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Evolutionary, molecular and comparative zoology
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 53(6)

Ecology of the common marsupial tick (Ixodes tasmani Neumann) (Acarina : Ixodidae), in eastern Australia

Fiona A. Murdoch A B C and David M. Spratt A D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, GPO Box 284, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

B School of Biological Sciences A08, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

C Present address: School of Science and Engineering, University of Ballarat, PO Box 663, Ballarat, Vic. 3353, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: dave.spratt@csiro.au

Australian Journal of Zoology 53(6) 383-388 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO05032
Submitted: 23 June 2005  Accepted: 4 November 2005   Published: 6 January 2006

Abstract

Ixodes tasmani is one of the most common and widespread of the Australian species of Ixodes and a vector of zoonotic rickettsial diseases. The tick was reared successfully in the laboratory; the entire life cycle was completed in 4 months. A diurnal rhythm of detachment from captive hosts (laboratory Rattus norvegicus) was observed for all stages and, combined with other evidence, suggests that I. tasmani is nidicolous. The prevalence and intensity of tick infestation on wild-caught, common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), was least during the summer months. To investigate questing activity, laboratory-reared nymphs were held in enclosures in one sheltered (tree hollows) and three exposed (vegetation) microhabitats. Questing was continuous but at low intensity in tree hollows, and nocturnal and at an increased (higher) intensity in vegetation. The observed questing activity appeared to maximise host contact with T. vulpecula, which is nocturnal but retires by day to tree hollows. Field and laboratory observations suggest that the risk for humans of tick-bite from I. tasmani and consequent transmission of zoonotic diseases may be low compared with the risk from other tick species.


Acknowledgments

The trapping of Trichosurus vulpecula and the care of laboratory rats complied with a permit issued jointly by the University of Sydney and CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems Animal Ethics Committees (No. L04/6-981/2279). Chris Dickman cosupervised this research and Peter Haycock, Steve Henry, Adam McKeown, Alex Drew and Eddie Gifford provided technical assistance. Financial assistance for this project was provided by the New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Vertebrate Biocontrol Cooperative Research Centre. We are grateful to Ian Beveridge, Chris Dickman and Ian Barker for valuable comments on a previous draft of the manuscript.


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