Range ofIxodes laguri, a nidicolous tick that parasitizes critically endangered rodents, with details on its western distribution limit in Austria

Abstract

The nidicolous tickIxodes laguriis a nest-dwelling parasite of small mammals that mainly infest rodents of the families Cricetidae, Gliridae, Muridae and Sciuridae. There is no proven vectorial role forI. laguri, although it is suggested that it is a vector ofFrancisella tularensis. In this study, a first map depicting the entire geographical distribution ofI. laguribased on geo-referenced locations is presented. For this purpose, a digital data set of 141 georeferenced locations from 16 countries was compiled. Particular attention is paid to the description of the westernmost record ofI. laguriin the city of Vienna, Austria. There,I. laguriis specifically associated with its main hosts, the critically endangered European hamster (Cricetus cricetus) and the European ground squirrel (Spermophilus citellus). These two host species have also been mapped in the present paper to estimate the potential distribution ofI. laguriin the Vienna metropolitan region. The range ofI. laguriextends between 16–108° E and 38–54° N, i.e. from Vienna in the east of Austria to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. In contrast to tick species that are expanding their range and are also becoming more abundant as a result of global warming,I. lagurihas become increasingly rare through-out its range. However,I. laguriis not threatened by climate change, but by anthropogenic influences on its hosts and their habitats, which are typically open grasslands and steppes. Rural habitats are threatened by the intensification of agriculture and semi-urban habitats are increasingly being destroyed by urban development.