Comparison of Habitat Suitability Models for Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann in North America to Determine Its Potential Geographic Range

Abstract

Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann, 1901 is a vector of many pathogens of public and veterinary health importance in its native range in East Asia and introduced range in Oceania. In North America, this tick was first detected in New Jersey in 2017. Currently, this tick has been reported from 15 states of the United States. In this study, we modeled the habitat suitability of H. longicornis using the MaxEnt modeling approach. We separated occurrence records from the published literature from four different geographical regions in the world and developed MaxEnt models using relevant environmental variables to describe the potential habitat suitability of this tick in North America. The predictive accuracy of the models was assessed using the U.S. county locations where this tick species has been reported. Our best model predicted that the most suitable North American areas for geographic expansion of H. longicornis are from Arkansas–South Carolina to the south of Quebec–Nova Scotia in the east, and from California to the coast of British Columbia in the west. Enhanced surveillance and further investigation are required to gain a better understanding of the role that this tick might play in the transmission of diseases to humans and animals in North America.

Horizontal and Vertical Transmission of Powassan Virus by the Invasive Asian Longhorned Tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, Under Laboratory Conditions

“…The geographic range of human POWV cases and the invasive range of H. longicornis already overlap heavily in the Northeast. POWV cases are also prevalent in the Midwest (Campbell and Krause, 2020), a region where H. longicornis has been projected to spread (Raghavan et al, 2019;Namgyal et al, 2020). The present study investigates the intersection of an invasive ixodid tick and a tickborne flavivirus, ultimately demonstrating that H. longicornis is a competent vector for POWV II under laboratory conditions.…”

“…H. longicornis is adaptable to a wide range of climates across its native and invasive ranges, including seasonal climates. Ecological niche modeling of the potential spread of H. longicornis in North America identified several regions beyond the Northeast and East Coast to be suitable for sustaining H. longicornis populations, namely the Southeast, the Midwest, the California coast, the Pacific Northwest, and southeastern Canada (Raghavan et al, 2019;Namgyal et al, 2020); large portions of Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean have been similarly identified (Raghavan et al, 2019). Multiple climate suitability models have confirmed similar potential invasive ranges.…”

The wild life of ticks: Using passive surveillance to determine the distribution and wildlife host range of ticks and the exotic Haemaphysalis longicornis, 2010–2021

“…Currently published surveillance studies for H. longicornis in the USA are limited geographically and as a result are unlikely to capture the potential wildlife host range utilized by H. longicornis [ 35 , 40 , 41 , 43 – 45 ]. In addition, habitat suitability models primarily focusing on climatic and geographical variables to predict the potential range of H. longicornis have been reported , but they were built around limited datasets of H. longicornis occurrences (rather than established population data) and therefore may not accurately depict all suitable habitats in the USA [ 46 – 48 ]. In this study, we conducted a large-scale, passive regional survey of ticks associated with wildlife of the eastern USA.…”

“…Keywords: Amblyomma americanum, Amblyomma maculatum, Dermacentor albipictus, Dermacentor variabilis, Ixodes scapularis, Haemaphysalis longicornis, Wildlife, Passive surveillance, Public health, Ticks, Vectors, Veterinary health, Wildlife addition, habitat suitability models primarily focusing on climatic and geographical variables to predict the potential range of H. longicornis have been reported, but they were built around limited datasets of H. longicornis occurrences (rather than established population data) and therefore may not accurately depict all suitable habitats in the USA [46][47][48]. In this study, we conducted a large-scale, passive regional survey of ticks associated with wildlife of the eastern USA.…”

The wild life of ticks: using passive surveillance to determine the distribution and wildlife host range of ticks and the exoticHaemaphysalis longicornis, 2010-2021

“…Currently published surveillance studies for H. longicornis in the U.S. are limited geographically and as a result are unlikely to capture the potential wildlife host range utilized by H. longicornis [35,40,41,[43][44][45]. In addition, habitat suitability models primarily focusing on climatic and geographic variables to predict the potential range of H. longicornis have been reported, but they were built around limited datasets of H. longicornis occurrences (rather than established population data) and therefore may not accurately depict all suitable habitats in the U.S. [46][47][48]. In this study, we conducted a large-scale, passive regional survey of ticks associated with wildlife of the eastern U.S. Our primary goals were to better assess the current geographic distribution of exotic H. longicornis and to identify potential wild mammalian and avian host species.…”