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Influence of weather patterns and air quality on ecological population dynamics of ectoparasites in goats

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Abstract

Ectoparasitism has a damaging impact on the economy of goat production in India, but the factors influencing its distribution and dynamics are less explored. The present study was designed to investigate the influence of environmental factors like weather and air quality parameters on the occurrence of different types of ectoparasites in goats of two agro-climatic regions of India, viz. the Upper Gangetic Plain (UGP) and the Western Himalayas (WH). The prevalence survey for ectoparasitism among goats was conducted during the four distinct climatic seasons (winter, summer, monsoon, autumn) in both regions. The season-wise data of weather parameters (maximum and minimum temperature, relative humidity in morning and evening, sunrise and sunset time, mean daily temperature and relative humidity, daily variation in temperature and relative humidity, and day length) and air quality parameters (air quality index (AQI), particulate matter 2.5 μm (PM2.5), particulate matter 10 μm (PM10)) of both regions were analyzed in relation with the ectoparasitic prevalence pattern of corresponding regions. The results depict a noticeable correlation between the studied parameters and seasonal variation in the occurrence of each type of ectoparasites. This outcome on the interaction of studied parameters and ectoparasitism is intriguing and it opens a huge scope for future studies on the biometeorological aspects of host-parasite ecological interplay and evolutionary biology. The better understanding of climatological aspects of ectoparasite occurrences helps goat farmers in formulating appropriate timely intervention strategies for the economic control of ectoparasites, which in turn tackles ectoparasiticidal drug resistance and reduces threat of vector-borne diseases.

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Acknowledgments

We are thankful to India Meteorological Department, New Delhi, and Purelogic Labs India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, for making the daily weather and live air quality data available through their web portals.

Funding

The SEED (Science for Equity Empowerment and Development) division, Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, funded this work under DST-SARTHI (Department of Science and Technology-Sustainable Agriculture Rural Transformation Holistic Initiative) scheme (grant no. SEED/SARTHI/HP/19/2012).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Medicine, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, UP, 243122, India

    Y. Ajith, U. Dimri, E. Madhesh, A. Gopalakrishnan, A. K. Chaudhary & G. Devi

  2. Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Rajiv Gandhi South Campus, Mirzapur, UP, 231001, India

    Y. Ajith

  3. Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

    Y. Ajith

  4. Division of Livestock Economics, Statistics and Information Technology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, UP, 243122, India

    Med Ram Verma

  5. Division of Physiology & Climatology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, UP, 243122, India

    H. A. Samad & J. Bosco

  6. Division of Parasitology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, UP, 243122, India

    K. K. Reena

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  1. Y. Ajith
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  9. G. Devi
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Correspondence to Y. Ajith.

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This work was undertaken in compliance with the universal ethical standards and approved for PhD research work under SEED/SARTHI/HP/19/2012.

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Highlights

i. Climatic and air quality parameters can affect the population dynamics of ectoparasites in goats.

ii. The low prevalence of highly host-specific chewing lice in the UGP region may be resulted from ecological destruction due to severely uncomfortable climate and hazardous air.

iii. The prevalence of each type of ectoparasitism is dependent on the biometeorological features of the region.

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Ajith, Y., Dimri, U., Madhesh, E. et al. Influence of weather patterns and air quality on ecological population dynamics of ectoparasites in goats. Int J Biometeorol 64, 1731–1742 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-020-01952-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-020-01952-7

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