A Comparison of the Mating Behaviour Between Populations of the Reptile Ticks Aponomma Hydrosauri and Amblyomma Albolimbatum.

Abstract

Tests were conducted in Australia to determine the levels of reproductive isolation between geographically separated populations of reptile ticks. Mating behaviour was observed both on and off hosts in the laboratory when males were placed with females of their own or different populations. There was no evidence for reproductive isolation between South Australian populations of Aponomma hydrosauri (Denny) collected from the host lizard Trachydosaurus rugosus, despite one area of geographical isolation. Males of Amblyomma albolimbatum Neum. showed no discrimination between females from populations more than 2000 km apart. This contrasts with earlier reports of reproductive isolation between reptile tick species and contradicts hypotheses of rapid speciation in parasitic taxa.