Telaah korelasi bagian integumen cicak terhadap distribusi tungau ektoparasit

Abstract

Ectoparasite infest certain body parts of the host body. Ectoparasite mites distributed in gecko body by sticking to its integument. This research aimed to study the correlation of gecko exterior integument layer (hinge length/JH and keratin thickness) toward the number of mites which infest gecko body. Mites were prepared using whole mount technique using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to obtain number of mites data. Gecko integument were prepared using paraffin section method and staining with Hematoxylin-eosin to obtain JH length and keratin scale thickness data. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation method. Caught geckos were consist of Cosymbotus platyurus, Hemidactylus garnotii, H. frenatus, and Gehyra mutilata species. Caught geckos were categorized into Pterygosomatidae family with Geckobia as the most abundant genus. JH length and keratin thickness on tubercal scale were higher than granular scale in all geckos. JH range was lowly correlated with number of mites in G. mutilata and lowly correlated in the three other species. Keratin thickness was lowly correlated with the number of mites in all four species.