Differences in the ectoparasite fauna between micromammals captured in natural and adjacent residential areas are better explained by sex and season than by type of habitat

Abstract

We compared the ectoparasite fauna in 608 micromammals (chiefly 472 wood mice Apodemus sylvaticus, 63 Algerian mice Mus spretus, and 51 greater white-toothed shrews Crocidura russula) captured in natural and adjacent residential areas in spring and autumn during three consecutive years in four areas in periurban Barcelona (NE Spain). We found little support for an association of urbanization with differences in infestation by ectoparasites. Prevalence of Rhipicephalus sp. tick in wood mice and shrews was significantly higher in residential than in natural habitats, and the opposite was found for the flea Ctenophtalmus andorrensis catalanensis in shrews. Marked differences in the prevalence of the flea Leptopsylla taschenbergi amitina in wood mice between seasons were observed in natural but not in residential habitats, probably due to enhanced flea survival probabilities in the latter. However, as a rule, males were more frequently and heavily infested than females, and the prevalence was higher in autumn than in spring. Our results suggest that the ectoparasite fauna of periurban micromammals is shaped more by other factors than by habitat modification. People living in residential areas are at risk of contact with the arthropods borne by non-commensal micromammals and the pathogens transmitted by them.