Sampling fleas: the reliability of host infestation data

The use of measures of host infestation as a reliable indicator of a flea population size to be used in interspecific comparisons was considered. The abundance of fleas collected from host bodies and collected from host burrows was compared among 55 flea species, controlling for the effect of flea p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical and veterinary entomology 2004-09, Vol.18 (3), p.232-240
Main Authors: Krasnov, B.R, Khokhlova, I.S, Shenbrot, G.I
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
burrows
Cricetidae
ectoparasites
Ectoparasitic Infestations - parasitology
flea infestations
Fleas
host body
host burrow
host burrows
Host-Parasite Interactions
host-parasite relationships
Microtus
Microtus californicus
nests
on-host vs. off-host population
Phylogeny
population size
reliability
Rodentia - parasitology
rodents
sampling
Siphonaptera
Siphonaptera - genetics
Siphonaptera - growth & development
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Summary:The use of measures of host infestation as a reliable indicator of a flea population size to be used in interspecific comparisons was considered. The abundance of fleas collected from host bodies and collected from host burrows was compared among 55 flea species, controlling for the effect of flea phylogeny. The mean number of fleas on host bodies correlated positively with the mean number of fleas in host burrows/nests both when the entire data pool was analysed and for separate subsets of data on 'fur' fleas and 'nest' fleas. This was also true for a within-host (Microtus californicus) between-flea comparison. The results of this study demonstrate that, in general, the index of host body infestation by fleas can be used reliably as an indicator of the entire population size.
ISSN:0269-283X
1365-2915
DOI:10.1111/j.0269-283X.2004.00500.x