Distribution and Biodiversity of Hard Ticks (Acarina: Ixodidae) in Golestan Province

Ticks are external parasites that can be vectors of several disease agents. This survey was carried out to determine distribution and biological diversity of hard tick species in Maraveh Tapeh County, Golestan Province, Iran in spring 2016. In 10 selected villages in the study area, about 29 cattle, 99 sheep, 62 goats and 11 camels were inspected for tick infestation. The ticks isolated were preserved in a solution of 70% alcohol and identified. The Margalef, Shannon-Wiener, Simpson and Evenness indices were used to measure the biodiversity. A total of 476 ticks were collected. Two hard tick genera (Hyalomma and Rhipicephalus) and twelve species were identified including Hyalomma anatolicum, Hy. scupense, Hy. aegyptium, Hy. marginatum, Hy. dromedarii, Hy. rufipes, Hy. asiaticum, Hy. excavatum, Hy. detritum, Rhipicephalus turanicus, R. bursa and R. sanguineus. Further analysis of the data showed that R. sanguineus and Hy. asiaticum were the most abundant species in the whole area and plateau areas, respectively, while R. sanguineus was most abundant in both hillside and mountainous areas. Based on the Margalef index, the species diversity was higher in foothill areas and it was lower in the goat host than other hosts, while based on the Shannon-Wiener index, the species diversity was higher in plateau areas and in the sheep host it was less than in other hosts. Ticks population dynamic studies and calculating their biodiversity indices are helpful in understanding the situation of vectors and the future situation of vector-borne diseases.