title: Complementary data on four methods for sampling free-living ticks in the Brazilian Pantanal.
abstract: In this study, four methods for sampling free-living ticks that are used in ecological and human tick-bite risk studies were evaluated. Cloth dragging, carbon dioxide traps and visual searches and inspection of plant litter on the ground were used in field and forest areas within the Brazilian Pantanal. Among the three tick species collected, Amblyomma sculptum predominated, followed by Amblyomma parvum and Amblyomma ovale. Dragging, a cheap and simple technique, yielded the highest numbers of ticks, particularly nymphs. The visual search detected a high number of adult ticks and provided information on tick questing height. Even though laborious, plant litter examination showed that large numbers of ticks may use this stratum. Carbon dioxide (CO2) traps are expensive and difficult to handle, but they are highly efficient for adult ticks, especially A. parvum. These data indicate that one method alone is incapable of providing a representative sample of the tick fauna in a particular area and that multiple techniques should be used for tick population studies.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Ixodologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia - UFU, Uberlândia, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Vanessa do Nascimento
authors.initials: Vdo N
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Ixodologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia - UFU, Uberlândia, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Carolina Fonseca
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Osava
authors.affiliation: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária - Embrapa Pantanal, Corumbá, MS, Brasil.
authors.forename: Ubiratan
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Piovezan
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Ixodologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia - UFU, Uberlândia, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Matias Pablo Juan
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Szabó
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D017753:Ecosystem; D006801:Humans; D010274:Parasitology / Q000379:methods; D013987:Ticks