TY - JOUR
T1 - First report of exotic ticks (Amblyomma rotundatum) parasitizing invasive cane toads (Rhinella marina) on the Island of Hawai‘i
AU - Kelehear, Crystal
AU - Hudson, Cameron M.
AU - Mertins, James W.
AU - Shine, Richard
PY - 2017/2
Y1 - 2017/2
N2 - Our surveys of 1401 invasive cane toads (Rhinella marina) from the Hawaiian islands of Hawai‘i, O‘ahu, and Maui revealed the presence of an exotic tick, Amblyomma rotundatum. Immature and adult female ticks infested three wild adult toads at a single site in the vicinity of a zoo south of Hilo, Island of Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i, USA. We found no tick-infested toads on O‘ahu or Maui. This tick infests cane toads in their native Neotropical range, but it was excluded from Hawai‘i when the original founder toads were introduced over 80 years ago. The circumstances of our discovery suggest that A. rotundatum was independently and belatedly introduced to Hawai‘i with imported zoo animals, and Hawai‘i now joins Florida as the second U.S. state where this tick is established.
AB - Our surveys of 1401 invasive cane toads (Rhinella marina) from the Hawaiian islands of Hawai‘i, O‘ahu, and Maui revealed the presence of an exotic tick, Amblyomma rotundatum. Immature and adult female ticks infested three wild adult toads at a single site in the vicinity of a zoo south of Hilo, Island of Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i, USA. We found no tick-infested toads on O‘ahu or Maui. This tick infests cane toads in their native Neotropical range, but it was excluded from Hawai‘i when the original founder toads were introduced over 80 years ago. The circumstances of our discovery suggest that A. rotundatum was independently and belatedly introduced to Hawai‘i with imported zoo animals, and Hawai‘i now joins Florida as the second U.S. state where this tick is established.
KW - Amblyomma rotundatum
KW - amphibian
KW - anuran
KW - Bufonidae
KW - Ectoparasite
KW - Ixodidae
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85009089364&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2016.12.010
DO - 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2016.12.010
M3 - Article
C2 - 28017622
AN - SCOPUS:85009089364
VL - 8
SP - 330
EP - 333
JO - Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases
JF - Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases
SN - 1877-959X
IS - 2
ER -