the springbok was in- fested with a small number of immature R. evertsi evertsi and the other with a similar number of im- mature R. glabroscutatum. Seven ixodid tick species were recovered from the 16 animals examined in the Karoo National Park (Table 4). The dominant species was R. glabro scu- ta tum and mountain reedbuck were the most heav- ily infested. Five fairly rarely collected tick species were recovered, namely Hyalomma glabrum, Rhipi- cephalus arnoldi, Rhipicephalus distinctus, R. exoph- thalmos and Rhipicephalus neumanni. The adults of R. arnoldi infest Smith’s red rock rabbits and the im- mature stages infest these animals and other sym- patric small mammals (Walker et al. 2000). All stages of development of R. distinctus infest rock hyraxes (Horak & Fourie 1986; Horak et al. 1991a), and al- though the tick does not occur throughout the range of these small mammals its distribution is depend- ent on the presence of its hyrax hosts (Walker et al. 2000). Rhipicephalus neumanni is a tick of the semi- arid central and western regions of South Afri ca and southern regions of Namibia (Walker et al. 2000). It and R. capensis are the only ticks of the 14 species collected that have distributions virtually con fined to the south-western regions of the subcontinent. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are most grateful to South African National Parks for placing the animals in the three reserves at our disposal, and for providing assistance and fa- cilities to process the animals for tick recovery. The assistance of Mr M.M. Knight and Dr J.P. Louw with processing the carcasses or the immobilized animals for tick recovery is greatly appreciated. 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