Abstract
Over nearly 12 years, we collected ticks from free-ranging jaguars (Panthera onca) and performed statistical analyses to comprehend the vector-host relationship throughout the seasons. We evaluated the presence and number of ticks, as well as their association with weight, age, and gender of captured jaguars in the Pantanal and Amazon biomes. Out of 100 captured jaguars (comprising 72 initial captures and 28 recaptures, with 41 females and 31 males), 77 were found to be infested by different tick species. We gathered a total of 1,002 ticks, categorized by the following species in descending order of abundance: Amblyomma sculptum, Amblyomma ovale, Rhipicephalus microplus, Amblyomma triste, Amblyomma cajennense sensu stricto, Amblyomma incisum, and Amblyomma spp. larvae. Apart from weight, statistical analysis indicated that age, gender and seasonality does not significantly affect the presence of different tick species in free ranging jaguars. Notably, A. sculptum adults were more abundant in the first semester, while A. sculptum nymphs and Amblyomma spp. larvae were mainly found during dry months, aligning with their expected life cycle stages. This is the first long-term study in jaguars to correlate seasonality and host factors and also the first time an adult of A. incisum is reported infesting a jaguar.
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The authors declare that data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to specially thank the Onçafari guides, Adauto (Chipa) and Mario Nelson for their exquisite and unstopping efforts in jaguar and wildlife conservation. We also thank Associação Onçafari, Panthera Brasil and CENAP for financing the captures.
Funding
This study was funded by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel – Brazil (CAPES) finance code 001, FAPERGS (19/2551-0001842-8) and FAPESP (São Paulo Research Foundation, Brazil) for the support in this research (Process nos. 2019/03167–0, 2020/05987–1). The authors J.F.S. and M.B.L are funded by National Council for Scientific and Technological Research and Development (CNPq grants #312576/2021-8 and #301641/2019-6, respectively). The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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V.B.-S.: Conceptualization, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Writing—original draft preparation. J.A.M.-J.: Conceptualization, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Writing—original draft preparation. R.F.-M.: Investigation, Formal Analysis, Methodology, Writing—original draft preparation. A.O.R.: Formal Analysis, Writing—original draft preparation. B.A.d.A.: Formal Analysis, Methodology. C.E.F.: Investigation, Methodology. L.E.R.: Investigation, Methodology. L.R.S.: Investigation, Methodology. M.B.H.: Methodology. T.F.M.: Formal Analysis, Investigation, Methodology. M.B.L.: Methodology, Supervision, Writing—review and editing. J.F.S.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Project administration, Writing—review and editing.
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The procedures herein described were conducted in accordance with the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources-IBAMA (Authorization n. 42093-1), and the Research Committee of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul- Compesq (Authorization n. 38198).
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Baggio-Souza, V., Adenilson May-Junior, J., Fagundes-Moreira, R. et al. A long-term study on free-ranging jaguar-tick interactions, featuring a novel report of Amblyomma incisum adult infestation. Vet Res Commun (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-024-10305-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-024-10305-3