title: Effects of weather and plague-induced die-offs of prairie dogs on the fleas of northern grasshopper mice.
abstract: Plague, the disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, can have devastating impacts on black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus Ord). Other mammal hosts living on prairie dog colonies may be important in the transmission and maintenance of plague. We examined the flea populations of northern grasshopper mice (Onychomys leucogaster Wied) before, during, and after plague epizootics in northern Colorado and studied the influence of host and environmental factors on flea abundance patterns. Grasshopper mice were frequently infested with high numbers of fleas, most commonly Pleochaetis exilis Jordan and Thrassis fotus Jordan. Flea loads changed in response to both environmental temperature and rainfall. After plague-induced prairie dog die-offs, flea loads and likelihood of infestation were unchanged for P. exilis, but T. fotus loads declined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. dsalkeld@nature.berkeley.edu
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Salkeld
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stapp
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000502:physiology; D003120:Colorado; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D010930:Plague / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D011156:Population Density; D011891:Rain; D012098:Reproduction; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000635:transmission; D012589:Sciuridae / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D012737:Sex Factors; D005423:Siphonaptera / Q000382:microbiology*; D013696:Temperature; D015010:Yersinia pestis