Effect of Water Flooding on the Oviposition Capacity of Engorged Adult Females and Hatchability of Eggs of Dog Ticks: Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Haemaphysalis leachi leachi
Effects of water flooding on the oviposition capacity of engorged adult females and hatchability of eggs of Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Haemaphysalis leachi leachi under laboratory conditions were investigated. The durations of time of water flooding were 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 hours. Engorged females of R. sanguineus and H. leachi leachi did not oviposit after being flooded for more than 48 and 6 hours, respectively. The preoviposition periods of both species were longer than those of their controls. The number of eggs laid were significantly lower ( ) and higher ( ) than their controls, respectively, for R. sanguineus and H. leachi leachi flooded for 1–4 hours. The hatchability of eggs of both species decreased as flooding time increased. The percentage of hatchability was negatively correlated with flooding time and was highly significant ( ; ). It is concluded that R. sanguineus tolerated simulated water flooding more than H. leachi leachi. 1. Introduction The importance of ticks as parasites of domesticated animals lie in their ability to successfully multiply and establish in their environment and their ability to transmit diseases to their hosts and to maintain their physiological requirements [1]. A number of extrinsic factors affect the successful reproductive performance and survival of ixodid ticks after detachment from their hosts [2, 3]. Such extrinsic factors include rainfall, humidity, temperature, floods, winds, and physical damage [3, 4]. The response of the ticks to these factors, to a large extent, determines their preponderance and abundance in the environment. Earlier works [3, 5–7] have shown that the season of the year and the field environment in which the ticks oviposit are important extrinsic factors as ticks were observed to produce greater number of eggs during the peak and end of rains and when placed in shade. It has been noted by some workers [5, 8, 9] that while success in oviposition was aided by moisture provided by light-to-moderate rainfall, excessive moisture in terms of heavy rainfall adversely affected tick oviposition and distribution. As observed by Hinton [10], it is not fully understood how terrestrial arthropods survive the temporary inundations that follow heavy rains. Murray and Vestjens [11] and Daniel and Gerry [12] attributed the scarcity of or complete absence of ixodid ticks from certain habitats to periods of excessive wetness. Some workers have investigated effects of water flooding with varying results. Sutherst [13] in his study of effect of flooding on the ixodid tick Boophilus
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