Abstract
ABSTRACT. Silveira A.K. & da Fonseca A.H. [Distribution, diversity and seasonality of ticks in institutional environments with different human intervention degrees in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil]. Distribuição, diversidade e sazonalidade de carrapatos em ambientes institucionais com diferentes graus de intervenção humana no estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Medicina Veterinária, 35(Supl.2):1-12, 2013. Curso de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Veterinárias, Anexo 1, Instituto de Veterinária, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Campus Seropédica, BR 465 km 7, Seropédica, RJ, 23897-970, Brasil. E-mail: akillsilveira@gmail.com T his study evaluates the distribution, diversity and seasonal fluctuation of ticks captured using three techniques in five institutional areas with different ecological and human intervention characteristics, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The ticks capture was done utilizing three techniques: the flagging method (1), the CO2 trapping (2) and mechanical removal of ticks found on clothes and on the body of the researchers (3). The Shapiro-Wilk test, Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon test were employed, utilizing in all statistical tests the 5% level of significance. From October 2008 to August 2012, 64,482 specimens of ticks were collected. The genus Amblyomma was the most abundant and was collected in all areas and all stages of development. Adults were identified as Amblyomma cajennense, Amblyomma dubitatum and Amblyomma brasiliense. The highest abundances of A. cajennense occurred in areas with formation of landscape mosaics and where the presence of horses and /or capybaras was common. However, in less disturbed habitats, even with occasional occurrence of horses and /or capybaras, A. cajennense was not collected. Amblyomma brasiliense was collected in sites with dense vegetation cover and regular presence of wild animals and A. dubitatum on edges of forest fragments frequented by capybaras. In the first two years of the study, larvae of Amblyomma spp. were more abundant in fall and in the last two years in winter season, but there were not significant differences between these seasons. The abundance of nymphs showed significant differences among all seasons, with peaks in winter and spring. In the first, second and fourth years of the study, the greatest abundance of adults of A. cajennense were recorded in autumn, in the third year in summer, followed by autumn, but no significant differences in abundance were noted among these seasons. Rhipicephalus microplus larvae were collected from three areas in which the presence of cattle was intense. In the first, second, third and fourth years were collected, respectively, 8, 10, 13 and 69% of the ticks. Significant differences were observed between nymphs total number of Amblyomma spp. caught by flagging and mechanical removal techniques and between the drag flannel and other techniques for adults of A. cajennense. The distribution and diversity of ticks can be attributed to the composition of the vegetation cover and activity of hosts, these reasons being related to different human activities conducted in each collection point throughout the study