The effect of severe drought on the abundance of ticks on vegetation and on scrub hares in the Kruger National Park

Abstract

Free-living ixodid ticks were collected monthly from August 1988 to July 1993 from the vegetation of landscape zones 17 (Sclerocarya caffra/Acacia nigrescens Savanna) and 4 (Thickets of the Sabie and Crocodile Rivers) in the south-east and south-west of the Kruger National Park respectively, and parasitic ticks from scrub hares in the latter landscape zone. Total tick collections from the vegetation of both landscape zones were lowest in the year following the drought year of August 1991 to July 1992, while the tick burdens of the scrub hares were lowest during the drought year itself.

Keywords

• ixodid ticks, abundance, landscape zones, scrub hares, drought