Complementary data on four methods for sampling free-living ticks in the Brazilian Pantanal

• Published in: Revista brasileira de parasitologia veterinaria Vol. 23; no. 4; pp. 516 - 521
• Main Authors: Ramos, Vanessa do Nascimento, Osava, Carolina Fonseca, Piovezan, Ubiratan, Szabó, Matias Pablo Juan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brazil Colégio Brasileiro de Parasitologia Veterinária 01-10-2014; Colégio Brasileiro de Parasitologia Veterinaria
• Subjects: Animals; Brazil; cloth dragging; CO2 traps; collecting techniques; Ecosystem; Humans; litter inspection; Off-host ticks; PARASITOLOGY; Parasitology - methods; Ticks; VETERINARY SCIENCES; visual search; Off-host ticks; cloth dragging; Carrapatos em vida livre; arraste de flanela; visual search; técnicas de coleta; inspeção de serrapilheira; collecting techniques; armadilhas de CO2; busca visual; CO2 traps; litter inspection
• ISSN: 0103-846X; 1984-2961; 1984-2961
• DOI: 10.1590/S1984-29612014091

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.