Professor Sonja Matthee (left) and JC Bothma (right) are putting South Africa’s parasite research on the map with their new discoveries. PHOTO: Sonja Matthee/JC Bothma. Edited by Anke Nothnagel
A researcher and a postgraduate student from Stellenbosch University (SU) have respectively discovered new chigger mite and lice species that will provide new information to the field of parasite research, in South Africa.
Professor Sonja Matthee, from the SU Faculty of AgriSciences, collected six new chigger mite species, while SU alumni from the Faculty of Science, JC Bothma, discovered two new lice species, it was announced in a statement by SU, on 11 August.
According to Bothma, who discovered two new lice species Hoplopleura granti and Polyplax megacephalus from Grant’s rock mice near Fraserburg in the Karoo, the variety of parasites are currently underestimated and their role in ecosystems undervalued. The lice species are less than two millimeters in size, said Bothma.
“Parasites play a major role in ecosystems as they control host population numbers and dynamics which in turn influence food webs. [They] also make up a large part of all the animal biodiversity on earth,” Bothma said.
Stellenbosch University alumni, JC Bothma, discovered two new lice species. The two new species were named: Polyplax megacephalus (left) and Hoplopleura granti (right). PHOTO: JC Bothma
Bothma’s discovery of the new lice species during his MSc studies in Zoology appeared earlier this month in the Journal of Parasitology.
It is not a daily occurrence to discover new species, said Matthee, who had discovered the chigger mite species, Ascoschoengastia ueckermanni and Schoutedenichia horaki, from rodents near Hoedspruit in Mpumalanga.
“It takes time to set up a project, go to the field, process the samples and then get to the conclusion that you have a new species,” said Matthee.
According to Matthee, whose discovery was published in the Systematic and Applied Acarology journal in 2019, chigger mites are less than a millimetre in size and are by no means easy to spot or identify.
“It just goes to show how rich the diversity of parasites in South Africa are and how many are still waiting to be discovered,” said Matthee.
Stellenbosch University researcher, professor Sonja Matthee, discovered six new chigger mite species. Ascoschoengastia ueckermanni (left) and Schoutedenichia horaki (right). PHOTO: Sonja Matthee
A neglected field
Most South African chigger mite species described are found in KwaZulu-Natal, but few surveys have been done elsewhere, Matthee said.
According to Matthee, more effort should be made with surveys on the distribution of parasite species and their description, as each plays a unique role in ecosystems.
“Parasite research is a very neglected field of study in South Africa,” said Matthee.
According to Karen Esler, head of the Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology at SU, parasites are often disregarded in conservation.
“Having professor Matthee’s group actively working towards updating parasite-host species lists for small mammals in Southern Africa means the department is filling an important knowledge gap,” said Esler.
According to Matthee, there is a shortage of local experts and therefore they regularly use overseas colleagues to help them describe new species. Both Matthee and Bothma had collaborated with colleagues working abroad.
Matthee collaborated with professor Alexandr Stekolnikov, from the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, to identify the new chigger mite species. Bothma collaborated with professor Lance Durden from Georgia Southern University in the USA, who conducted the technical investigation and descriptions of the new lice species.