A MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF Boophilus microplus (ACARI: IXODIDAE): NON-PARASITIC PHASE

Abstract

Multivariate statistical methods are relatively new tools for data analysis. They have a lot of applications in biological researches: nevertheless, for several reasons, they have not been widely employed in this subject yet. Recently, present authors published a paper applying multivariate statistics on non-parasitic phase of Anocentor nitens. In the present article Boophilus microplus has received a very similar statistic treatment. In this paper, the influence of different incubation
conditions was studied in groups of 12-15 individuals in each of the 24 combinations of six temperatures 24, 27, 30, 32, 34 and 36oC and four relative humidity values, 100, 80, 75.5 and 70%
over the cycle variables of B. microplus. According to the results, the best conditions are 30ºC and 100% relative humidity and the worse ones were higher temperatures together with lower relative humidity. It was remarked that this ixodid is better adapted to warm humid conditions in tropic
than A. nitens is. Some other issues have been discussed in this new approach, like the possibility of its applications in prognosing geographical distribution of ixodids.