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Evolutionary, molecular and comparative zoology
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 55(3)

Variation in ectoparasite infestation on the brown antechinus, Antechinus stuartii, with regard to host, habitat and environmental parameters

Dagmar Lorch A B E F , Diana O. Fisher A D and David M. Spratt C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Botany and Zoology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.

B Institut für Ökologie, Universität Jena, Dornburgerstrasse 159, 07745 Jena, Germany.

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

D Current address: School of Integrative Biology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia.

E Current address: Abteilung Verhaltensökologie und Soziobiologie, Deutsches Primatenzentrum, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.

F Corresponding author. Email: dlorch@gwdg.de

Australian Journal of Zoology 55(3) 169-176 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO06073
Submitted: 5 September 2006  Accepted: 2 May 2007   Published: 28 June 2007

Abstract

We studied ectoparasite infestation patterns in a wild population of brown antechinuses, Antechinus stuartii (Dasyuridae) at three sites in south-eastern New South Wales, over a period of seven months. Ectoparasite diversity on brown antechinuses was particularly high for a small mammal: 18 species of ectoparasites were recorded, including one undescribed species of mite. Ectoparasite infestation varied between study sites and changed seasonally. Variation between sites was related to habitat and environmental parameters, and the highest ectoparasite infestations were encountered in the coolest habitat with greatest depth of leaf litter. Host population densities varied only slightly between sites, and host density was not considered to be a primary factor influencing ectoparasite infestation. This is the first study to provide a host record of ectoparasites of Antechinus stuartii sensu stricto.


Acknowledgements

The authors thank Andrew Cockburn and Stefan Halle for supporting the project, Matthew Shaw for valuable help with identifying ectoparasite species, and Yann Clough for support with statistics. We are very grateful to Owen and Christina Carriage for their hospitality, and for allowing us to trap on their land. This study was supported by a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarship (to DL), and an Australian Research Council postdoctoral fellowship (to DOF).


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