ArticleInternational journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife2013
Using occupancy models to investigate the prevalence of ectoparasitic vectors on hosts: An example with fleas on prairie dogs.
Article in International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Edible baits for systemic flea control, plague mitigation, and wildlife conservation: evaluation of four active ingredients with three rodent species in western North America.International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2026Article
- Different drivers, same tick: Effect of host traits, habitat, and climate on the infestation of three rodent specieInternational journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2025Article
- Estimating parasite infrapopulation size given imperfect detection: Proof-of-concept with ectoparasitic fleas on prairie dogs.International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2023Article
- Host biology and environmental variables differentially predict flea abundances for two rodent hosts in a plague-relevant system.International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2019Article
- RESISTANCE TO DELTAMETHRIN IN PRAIRIE DOG ( CYNOMYS LUDOVICIANUS) FLEAS IN THE FIELD AND IN THE LABORATORY.Journal of wildlife diseases · 2018Article
- Local factors associated with on-host flea distributions on prairie dog colonies.Ecology and evolution · 2018Article
- Assessment of Chronic Wasting Disease Prion Shedding in Deer Saliva with Occupancy Modeling.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2018Article
- Article
- All that glisters is not gold: sampling-process uncertainty in disease-vector surveys with false-negative and false-positive detections.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2014Article
- Toxoplasma gondii exposure in arctic-nesting geese: A multi-state occupancy framework and comparison of serological assays.International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2014Article
- Modeling disease vector occurrence when detection is imperfect II: Drivers of site-occupancy by synanthropic Triatoma brasiliensis in the Brazilian northeast.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2014Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Ectoparasites are often difficult to detect in the field. We developed a method that can be used with occupancy models to estimate the prevalence of ectoparasites on hosts, and to investigate factors that influence rates of ectoparasite occupancy while accounting for imperfect detection. We describe the approach using a study of fleas (Siphonaptera) on black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus). During each primary occasion (monthly trapping events), we combed a prairie dog three consecutive times to detect fleas (15 s/combing). We used robust design occupancy modeling to evaluate hypotheses for factors that might correlate with the occurrence of fleas on prairie dogs, and factors that might influence the rate at which prairie dogs are colonized by fleas. Our combing method was highly effective; dislodged fleas fell into a tub of water and could not escape, and there was an estimated 99.3% probability of detecting a flea on an occupied host when using three combings. While overall detection was high, the probability of detection was always <1.00 during each primary combing occasion, highlighting the importance of considering imperfect detection. The combing method (removal of fleas) caused a decline in detection during primary occasions, and we accounted for that decline to avoid inflated estimates of occupancy. Regarding prairie dogs, flea occupancy was heightened in old/natural colonies of prairie dogs, and on hosts that were in poor condition. Occupancy was initially low in plots with high densities of prairie dogs, but, as the study progressed, the rate of flea colonization increased in plots with high densities of prairie dogs in particular. Our methodology can be used to improve studies of ectoparasites, especially when the probability of detection is low. Moreover, the method can be modified to investigate the co-occurrence of ectoparasite species, and community level factors such as species richness and interspecific interactions.
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