Climate and the seasonal abundance of the tick <i>Dermacentor reticulatus</i>

Sands, Bryony; Bryer, Katherine; Wall, Richard

doi:10.1111/mve.12518

Cited by 16 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…The changes in mortality probability with temperature and RH indicated that the areas with high temperature and low RH are less suitable for tick survival, while ticks in areas with low temperature and high RH can have a relatively longer survival time. Similar patterns have been observed in Rhipicephalus ( Boophilus ) annulatus (Say) larvae 18 and Dermacentor reticulatus Fabricius 19 . Previous studies have demonstrated that water balance is crucial for tick survival 6,7 .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

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Using environmental factors to predict Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (Acari: Ixodidae) mortality

Tian

Lord

Taylor

et al. 2023

Pest Management Science

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Background Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (Latreille, 1806) can establish indoor populations, which increases the risk of pathogen transmission to humans and companion dogs. Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. ticks spend most of their life cycle off the host, which subjects developmental timescale to abiotic factors. Previous studies showed that both temperature and relative humidity (RH) influenced Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. survival time across all life stages. However, quantified relationships between environmental factors and Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. mortality is not currently available. Here, three Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. strains were evaluated for mortality under 20 combinations of five temperatures and four RHs. The data obtained were analyzed to quantify the relationship between environmental factors and Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. survival. Results Mortality probabilities did not show a consistent pattern between the three tick strains. Temperature, RH, and their interaction influenced Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. mortality probabilities across all life stages, with mortality probability generally increasing with temperature but decreasing with RH. With 50% and lower RH, larvae cannot survive for more than 1 week. However, mortality probabilities in all strains and stages were more sensitive to temperature than to RH. Conclusion This study identified the predictive relationship between environmental factors and Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. survival, which enables estimations of tick survival time under varied residential situations, allows parameterization of population models, and provides guidance for pest control professionals to develop efficient management strategies. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

“…Similar patterns have been observed in Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus (Say) larvae 18 and Dermacentor reticulatus Fabricius. 19 Previous studies have demonstrated that water balance is crucial for tick survival. 6,7 All parasitic life stages of Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using environmental factors to predict Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (Acari: Ixodidae) mortality

Tian

Lord

Taylor

et al. 2023

Pest Management Science

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“…The temporal course of the citizens' tick collections confirm the bimodal activity pattern of both tick species ( 38 , 57 , 58 ). In contrast to the year 2019, when most of the received D. reticulatus specimens were collected in September ( 10 ), collection of this species was more evenly spread between the months of September, October and November 2020, which may be due to year-to-year variation of climatic conditions.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

“…From the Bioclim dataset, a subset of variables were chosen based on their ecological relevance to Dermacentor spp. ( 37 , 38 ). usdm::vifstep ( 39 ) was used to exclude variables with a variance inflation factor (VIF) exceeding 10, which indicates collinearity ( 40 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Update and prognosis of Dermacentor distribution in Germany: Nationwide occurrence of Dermacentor reticulatus

et al. 2022

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A considerable range expansion of Dermacentor reticulatus has been observed in several European countries, which is concerning in the light of its vector function for several pathogens, including Babesia canis and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). The present study provides an update on the distribution of Dermacentor ticks in Germany, using a citizen science approach. Ticks were collected by citizens from March 2020 to May 2021, and submitted along with information on the date and location of collection, potential hosts and details about the circumstances of discovery. In total, 3,292 Dermacentor specimens were received, of which 76.4% (2,515/3,292) were identified as D. reticulatus and 23.0% (758/3,292) as D. marginatus, while 0.6% (19/3,292) were too damaged for species-level identification. Dermacentor reticulatus was received from all federal states of Germany. Maxent species distribution models predicted suitable environmental conditions for D. reticulatus throughout Germany. Findings on the vegetation or on pastured animals without travel history confirmed the occurrence of this tick species as far north as the most northern German federal state Schleswig-Holstein. In contrast, the distribution of D. marginatus still appears to be limited to southwestern Germany, although the northward shift of the distribution limit observed in the preceding citizen science study, as compared with previous published distributions, was confirmed. This shift was also predicted by Maxent species distribution models, reflecting the broader distribution of the tick occurrence data contributed by citizens. Most D. reticulatus ticks were found on dogs (1,311/1,960, 66.9%), while D. marginatus was mainly discovered on hoofed animals (197/621, 31.7%) and humans (182/621, 29.3%). Human tick bites were reported in 0.7% (14/1,960) of host-assigned D. reticulatus and 3.4% (21/621) of host-assigned D. marginatus. Further studies to investigate an increasing endemisation of Babesia canis in Germany as well as the relevance of D. reticulatus for TBEV spread throughout the country, e.g., by traveling dogs, are urgently needed. In view of the activity of D. reticulatus during winter or the colder months, which complements that of Ixodes ricinus, a year-round tick protection of at least dogs is strongly recommended.

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“…We hypothesize that this association between higher saturation deficits in the warmer months and an increase in the abundance of larval and female B. hydrosauri in August to December is due to a relationship between climate and the host‐seeking of B. hydrosauri . Studies of other ixodid ticks, have revealed an intricate relationship between the host‐seeking activity of ticks and saturation deficit; that higher saturation deficits result in lower host‐seeking (Perret et al, 2000; Randolph & Storey, 1999; Sands et al, 2021; Zajac et al, 2021). We hypothesize that this relationship between saturation deficit and host‐seeking activity is true for B. hydrosauri as well.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The abundance and geographic distributions of two species of ticks in South Australia: Bundey Bore revisited

et al. 2023

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Perhaps one of the central questions in ecology has been what limits the geographic distribution of species. The geographic distributions of the reptile-ticks Amblyomma limbatum, Bothriocroton hydrosauri and Amblyomma albolimbatum are a classic example of this problem: where these ticks meet, narrow regionsof-overlap often occur. Despite studies of interactions among these ticks, and of these ticks and their environment, we still do not understand what limits their geographic distributions. Many hypotheses have been proposed and tested, but all have seemingly been rejected. Our aim was to account for the abundance and the geographic distributions of A. limbatum and B. hydrosauri at Bundey Bore Station, South Australia, where these species come in contact and have been studied for over 35 years, leading to over 55 000 records of reptiles and their ticks using a capture-mark-recapture approach. We constructed models which had combinations of temperature and moisture indices from different months of the year to determine the relationship between climate and tick abundance, and between climate and the shifting local geographic distribution of A. limbatum and B. hydrosauri at Bundey Bore Station. We found that climate together with the abundance of ticks in the previous year and the abundance of the lizard host, accounted for 54%-77% of the variation in the abundance of A. limbatum and B. hydrosauri among years. We also found that the climate in late autumn to winter, together with the abundance of ticks and their host, accounted for 18%-84% of the variation in the geographic distributions of these ticks among years. Climate was central to the abundance and the geographic distributions of A. limbatum and B. hydrosauri at Bundey Bore Station. We speculate that the same mechanisms account for the geographic distributions of A. limbatum, B. hydrosauri and A. albolimbatum elsewhere in Australia; so, climate may explain the three-tick problem in Austral ecology.

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Climate and the seasonal abundance of the tick Dermacentor reticulatus

Cited by 16 publications

References 38 publications

Using environmental factors to predict Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (Acari: Ixodidae) mortality

Using environmental factors to predict Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (Acari: Ixodidae) mortality

Update and prognosis of Dermacentor distribution in Germany: Nationwide occurrence of Dermacentor reticulatus

The abundance and geographic distributions of two species of ticks in South Australia: Bundey Bore revisited

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