Ticks of the National Reactor Testing Station

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During the period from June 1966 to September 1967, 27 amphibians of two species, 446 reptiles of eight species, 561 birds of 81 species, and 4050 mammals of 26 species were examined for ectoparasites at the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho. Of seven species of ticks collected, the predominant one was Ixodes kingi, found on mammals of 12 species. Next in abundance was Dermacentor andersoni, found on birds of three species and mammals of 16 species. Haemaphysalis leporispalustris was taken from birds of 10 species and six species of mammals. Four other species of Ixodes were taken from birds of four species and seven species of mammals. Where adequate samples were taken, the highest percentage of hosts infested with Dermacentor andersoni was 8% for birds and 29% for mammals. Haemaphysalis leporispalustris was found on as many as 53% of the birds and 29% of the mammals. Ixodes kingi infested as many as 46% of the mammals. Apparently there was little competition between ticks of different species relative to their simultaneous infestation of the same host. Highest populations of ticks were found in areas where both sagebrush and grass were predominant. In one irradiated area the rate of infestation and population of ticks were significantly lower than in an adjacent, non-irradiated control area.

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ELECTRONIC FILE - Zoology: Invertebrates

CSE-style citation: Allred DM. 1968. Ticks of the National Reactor Testing Station. Brigham Young University Science Bulletin, Biological Series. 10(1):1-29. Available at: http://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byuscib/vol10/iss1/1/.