Content area
Full text
http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s10493-015-9891-6&domain=pdf
Web End = http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s10493-015-9891-6&domain=pdf
Web End = http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s10493-015-9891-6&domain=pdf
Web End = Exp Appl Acarol (2015) 66:281291 DOI 10.1007/s10493-015-9891-6
J. Burazerovi S.aki D. Mihaljica
R. Sukara D.irovi S. Tomanovi
Received: 2 December 2014 / Accepted: 17 February 2015 / Published online: 26 February 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015
Abstract Ticks parasitizing bats have been largely understudied, especially in the central part of the Balkan Peninsula, where the last data from the eld research date from almost 25 years ago. Bats are hosts to a large number of ectoparasites, including ticks, which can act as vectors of zoonotic agents. For this reason, it is important to identify the distribution of ticks and their relationship to different hosts, including wild animals, bats in particular. The present research was conducted at 16 localities throughout Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). We examined 475 individuals of bats belonging to 13 species. A total of three tick species were identied, I. simplex being the most numerous and widespread, followed by I. vespertilionis and A. vespertilionis. To the best of our knowledge, the presented data include the rst records of I. simplex in Serbia and Montenegro, I. vespertilionis for Montenegro andA. vespertilionis in FYROM. Also, we identify a new possible host/parasite association between I. simplex and Rhinolophus euryale.
Keywords Bats Ticks Balkan Peninsula Ixodes sp. Argas sp.
Introduction
Bats, with over 1116 species described (Simmons 2005) represent around a quarter of all mammalian species on Earth. They are increasingly recognized as reservoirs of emerging, mostly zoonotic, viral (Calisher et al. 2006) and bacterial (Mhldorfer 2013) pathogens. Bats are hosts to a large number of ectoparasites, including ticks, which can act as vectors
J. Burazerovi D.irovi
Chair of Animal Ecology and Zoogeography, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
S.aki D. Mihaljica R. Sukara S. Tomanovi (&)
Laboratory for Medical Entomology, Department of Parasitology, Institute for Medical Research, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbiae-mail: [email protected]
http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s10493-015-9891-6&domain=pdf
Web End = http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s10493-015-9891-6&domain=pdf
Web End = http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s10493-015-9891-6&domain=pdf
Web End = http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s10493-015-9891-6&domain=pdf
Web End = http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s10493-015-9891-6&domain=pdf
Web End = http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s10493-015-9891-6&domain=pdf
Web End = Ticks (Acari: Argasidae, Ixodidae) parasitizing bats in the central Balkans
123
282 Exp Appl Acarol (2015) 66:281291
of zoonotic agents. Due to their specic migrating behaviour...