engleski

Tick infestation of Balkan chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica) from the area of Biokovo mountain in the Republic of Croatia

Studies on the tick infestation of Balkan chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica) have not been conducted in the Republic of Croatia thus the aim of the study was to identify tick species from Balkan chamois in the Biokovo area. Sampling was performed during chamois hunting season at altitudes around 1100 meters. In total, ticks were present on 20 (62.5%) out of 32 animals examined after hunting. After morphological determination, ticks were subjected to genetic characterisation. After the PCR, a section of the 16S rRNA gene and COX 1 segment were sequenced. Six different tick species from 68 collected have been detected, of which the species Ixodes gibbosus (36.76%) was the predominant one followed by Rhipicephalus bursa (19.11%), Ixodes hexagonus (16.17%), Ixodes ricinus (13.23%), Haemaphysalis punctata (10.29%), and Dermacentor marginatus (4.41%). Adult ticks H. punctata and D. marginatus were recorded, adults and nymphs of I. ricinus and I. hexagonus, and only R. bursa nymphs. All developmental stages were recorded from I. gibbosus. The highest number of ticks including I. ricinus, H. punctata and I. gibbosus were collected in October while I. hexagonus was detected only in November. D. marginatus was mostly in January and R. bursa only in October. I. ricinus was commonly found attached in the neck area while H. punctata in the loin area. I. gibbosus and I. hexagonus were mostly attached on the head. D. marginatus was recorded only on the abdomen, and the species R. bursa only on the head (ears). The highest infestation rate on a single animal was 22 ticks of two species I. gibbosus (17) and R. bursa (5) while the largest number of tick species on a single animal was three including I. ricinus, I gibbosus, and H. punctata. Further studies are needed to assess the impact of ticks and pathogens they can transmit to health status of chamois.

Balkan chamois ; ticks ; Biokovo ; Republic of Croatia

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