Effects of introduced sika deer (Cervus nippon) and population control activity on the distribution of Haemaphysalis ticks in an island environment

The effects of introduced mammal species on the ecology of parasites are often under investigated. The sika deeer, Cervus nippon, is host species of many hard ticks. We collected 8348 ticks on an island where sika deer were introduced. The most representative species was Haemaphysalis megaspinosa (n = 4198; 50.3%), followed by H. longicornis (n = 1945; 23.3%), H. cornigera (n = 1179; 14.1%), H. flava (n = 713; 8.5%), Ixodes turdus (n = 289; 3.7%), I. granulatus (n = 22; 0.3%), and H. hystricis (n = 2
Graphical abstract Image 1
Highlights • Haemaphysalis megaspinosa, H. longicornis, H. cornigera were three dominant species of the tick fauna. • First record of H. megaspinosa and H. hystricis. • H. megaspinosa larvae was the most abundant at 21–40 days after sika deer was captured.