Observations on Ectoparasites of Some Small Mammals in Everglades National Park and Hillsborough County, Florida

Abstract

Trapping in the Everglades took place in the latter half of January, 1949, and was confined to the region within a few miles' radius of Park Ranger Station No. 1, about 12 miles southwest of Homestead, Florida. This station is situated in a hammock. Such hammocks, which may measure a half mile in diameter, are densely wooded and slightly elevated above the surrounding plains. The region has been described by Davis (1943). Where the land is somewhat less elevated, a region of pine trees occurs, while at or near ground water level grasslands stretch for many miles. An unimproved road leading west of the Ranger Station passes through about six miles of pine woods, interspersed with hardwood hammocks in high places and extensive truck gardens in low ones. The road continues two miles beyond the pines through increasingly moist grasslands that were once cultivated, and finally ends in the midst of a vast marshy plain. The road is paralleled by a drainage ditch cut vertically through the underlying limestone (Figure 1). Most of the animals were trapped along the latter two-mile stretch of road, while the remaining ones were caught in hammocks. None was trapped in the pine regions, apparently due to lack of ground cover. Trapping in Hillsborough County took place chiefly in the regions immediately north and northwest of Tampa. The animals given detailed consideration in this paper were obtained in late February and early March, 1949, so that only about a month's interval separates the two collections. Physical environmental factors presumably play a more important role in the contrasts observed than seasonal differences. The Hillsborough region is in general much drier than the Everglades; it receives less rainfall, is higher in elevation, and has a sandy soil that lends itself to rapid drainage. Trapping was conducted along roadsides and on a variety of farms, chiefly citrus groves and cattle ranges. The habitats did not vary much among