Diversity and seasonality of host-seeking ticks in a periurban environment in the Central Midwest (USA)

Hroobi, Ali; Boorgula, Gunavanthi D.; Gordon, David M.; Bai, Jianfa; Goodin, Doug; Anderson, Gary A.; Wilson, Savannah; Staggs, A J; Raghavan, Ram K.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0250272

Cited by 7 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Additionally, tick behavioral diapause that affects their seasonality is largely determined by photoperiod [ 18 , 19 ]. At present, it is unclear what those cold (or hot) thresholds are for the four tick species in this study region, and, the phenology of these tick species are only beginning to be studied in detail [ 36 ]. Temporal overlapping of tick life-stage cohorts with one another plays a large role in how pathogens are transferred among themselves and with their wildlife hosts, another aspect of ecology that requires further study for the four tick species in this region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unexpected winter questing activity of ticks in the Central Midwestern United States

et al. 2021

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Unexpected questing activity of ticks was noted during the winter months of January and February in the Central Midwestern states of Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. From nine geographically distinct locations, four species of ticks were collected using the flagging method, of which the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, was most abundant, followed by the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis, the Gulf coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum, and the Black legged tick, Ixodes scapularis. More A. americanum nymphs were caught questing than male or female adults. The winter activity of these medically important ticks in this region poses concern for public health and offers an insight into future tick activity in light of ongoing climate change. More studies on the seasonality of these tick species, and how different climate parameters affect their seasonal activity in this region are warranted and would be expected to benefit for both human and veterinary medicine.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unexpected winter questing activity of ticks in the Central Midwestern United States

et al. 2021

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“…Too few I. scapularis ticks were collected in this study to make robust conclusions, but the adults of this species were all collected during late fall, indicating a cool-season peak for the adults and potentially its immature life-stages. Previous studies of I. scapularis ticks from the region indicate a similar activity period [18][19][20]. Tick density for the other three species appears to increase as temperatures warm-up in early spring and last until early fall; however, the peak activity for these species (and for the different life stages of A. americanum) occurred at different times during this roughly 6-month period, often within a narrow one-or two-month timeframe.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

Surveillance of Host-Seeking Ticks in the Flint Hills Region (USA) and Associations with Environmental Determinants

Spare¹,

Boorgula

Thomson

et al. 2021

Parasitologia

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Diversity and phenology of host-seeking ticks were studied in the Flint Hills region of the USA, which is a prominent region for raising beef cattle. Between a two-year period from 2015–2017, ticks were collected using the dragging method from 9 distant locations, 6 of which were studied seasonally and 3 continuously throughout the study period. Of the 10,055 ticks collected, 76.5% were the Lonestar tick (Amblyomma americanum), 14% were American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), and 9.1% were Gulf Coast tick (A. maculatum). The blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis were also found, albeit in low numbers. The host-seeking activity of all three predominant tick species peaked once during the late spring, summer months in the region. The phenology of all ticks was positively associated with accumulated temperature and photoperiod. Additionally, the Normalized Vegetation Difference Index (NDVI) was associated with A. americanum, and saturation deficit and relative humidity were negatively associated with D. variabilis and A. maculatum tick phenology, respectively. This finding is useful to predict the times during a year in which cattle are at higher risk for exposure to these ticks and associated pathogens.

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“…Ticks are carriers of a variety of pathogens that can cause serious diseases in humans and other animals [ 2 ]. Numbers of human cases from tick-borne diseases such as tularemia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, and Lyme borreliosis have increased in recent years [ 3 , 4 ]. These increases in case rates have been attributed to changes in climate conditions [ 5 ], tick range expansions [ 2 ], habitat and land use changes [ 6 ], and host population dynamics [ 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A few previous studies have tracked the phenology of ticks in the central Great Plains (e.g., in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri) over the past 10 years [ 10 , 14 – 17 ]. Recent studies in southeastern Kansas, and the Flint Hills region of eastern Kansas and north-central Oklahoma, evaluated seasonality and diversity of tick species in the area [ 4 , 10 , 18 ]. The most common and broadly distributed tick species were A .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…americanum , A . maculatum , Dermacentor variabilis , and Ixodes scapularis , a diversity of tick species that raises significant concerns about the potential for transmission of tick-borne diseases [ 4 , 19 ]. Here we summarized phenological aspects of tick communities documented in longitudinal multisite study of questing ticks (2020–2022), from across the states of Kansas and Oklahoma, and identified factors associated with questing activities of A .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Phenology of five tick species in the central Great Plains

Ng’eno,

Alkishe,

Romero-Alvarez

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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The states of Kansas and Oklahoma, in the central Great Plains, lie at the western periphery of the geographic distributions of several tick species. As the focus of most research on ticks and tick-borne diseases has been on Lyme disease which commonly occurs in areas to the north and east, the ticks of this region have seen little research attention. Here, we report on the phenology and activity patterns shown by tick species observed at 10 sites across the two states and explore factors associated with abundance of all and life specific individuals of the dominant species. Ticks were collected in 2020–2022 using dragging, flagging and carbon-dioxide trapping techniques, designed to detect questing ticks. The dominant species was A. americanum (24098, 97%) followed by Dermacentor variabilis (370, 2%), D. albipictus (271, 1%), Ixodes scapularis (91, <1%) and A. maculatum (38, <1%). Amblyomma americanum, A. maculatum and D. variabilis were active in Spring and Summer, while D. albipictus and I. scapularis were active in Fall and Winter. Factors associated with numbers of individuals of A. americanum included day of year, habitat, and latitude. Similar associations were observed when abundance was examined by life-stage. Overall, the picture is one of broadly distributed tick species that shows seasonal limitations in the timing of their questing activity.

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Diversity and seasonality of host-seeking ticks in a periurban environment in the Central Midwest (USA)

Cited by 7 publications

References 39 publications

Unexpected winter questing activity of ticks in the Central Midwestern United States

Unexpected winter questing activity of ticks in the Central Midwestern United States

Surveillance of Host-Seeking Ticks in the Flint Hills Region (USA) and Associations with Environmental Determinants

Phenology of five tick species in the central Great Plains

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