Objectives: Ticks, as a vector of various infections occur every year in Liptov, a popular tourist location in Slovakia, and their occurrence generally has an increasing trend. As up to now several rickettsiae from the spotted fever group were confirmed in tick vectors from different areas of Slovakia. Therefore, identification of previously unknown areas with endemic occurrence of Rickettsia spp. is of great importance. Material and methods: Questing ixodid ticks, small mammals, birds and wild boars from recreational areas of Liptov valley in northern Slovakia were tested for the presence of Rickettsia spp. and obtained sequences were further analyzed. Results: Overall, 8 out of 55 ixodid ticks (14.5%) tested positive for Rickettsia helvetica and one male tick (1.8%) was infected with Rickettsia monacensis. The identification of this species was based on the sequencing of 23S-5S internal transcribed spacer (ITS), gltA and ompA genes. Rickettsia spp. was detected in 7 rodents (5.8%) and 5 wild boars (5.9%) originated from Liptov valley, using gltA gene primer set. Conclusion: Our results confirm the presence of spotted fever group rickettsiae in tick vectors and hosts from northern part of Slovakia. Moreover, the evidence of the presence of Rickettsia spp. in vectors and in reservoirs indicate the circulation of the pathogen in nature and the need to monitor the situation in this popular location in Slovakia.

Mountain spruce- and beech-dominated forests (SDPF and BDPF) are of major importance in temperate Europe. However, information on the differences between their historical disturbance regimes, structures, and biodiversity is still incomplete. To address this knowledge gap, we established 118 circular research plots across 18 primary forest stands. We analysed the disturbance history of the last 250 years by dendrochronological methods and calculated disturbance frequency, severity, and timing. We also measured forest structure (DBH, tree density, volume of deadwood, and other parameters). Breeding bird populations were examined by point count method during the spring seasons 2017–2018 (SDPF) and 2019–2020 (BDPF). Using direct ordination analysis, we compared the disturbance history, structure and bird assemblage in both forest types. While no differences were found regarding disturbance regimes between forest types, forest structure and bird assemblages were significantly different. SDPF had a significantly higher density of cavities and higher canopy openness, while higher tree species richness and more intense regeneration was found in BDPF. Bird assemblage showed higher species richness in BDPF, but lower total abundance. Most bird species which occurred in both forest types were more numerous in spruce-dominated forests, but more species occurred exclusively in BDPF. Further, some SDPF- preferring species were found in naturally disturbed patches in BDPF. We conclude that although natural disturbances are important drivers of primary forest structures, differences in the bird assemblages in the explored primary forest types were largely independent of disturbance regimes.