title: Ectoparasitic insects and mites on Yunnan red-backed voles (Eothenomys miletus) from a localized area in southwest China.
abstract: Ectoparasitic insects and mites on Yunnan red-backed voles (Eothenomys miletus) in Dali prefecture, Yunnan Province, southwest China, were studied between 2003 and 2004. In total, 34,389 individuals of 86 species of ectoparasitic insects (seven species of fleas and five species of sucking lice) and mites (23 species of gamasid mites and 51 species of chigger mites) were collected from 916 individual hosts. The diversity of ectoparasites on this single rodent species in such a small area was much higher than in previous reports, which concerned more host species and greater geographical areas. The majority of the ectoparasites were chigger mites, which accounted for 59.3% of the parasite species and 87.4% of the individual parasites. Most voles harbored parasites with an overall prevalence (P) of 82.5% and mean abundance (MA) of 37.5 parasites per host. The dispersion coefficient (C) and patchiness index (m*/m) were used to study the spatial patterns of the seven dominant parasite species, and all seven had aggregated distributions. The species abundance distribution of the ectoparasites on the vole was fitted by Preston's lognormal distribution (R (2) = 0.82), and the total expected parasite species was estimated from this plot as 167 species. Yunnan red-backed voles harbor many ectoparasites as revealed by examination of a large host population. Future field investigations should sample large numbers of host individuals to assess ectoparasite populations.
authors.affiliation: Vector Laboratory, Institute of Pathogens and Vectors, Dali University (Branch of Key Laboratory for Preventing and Controlling Plague of Yunnan Province), Dali, Yunnan, 671000, China, xianguoguo@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Xian-Guo
authors.initials: XG
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Speakman
authors.forename: Wen-Ge
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Xing-Yuan
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Men
authors.forename: Ti-Jun
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Dian
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Wen-Yu
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003411:Arvicolinae; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004478:Ectoparasitic Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008925:Mites / Q000145:classification*; D008003:Phthiraptera / Q000145:classification*; D005423:Siphonaptera / Q000145:classification*
references.citation: Med Vet Entomol. 2011 Dec;25(4):421-7
references.pmid: 21453420
references.citation: Int J Infect Dis. 2010 Aug;14(8):e667-76
references.pmid: 20189862
references.citation: Med Vet Entomol. 2013 Jun;27(2):194-202
references.pmid: 23167491
references.citation: Parasitol Res. 2011 May;108(5):1243-51
references.pmid: 21140167
references.citation: Chin Med J (Engl). 1999 May;112(5):472-7
references.pmid: 11593522
references.citation: Chin Med J (Engl). 1996 Sep;109(9):670-3
references.pmid: 9275333
references.citation: Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2010 May;41(3):526-35
references.pmid: 20578538
references.citation: Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2004 Nov;33(2):349-62
references.pmid: 15336670
references.citation: Med Vet Entomol. 2009 Dec;23(4):387-92
references.pmid: 19941604
references.citation: Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2006 Oct;1078:223-35
references.pmid: 17114713
references.citation: Trop Biomed. 2009 Dec;26(3):303-11
references.pmid: 20237444
references.citation: Parasitol Res. 2013 May;112(5):1967-72
references.pmid: 23471780
references.citation: J Parasitol. 2005 Feb;91(1):32-7
references.pmid: 15856868