Atlas of ticks (Acari: Argasidae, Ixodidae) in Germany

Abstract

An updated and increased compilation of georeferenced tick locations in Germany is presented here. This data collection extends the dataset published some years ago by another 1448 new tick locations, 900 locations of which were digitized from literature and 548 locations are published here for the first time. This means that a total of 3492 georeferenced tick locations is now available for Germany. The tick fauna of Germany includes two species of Argasidae in the genera Argas and Carios and 19 species of Ixodidae in the genera Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis, and Ixodes, altogether 21 tick species. In addition, three species of Ixodidae in the genera Hyalomma (each spring imported by migratory birds) and Rhipicephalus (occasionally imported by dogs returning from abroad with their owners) are included in the tick atlas. Of these, the georeferenced locations of 23 tick species are depicted in maps. The occurrence of the one remaining tick species, the recently described Ixodes inopinatus, is given at the level of the federal states. The most common and widespread tick species is Ixodes ricinus, with records in all 16 federal states. With the exception of Hamburg, Dermacentor reticulatus was also found in all federal states. The occurrence of the ixodid ticks Ixodes canisuga, Ixodes frontalis, Ixodes hexagonus and I. inopinatus were documented in at least 11 federal states each. The two mentioned argasid tick species were also documented in numerous federal states, the pigeon tick Argas reflexus in 11 and the bat tick Carios vespertilionis in seven federal states. The atlas of ticks in Germany and the underlying digital dataset in the supplement can be used to improve global tick maps or to study the effects of climate change and habitat alteration on the distribution of tick species.

The evolving story of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato transmission in Europe

“…They are highly efficient vectors for pathogens of humans, livestock, companion animals, and wildlife ( Estrada-Peña et al 2017 ). In Europe, the most common endemic tick species is Ixodes ricinus , which is also known as castor bean tick or—on the British Isles—sheep tick (Estrada-Peña et al 2013 ; Rubel et al 2021 ). It is probably the best-studied species regarding its biology, ecology, and role as a vector for certain pathogens (Gray et al 2016 ).…”

Seroprevalence and Risk Factors of Anaplasma spp. in German Small Ruminant Flocks

“…This might indicate a different exposure to ticks and to Anaplasma species of sheep and goats in different parts of the country. Despite I. ricinus being widely distributed across Germany [57], sheep from LS and SH may have less contact to ticks. In these federal states, sheep play an essential role for coastal protection by grazing on dykes.…”

“…Moreover, the focal dissemination of Dermacentor spp. in NRW, BW and BAV [57,60] as a potential vector for A. ovis and the recent detection of this pathogen in BAV [4] might also influence the higher antibody response in small ruminants from these areas compared to animals from Northern Germany.…”

Maps of ticks (Acari: Argasidae, Ixodidae) for Austria and South Tyrol, Italy

“…In order to quantitatively study the effects of climate change on the spread of ticks and tick-borne diseases, georeferenced tick locations are needed. Such datasets of the national tick faunas were compiled for Portugal (Santos-Silva et al 2011), Great Britain (Jameson and Medlock 2011), Romania (Mihalca et al 2012), Belgium (Obsomer et al 2013), and Germany (Rubel et al 2014(Rubel et al , 2021. Nevertheless, there are still major gaps in the knowledge of the distribution of many tick species, including Austria and the neighbouring South Tyrol (autonomous province Alto Adige, Italy).…”

“…An important additional information for assessing the reliability of the known tick locations in Austria is the description of the global distribution of each tick species. This has already been described in the atlas of ticks in Germany (Rubel et al 2021) and has been adopted here for better readability. Therefore, the focus of this study is on the complete description of the known locations of all tick species in Austria and South Tyrol.…”