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Potential Effects of Environmental Conditions on Prairie Dog Flea Development and Implications for Sylvatic Plague Epizootics

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Abstract

Fleas are common ectoparasites of vertebrates worldwide and vectors of many pathogens causing disease, such as sylvatic plague in prairie dog colonies. Development of fleas is regulated by environmental conditions, especially temperature and relative humidity. Development rates are typically slower at low temperatures and faster at high temperatures, which are bounded by lower and upper thresholds where development is reduced. Prairie dogs and their associated fleas (mostly Oropsylla spp) live in burrows that moderate outside environmental conditions, remaining cooler in summer and warmer in winter. We found burrow microclimates were characterized by stable daily temperatures and high relative humidity, with temperatures increasing from spring through summer. We previously showed temperature increases corresponded with increasing off-host flea abundance. To evaluate how changes in temperature could affect future prairie dog flea development and abundance, we used development rates of O. montana (a species related to prairie dog fleas), determined how prairie dog burrow microclimates are affected by ambient weather, and combined these results to develop a predictive model. Our model predicts burrow temperatures and flea development rates will increase during the twenty-first century, potentially leading to higher flea abundance and an increased probability of plague epizootics if Y. pestis is present.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the United States Department of Defense Strategic Environment Research and Development Program Number 16 RC01-012. S. Eyob, C. Malave, N. Vlotho, and G. Corriveau assisted with flea collections in the field, and N. Vlotho and G. Corrievau helped identify fleas in the laboratory. We would like to thank R. Matchett, C. Jones, P. Dobesh, T. Willman, S. Grassel, B. McCann, H. Hicks, D. Baggao, and R. Howard for their help with site selection and access. Three anonymous reviewers provided valuable comments that improved the paper. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Data are available online at https://doi.org/10.5066/P93TCY21 (Poje et al. 2022).

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  1. Marco E. Metzger

    Present address: Vector-Borne Disease Section, Division of Communicable Disease Control, Center for Infectious Diseases, California Department of Public Health, Ontario, CA, 91764, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Michael D. Samuel & Julia E. Poje

  2. U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI, 53711, USA

    Tonie E. Rocke

  3. Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA

    Marco E. Metzger

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  1. Michael D. Samuel
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Correspondence to Michael D. Samuel.

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Samuel, M.D., Poje, J.E., Rocke, T.E. et al. Potential Effects of Environmental Conditions on Prairie Dog Flea Development and Implications for Sylvatic Plague Epizootics. EcoHealth 19, 365–377 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-022-01615-6

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