Systematic & Applied Acarology ISSN 1362-1971 An international journal of the Systematic and Applied Acarology Society, published since 1996 [Aims] [Editors] [Content] [Subscriptions] [Contact details] [Society Homepage]

Systematic & Applied Acarology (2007) 12, 3–11.

The distribution and dispersion of Amblyomma triguttatum triguttatum on Yorke Peninsula, South Australia

ROSS H. ANDREWS1, TREVOR N. PETNEY1,2,4, NICOLE A. SHERMAN3, LOUISE A. MCDIARMID1 & BRUCE R. DIXON1

1School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide SA 5001, Australia

2Zoologisches Institut I, Abt. Ökologie - Parasitologie, Kornblumenstr. 13, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany

3Department of Environmental Biology, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide SA 5005, Australia

4Corresponding author. Tel.: +61-8-83021881; fax.: +61-8-83022389. E-mail: trevor.petney@t-online.de

Abstract

The kangaroo tick, Amblyomma triguttatum triguttatum, is a major enzootic vector of Coxiella burnetti, the agent causing Q fever, in Australia. This is a widespread tick species previously reported from Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia. There is also a small population, probably introduced, at the foot of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. Our aim was to determine both the broad distribution of this tick on Yorke Peninsula and the pattern of dispersion between habitats. No free living A. t. triguttatum were found outside of Innes and Warrenben national parks, although records from humans are available from up to 180 km away. Within the parks, the tick is patchily spread in at least 8 of the 15 habitats searched but is most common in the disturbed areas in and around camping sites. We suggest that the behaviour of the tick’s main host, the western grey kangaroo, Macropus fuliginosus, is responsible for its dispersion pattern.

Key words: Amblyomma triguttatum triguttatum, Q fever, South Australia, distribution, dispersion

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