PREVALENCE AND ECOLOGY OF THE BROWN DOG TICK RHIPICEPHALUS SANGUINEUS IN DOMESTIC MAMMALS IN BASRAH PROVINCE, IRAQ, WITH THE ACARICIDAL EFFECT OF QUERCUS BRANTTI ACORNS EXTRACT IN ADULTS

This study was aimed to detect the infestation of Rhipicephalus sanguineus of some mammals in Basrah province from January to June 2019. A total 75 of 210 (35.71%) of studied mammals were been infested. This species was isolated from horses in Iraq for the first time. The highest prevalence was recorded in dogs while the lowest in buffaloes. Mean of intensity was recorded mostly in sheep, and the lowest in horses. Highest relative density was recorded in dogs, whereas the lowest was in horses. The highest occurrence was recorded in April, whereas the lowest was in January. The acaricidal effect of ethanolic extract of acorns Quercus brantti in adults was shown the rates of mortality increases with the rise of extract concentrations. Mortality percentages were increased according to the time of the exposure. Females were more sensitive than males in the treatment with extract. Keyword words: hard ticks, ectoparasites, acorns, plant extracts. ةيقارعلا ةيعارزلا مولعلا ةلجم 2020 : 51 ) 6 :) 167


INTRODUCTION
Ticks are obligate ectoparasites of mammals and birds, livestock and wild animals. Ticks are arachnids classified in the subclass Acari, closely related to mites (31). They have four pairs of legs, and the body is divided into two sections, the gnathosoma which bears the mouthparts, and the idiosoma which bears legs (29). There are 840 tick species have been described worldwide. The ticks are classified into two families, namely the hard ticks Ixodidae, according to their hard dorsal shield, and the soft ticks Argasidae, due to their leathery cuticle (17). The family Ixodidae comprises approximately 80% of all tick species, ranging between 2-20 mm. At length, including the species of highest economic importance (30). There are four stages in the life history of ticks: egg, larvae, nymph and adult (16). All stages take a blood meal from hosts only once, twice or long periods (21). Most ticks require one or two hosts to complete the life cycle, but some needs three. Ixodid ticks sucking blood from domestic and wild animals such as cattle, sheep, goats and dogs (9). Ticks are veterinary importance because they are vectors of variety of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, rickettsia, protozoa, and nematodes (13). The pathogens typically transmit to hosts while the ticks feeding or defecating, includes anemia, hemorrhage, dermatitis and skin necrosis (4). Some important diseases transmitted by ticks to economic animals are as follows, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Bovine anaplasmosis, Lyme borreliosis, theileriosis, Tick borne fever, ehrlichiosis, and babesiosis (5). Ticks pests' causes economic effects as limit production in the livestock industry. Ticks are second to the mosquito as a means of disease transmission in humans and the most important vector of vector borne disease in dogs and dogs (19). The control of ticks is crucial in the prevention of various vector borne diseases that cause high morbidity and in some cases of mortality in domestic animals (27). Many vector borne diseases cross borders causing diseases atypical of their traditional geographic distribution with the result that many ticks borne diseases are recognized as emerging disease threats (28). The brown dog tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus is one of the important ixodid ticks in the world, especially in Iraq. It infested many livestock and other mammals. This study was conducted to diagnose R.
sanguineus that infested domestic mammals in Basrah province, and determine its prevalence, some parasitism measures, some ecological aspects and spatial distribution. Then, study the acaricidal effect of ethanolic extract of Quercus brantti acorns in the adults of this tick.

Study area
This study has been conducted in Basrah Province, South of Iraq ( fig. 1). This area is confined approximately within 45˚-48˚ longitude and 30˚-32˚ latitude. The lands of this region are agricultural plains, residential lands, semi-desert and deserts lands. The survey was done in nine locations distributed all Basrah Province, as following: Fao, Abu Al-Khaseeb, Shat Al-Arab, Basrah Center, Zubair, Qarmat Ali, Dair, Qurnah, and Mudainah. A large number of farm lands, animal husbandry stations, and slaughterhouses were visited.

Ticks identification
Samples of ticks were identified to the species based on morphological characteristics, using the taxonomic keys of (30), (2) and (16). The diagnosis was depending on several phenotypic features, which are size, coloration, capitulum, scutum, legs, spiracles, anal plates and festoons.

Measures of the parasitism on mammals
Some important measures of parasitism prevalence, abundance, mean intensity and relative density were calculated. Some important measures of parasitism were calculated according to the following equations. 1. Prevalence of infestation = number of animals infested with ticks ÷ number of all examined animals × 100. 2. Mean of intensity of tick = total number of collected ticks ÷ number of infested animals in the sample. 3. Relative density of ticks = total number of collected ticks ÷ total number of all animals (infested + uninfested) in the sample.

Some field observations
Some field observations of the ecology of R. sanguineus infesting mammals were also recorded. Sex ratio between male and female was calculated. The sites of infestation in host bodies were determined. The age composition of ticks' population was recorded. Determine the temporal distribution Temperature means and relative humidity rates for the months in the study period were adopted by Iraqi meteorological organization and seismology in Basrah Airport. The occurrences of ticks' infestations during the months of the study periods (from January to June 2019) were recorded. Then, observed the relationship between the presence of infestations and the variations in the climatic factors temperature and relative humidity.

Study the acaricidal effect of Quercus brantti acorns in adults
Samples of oak husks Q. brantti were brought up from markets in Basrah city. Preparation of the ethanolic extracts was done according to (32). A stock solution of the ethanolic extracts was prepared. A prior each experiment, the stock solution was diluted in distilled water. In order to study the effect activity of on ticks adults, three concentrations were prepared (0.5%, 1%, 2% and 4%). The acaricidal activity of ticks was studied according to (13). This method was carried out by fitting the impregnated filter paper to bottom of glass petri dish which contain 20 ml of the extract for 1 minute only. 10 of adult ticks were immersed in the oil, and then placed on filter paper in big petri dish. The mortality rate of ticks computed after 24 and 48 hours. This procedure was repeated 3 times. Control samples was prepared for each method by impregnated it with distill water only. All tests were carried out at laboratory conditions (in vitro).

Statistical analysis
The results of study were analyzed with t test and chi-square analysis by using computerized Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS). P value <0.05 was considered to be lest limit of significance.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Prevalence of R. sanguineus in domestic mammals:
The results of the survey were recorded that 75 of 210 mammals were infested with the brown dog tick R. sanguineus in Basrah province during January to June 2019. The species R. sanguineus was isolated from buffaloes and horses (new host) in Iraq for the first time. Table1 showed the total prevalence rate of infestations was 35.71%. The most prevalent host of R. sanguineus was dogs with 68.75%, followed by sheep 48.39%, then goats 33.33%. The lowest prevalence was in buffaloes with 13.04%. The statistical analysis showed some significant differences between these hosts. The data in table1 showed also the highest mean of intensity of R. sanguineus was recorded in sheep with 6.37, whereas the lowest was in horses 2.33 with significant differences. Highest relative density of R. sanguineus was being recorded in dogs 4.0, while the lowest was 0.44 in horses. The statistical analysis showed a significant differences between the relative densities of ticks' infestations. There are very limited taxonomic, ecological and epidemiological information's about the ticks of Iraq, even though Iraq has very suitable climate and hosts for ticks. There were few studies about ixodid ticks in Basrah province Southern Iraq. R. sanguineus isolated from dogs only by (6) among some domestic animals which they studied. For the wild mammals, (20) recorded it from that. The present study and others in Iraq were showed that genus Rhipicephalus are one of the dominant ticks both in the number of species and specimens collected. Species belonging to this genus are most prevalent in the regions of North Africa and the Middle East (31). There are an acclimation of Hyalomma and Rhipicephalus to the environment of the Afrotropical area and adaptation for hot or cold (22). The diversity of ixodid ticks' species varied between the locations of studies might be due to the difference in the geographical locations, and climatic factors. The variation in tick diversity are due to climate change, geographic location and hosts (11). Ecological and climate changes impacts on tick's biodiversity, the changes alter tick population dynamics (12).

Some aspects of R. sanguineus ecology
The data in figure 3 showed the variation according to gender. The number of collecting females was higher than that male with 53.96% to 46.04%, and the sex ratio was 0.85. Figure 4 revealed that the total number of ticks collected was mostly engorged female with 32.18%, followed by feeding males 28.22%. The larvae were the lowest collected number by 5.45%. The statistical analysis of the data were recorded some significant differences among the numbers of life cycle stages, fed stages from unfed and un adult stages. The observations during the ticks' collections were recorded the sites of attacks of R. sanguineus on the infested host body. The numbers of ticks were isolated from ear, face, axilla and groin ( fig. 5). There are some biological conditions influenced of ticks' occurrence, such as morphology of the host, host immune responses, inter-specific interactions, and length of the feeding phase (14). There were some differences in density, attachment site and proportion of tick life stages depending on the body parts. Factors that affect ticks feeding include ticks density, host defenses, and ages of the host and tick (25). The different stages of ticks select different body parts for attachment, the attachment site selection reflected the life stages differing ability to move (27). Population of ticks differ in a given region depending on climatic fluctuations, land structure and vegetation (7). The larvae were mainly found on legs and ears, with nymphs mainly on ears and some on the legs, while adult ticks are moving long distances to the neck and groin (18). The temporal distribution of prevalence of

R. sanguineus in Basrah province
The results of the present study showed some differences in the monthly occurrence of R. sanguineus infesting some mammals during January to June 2019. Figure 6 revealed the prevalence of studied mammals with R. sanguineus according the months of the year. The distribution according to months showed that it was highest in April with 28.33% followed by May 21.67%. The lowest prevalence was recorded in January with 6.67%. The statistical analysis of the results was referred to some significant differences between the prevalence rates in the months of the study periods. For the temporal distribution of R. sanguineus on mammals, the results showed statistically different numbers of tick's collection among the months during January to June. The abundance of ticks was being affected with climatic factors such as temperature, humidity, sunlight, wind speed and dust. In the temperate areas, long periods of high temperatures may encourage a boost of the mortality of molting stages, but long winters may induce high mortalities in the ticks (3). The effect of the climate on the tick abundance concentrate in two essential parameters: the composition and the numbers of the hosts (15). Human actions changed and modified the habitats of the vectors and hosts, may have deeper effects on the epidemiology of tick than climate change (10). The composite ecological systems, defining many epidemiological effects of ticks, the abiotic and biotic factors influencing the constitution and continuity of tick populations and their associated pathogens (26).  Figure 8 shows the mortality percentage of R. sanguineus adult males which ranged between 10%, 23.33%, 43.33% and 63.33% at the concentrations 0.5%, 1%, 2% and 4% respectively, after 24 hours of the exposure. The mortality percentage increased significantly at the all concentrations after 48 hours of the immersion test. They recorded 26.67%, 30%, 56.67% and 76.67% in the same concentrations respectively. For the acaricidal effect of Quercus brantti acorns extracts in the adults' mortality of R. sanguineus, the ethanol extract revealed good results. High mortalities may be caused by toxic substances that affect in the central nervous system or damage the cellular enzymes in the body (24). The toxic potential of the extract was higher on fed individuals than unfed (1); this may be due to the opening of the dorsal plates and the expansion of the body, thus, toxic compounds penetrate into the body coelom (18). The high effect of Q. brantti extracts on adult ticks may be attributed due to the chemical structure. The phytochemical content of acorn Q. aegilops products contains phenols, fatty acids, gallic acid oleic and linoleic (23). The chemical activity of acorns may be due to the phenolic compounds found in the oak peel (8).